Democratic state lawmakers are pushing a plan that would enable them to redraw New York’s congressional districts, however any change would nearly actually not happen earlier than the forthcoming midterm elections.
As Texas and different pink states contemplate rejiggering their maps to learn Republicans, Assemblyman Micah Lasher (D-Manhattan) and Sen. Mike Gianaris (D-Queens) introduced plans to amend New York’s structure to doubtlessly allow redistricting extra typically than as soon as a decade.
“Republicans in TX and elsewhere are taking us into a new era of continuous, partisan redistricting,” Lasher tweeted. “(It’s) time we show up to the fight.”
“If red states are intent on corrupting the redistricting process, New York will respond,” added Gianaris.
Critically, any such modification must be handed in two consecutive periods of the state legislature so the plan has no likelihood of being enacted till after 2026.
New York Democrats now maintain a 19-7 edge within the Home congressionial delegation.
They hope to carry all their seats within the midterms and are aiming to flip the evenly matched Westchester County-based battleground district held by Republican Rep. Mike Lawler.
However any additional positive factors would possible rely on dramatically redrawing district strains, like including deep-blue components of Brooklyn to Rep. Nicole Malliotakis’ Staten Island-based district and rejiggering issues on Lengthy Island and upstate.
Gov. Hochul and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the Home minority chief who would turn into Speaker if Democrats flip the Home in 2026, have each mentioned they’re open to exploring choices for a redraw.
New York’s structure requires redistricting solely as soon as a decade. Underneath the present guidelines, the one strategy to get round and doubtlessly redraw the map sooner could be if a court docket orders a brand new map, maybe in response to a brand new lawsuit claiming the present map is unlawful, which appears far-fetched.
President Donald Trump. (Christopher Furlong/Getty Photos)
Republicans hope to remodel the Texas map now and implement the modifications in time to choose up no less than 5 Democratic held seats in 2026. They need to do the identical factor to choose up a few seats in Ohio and doubtlessly one in Missouri.
President Trump and his Republican allies hope these strikes, which Democrats name partisan soiled tips, might be sufficient to permit them to maintain management of the Home of Representatives and stand up to what’s extensively anticipated to be a blue-leaning political setting.
If Republicans reach additional gutting the Voting Rights Act, they could be capable to scrap a number of Black-held Democratic seats within the deep South, a transfer that will additional exacerbate the nation’s bitter partisan and racial divide in future electoral cycles.
Other than New York, Democrats in California, Illinois and New Jersey are mulling the potential of redrawing their congressional districts to counter what they name Trump’s energy seize in pink states.
However a lot of the blue states have related guidelines making it more durable for the get together in energy to gerrymander the seats to their benefit.
Initially Revealed: July 29, 2025 at 1:52 PM EDT
