After Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) hinted she could redraw the state’s congressional lines several years ahead of the state’s decennial drawing, New York Republicans are outraged.
Hochul suggested the ploy in response to Republicans’ efforts to redraw partisan lines in states like Texas.
“New York’s State Constitution could not be more clear: mid-decade redistricting is illegal,” New York GOP chair Ed Cox said in a statement Friday. “Kathy Hochul and Albany Democrats are again ignoring the law as they telegraph their latest attempt to rig our elections.”
Then he suggested he would sue Hochul or the state if they decided to redistrict ahead of the every-decade timeline.
“If Democrats have forgotten what it feels like to be embarrassed in court, Republicans will happily remind them,” he added.
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY), who recently announced he is not running for governor in 2026 but is running for reelection in his swing House district, also struck a defiant chord against Hochul. “In which the Governor openly talks about violating the state constitution,” Lawler said in a post on X. “It is abundantly clear in the language adopted by the voters and affirmed by the court — New York CANNOT engage in mid-decade redistricting. Follow the law. Protect democracy.”
Hochul did not say she would redraw the state’s congressional lines on Thursday, but said she could look at it. “We are following the rules,” Hochul said. “But if there are other states that are violating the rules and going to try and give themselves an advantage, all I’ll say is I’m going to look at it closely with [House Minority Leader] Hakeem Jeffries.”
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Jeffries has been planning a strategy to redraw congressional lines in Democratic-controlled states like New York, CNN reported earlier this week.
A new congressional map before the decade deadline, coinciding with a new U.S. census, is unlikely.
The once-a-decade redistricting is enshrined in the state’s constitution via a ballot amendment, and a bipartisan entity, the Independent Redistricting Commission, draws the maps. New maps are only drawn if a judge orders them to be.
As it stands, the state’s congressional lines are to be redrawn in 2032, well after President Donald Trump leaves office. Democrats had hoped to redraw lines in a partisan fashion to fight Republican efforts to do the same after Trump ordered Texas to redraw their lines, potentially with the ability to pick up 5 House seats.
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) says he will look at options in California to fight back.
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“We’re looking at three or four different pathways,” Newsom said of California’s options to respond.
“As it relates to the when and the how … it’s not just the legislative pathway, it’s which legislative pathway? It’s not just direct democracy as it relates to a special election and a ballot, but it’s what you put on the ballot and what’s considered, what’s not considered,” he added.
