New York legislators poised to vote on closely watched congressional map

New York’s Democratic-controlled Legislature is poised to vote Monday on whether to reject a congressional map devised by a bipartisan commission that gave Democrats only a modest electoral advantage or move to seize control of the process and draw their own lines.

The decision could shape which party controls the US House next year. New York is expected to be at the center of the battle for the chamber this fall, with Republicans’ narrow majority on the line. The GOP flipped four House seats in the state in the 2022 midterms, gains that helped the party win control of the chamber.

Several New York Democrats have signaled their displeasure with the map, which was approved 9-1 by the state’s Independent Redistricting Commission earlier this month. The map largely left undisturbed House districts in the New York City suburbs, which have been viewed as potential battlegrounds in November. Those include the 3rd Congressional District on Long Island, which Democrats flipped earlier this month in a special election to succeed disgraced former Rep. George Santos.

The commission’s map potentially puts at risk freshman Republican Brandon Williams’ Central New York seat by adding more territory favorable to Democrats. But, under the compromise crafted by the commission, two Hudson Valley seats – held by Republican Marc Molinaro and Democrat Pat Ryan – each appear to have grown safer for the incumbents.

State Sen. James Skoufis, a Democrat, told CNN on Monday that he intended to vote against the commission’s map.

“They barely touched any districts around the state, and it was very clearly done to shore up those incumbents – one from each party,” he said. “I know this has been described as bipartisan, but the way I’ve characterized it is that this is mutually partisan.”