Democrats across the country hoped beyond hope that fellow Democratic lawmakers in the New York State Assembly and Senate would draw new Congressional lines that would gut Republican districts, giving Democrats a big advantage in winning a majority in the House of Representatives.
Their dreams of being the party in power that controls redistricting and would leverage that muscle to redraw Republican Congressional districts out of existence never materialized.
It did not happen.
Instead, Democratic state lawmakers, for the most part, approved a redistricting plan that keeps current Congressional districts “as is” with little to no impact across New York.
Incumbent Democrat Tom Suozzi would see his district move slightly to the east, Republican Congressman Andrew Garbarino’s district would barely shift to the west, and fellow Republican Nick LaLota’s 1st Congressional district would add Moriches.
The only Republican “loss’ is in Central New York, where Republican Brandon Williams would pick up heavy Democratic communities, making it very difficult for the GOP to keep the seat,
Other than those minor changes, political leaders of both parties pretty much seem to accept the districts and will move on without a fight.
“Despite Democrats’ ongoing corruption of the process, these lines are not materially different from those drawn by the special master. As such, there is no need for further litigation,” said New York State Republican Party Chairman Ed Cox.
“There are many solid GOP/Conservative districts as well as several fair fight districts currently held by members of both parties,” wrote New York State Conservative Party Chairman Gerard “Gerry” Kassar in his weekly wrap up memo to supporters.
Right now Democrats hold 16 Congressional seats in New York, with Republicans serving in the remaining ten.
With the Syracuse based district now leaning heavily Democratic, that balance of power more than likely would only mean a “flip” of one seat to the Democratic side of the aisle.
The main reason why Democratic state lawmakers rolled over and quit without a redistricting fight?
They were afraid of losing a lengthy court battle.
“Nobody wanted to get tied up in litigation,” said New York State Senate Deputy Majority Leader Michael Gianaris.
“I commend the state legislature for drawing a fair and equitable congressional map,” said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
By law, new Congressional district boundaries are redrawn every ten years, based on population. This means states that are growing in population like Texas and Florida gain more members of Congress, thus their power and influence in the House of Representatives grows.
States like New York that consistently lose population lose Congressional seats, thus minimizing political muscle in the halls of the House. This negatively impacts communities across New York.
An “Independent Redistricting Commission” (IRC) was created in New York to supposedly remove political influence from drawing new district lines.
When the IRC first proposed new maps this year some Democratic lawmakers blasted their proposed lines and promised a fight.
"These maps are a disgrace and ought to be rejected by the Legislature,” said Democratic State Senator James Skoufis.
The opposite happened. No fight. Nothing was rejected. Congressional district boundaries barely moved. Lawmakers now have ten years before the process starts all over again.
“We need to move on,” said Republican State Assemblywoman Mary Beth Walsh.