New York Democrats on Wednesday unveiled a proposed redistricting map that would make it difficult to re-elect three Republicans in the House, but avoids taking on the powerful Republican Party conference chairwoman Elise Stefanik.
The plan for Democratic members of the State Independent Redistricting Commission appears to be aimed at Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-Staten Island / Brooklyn), Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-Binghamton) and Rep. John Katko (R-Staten Island / Brooklyn). Auburn) by increasing the number of Democrats registered among each of its constituencies.
If successful, the proposal would halve the number of members of the Empire State GOP House (from eight to four) because it also eliminates the district now represented by Rep. Tom Reed (R-Corning).
Reed announced in May that he would not run for re-election after being accused of abusing a 25-year-old pressure woman in a Minneapolis bar in 2017.
New York will lose one of its 27 seats in the House after next year’s election due to the results of the 2020 census, which also reduced congressional delegations from six other states.
New York State Republican Committee Chairman Nick Langworthy immediately pledged to challenge the redistricting plan, saying Democrats “will stop and drag this process in the hopes that New Yorkers will not pay attention. so that partisan legislators can draw their own maps ”.
“Like everything else under the control of Democrats in New York, this process is a political farce based on a base of lies and hypocrisy,” he said in a prepared statement.
“We intend to use all the legal and political tools in our arsenal to stop them and ensure that New Yorkers are well represented.”
John Faso, a former House member of the North Kinderhook Republican Party, said he suspected Democrats were running against Stefanik (R-Glens Falls), the third Republican leader in the House, because “she is a very strong candidate.”
“He has a very high profile, he has a great favor among the components of the Northern country and he is a fantastic fundraiser. He will win the elections,” he said.
But veteran Democratic political consultant Hank Sheinkopf suggested the move could transcend party politics.
“If Republicans win the House, that probably next year will become very, very important,” he said.
“He’s the No. 3 Republican leader, he’s close to the speaker, and New York may need financial and other help.”
Sheinkopf also noted that it is “difficult to challenge” Stefanik.
“Where do you get the Democrats from that part of the state?” Democrats are hard to find, “he said.
Republican IRC members on Wednesday released their own proposed redistricting map after the commission failed to agree on a bipartisan plan.
But the issue will eventually be decided by the Democratic-controlled state legislature and sent to Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul for approval.
In a prepared statement, Malliotakis called the publication of the competing maps “the first step in a longer process and regardless of what the final configuration of the district is, I am very sure I will be re-elected next year.”
“In nine months, my office has been able to return more than $ 13 million to the district from various federal agencies, resolved more than 2,400 constituent cases, helped 29 people become U.S. citizens, and even went helping a family evacuate Afghanistan safely, ”he said. added.
“I look forward to serving my new district with the same passion, energy and commitment.”
But Tenney said, “In 2014, New Yorkers across the state voted overwhelmingly to end partisan commonwealth and supported an independent, independent commission to establish fair district lines.”
“Clearly, Democrats in Albany and Washington are trying to undermine this process at every step,” he said in a prepared statement.
“New York Democrats must follow the law, respect our state’s Constitution, and respect the will of New Yorkers.”
State Democratic Committee Chairman Jay Jacobs called it “really rich” that Langworthy “was concerned about democratic redistricting when Republicans were cutting districts in his favor” after the 2010 census.
“Democrats in New York State have an overwhelming advantage over Republicans and you can’t do anything about it, except you have to have districts that represent the population,” he said.
“If you just do them right, Republicans will have to lose seats because of the nature of the enrollment and where those district lines are now. They were unfairly drawn ten years ago.”