ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) – The New York state Legislature on Wednesday approved a Democrat-drawn congressional map that gives the party a modest boost in a few battleground districts, helping their candidates in a heavily contested election year when House races in the state could determine control of Congress.
Lawmakers in the Democrat-dominated statehouse approved the mapping bill in both the Senate and Assembly with some Republican support. It now moves to Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul for a signature.
The lines are similar to both the existing congressional map and a proposal drawn by the state’s bipartisan redistricting commission, far from the aggressive partisan gerrymander many expected after Democrats took control of the redistricting process.
The biggest adjustments came in a small handful of suburban districts – areas important to the party’s plans for winning back a House majority.
The map could help Democrats hold onto a seat on Long Island that Democrat Tom Suozzi won in a special election this month, and it folds a couple left-leaning cities into a central New York district held by a Republican, potentially helping a Democrat in that race.
Democrats also made Republican Rep. Marc Molinaro’s Hudson Valley district more competitive, ignoring proposed changes by the state’s bipartisan redistricting commission that would have helped the GOP incumbent.
The changes, though seemingly minor, could have a big impact in the fight for control of the House, where Republicans are trying to hold onto a threadbare majority in November.
The votes came after Hochul allowed lawmakers to expedite the process. The governor declined to comment on the content of the new map when asked about the proposal on Wednesday.
Throughout the process, Republicans have threatened to bring a legal challenge against any map they feel violates New York’s prohibition on drawing lines that benefit one party over another.
It is unclear if at least some Republicans will proceed with a lawsuit, but former Republican congressman John Faso, who advised the GOP on redistricting lawsuits in New York, said he doesn’t think the new map makes enough changes to the existing lines to warrant a legal challenge.
“Since there’s no material changes, there’s no reason to bring up a lawsuit,” Faso said.
Still, Democrats, wary of another protracted court fight over congressional boundaries, fast-tracked a separate bill that would limit where redistricting cases can be filed, a move to keep such suits from landing in front of conservative judges.