People fill out ballots during the New York primary election at a polling station in the Brooklyn neighborhood of New York, New York, USA, June 22, 2021. REUTERS / Brendan McDermid
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May 21 (Reuters) – A judge in New York approved a new congressional card that pitted two Democrat veterans against each other and increased Republicans’ chances of winning more seats in November’s midterm elections, further threatening the House’s fragile majority. representatives of the United States.
Judge Patrick McAllister, a Stuben County Judge, signed the card shortly before midnight on Friday, weeks after the New York Supreme Court ruled that the reorganization plan passed by the Democrat-controlled legislature was unconstitutionally manipulated in favor of the party.
The Democratic card was likely to give party control of 22 of the 26 seats in the state congress this fall, counterbalanceing similar party cards adopted in Republican-dominated states such as Florida, Georgia and Texas.
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Republicans only need to change five seats in November to win a majority in the House, which will allow them to block much of President Joe Biden’s agenda.
The court-appointed special master who drew the new map, Jonathan Servas, said in a court file that his plan created eight competing districts, along with 15 Democrat-oriented and three Republican-oriented seats.
The map brings together Manhattan’s Gerold Nadler and Carolyn Maloney, each of whom has served in the House for 30 years and now appears to be focusing on what will be an expensive and high-profile primary battle in August.
In Westchester County, north of New York, the homes of two congressmen from the first term of the Black Democrats, Monder Jones and Jamal Bowman, were drawn to the same area.
Meanwhile, Sean Patrick Maloney, chairman of the Democratic National Campaign in Congress, said this week that he would run in a new county that includes most of Jones ‘current seat, angering many of Jones’ allies who said he will be forced to run against Maloney or Bowman.
But Jones said early Saturday that he would instead run in the new 10th district, which includes parts of Brooklyn and Manhattan. Bill de Blasio, the former mayor of New York, has already announced his intention to run for the county, which is expected to attract a packed field of candidates. Read more
The new map is a bitterly disappointing result for Democrats, who used their legislative majority to push through an aggressive Germander. But after Republicans filed a lawsuit, the courts ruled that the Democratic Party’s card contradicted a 2014 constitutional amendment aimed at removing partisanship from redistribution.
Servas said he had reviewed thousands of comments since Monday’s release, and made some changes, including reuniting several black communities and Asian American communities in New York, which he initially split.
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Report by Joseph Ax; Edited by Daniel Wallis
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