Completing the Mamdani sweep (Updated)
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“Oh, don’t be so mean!”
Staten Island was the last holdout so of course, it had to go
Judge rules NYC's lone Republican congressional district unconstitutional, orders redraw
A judge ruled Wednesday that the configuration of New York City’s lone congressional district represented by a Republican is unconstitutional, ordering the state to redraw the district by next month.
State Supreme Court Justice Jeffrey Pearlman ruled that the composition of New York's 11th Congressional District — which covers all of Staten Island and parts of southern Brooklyn — unconstitutionally diluted the votes of Black and Hispanic residents. He ordered the Independent Redistricting Commission to complete a new map by Feb. 6.
The district is held by Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., who won her seat in 2020. She slammed the ruling in a statement Wednesday, calling it "a frivolous attempt by Washington Democrats to steal this congressional seat from the people and we are very confident that we will prevail at the end of the day."
The district has trended Republican in recent elections, voting for President Donald Trumpin 2016, 2020 and 2024, and backing GOP Senate candidates in 2022 and 2024 after previously supporting Democratic incumbents.
The lawsuit, filed by Democratic attorney Marc Elias’ law firm, argued that the existing district dilutes the voting power of Staten Island's growing Black and Latino populations, violating minority protections under the New York Voting Rights Act.
Gearing up for this coming election:
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VIRGINIA DEMOCRATS MOVE TO SEIZE REDISTRICTING POWER, OPENING DOOR TO 4 NEW LEFT-LEANING SEATS
FEDERAL COURT CLEARS CALIFORNIA’S NEW HOUSE MAP BOOSTING DEMOCRATS AHEAD OF 2026 MIDTERMS
And the Bush/Romney’s Gin & Tonic response to this Democrat gerrymandering?
Indiana Senate votes down redistricting bill, breaking with Trump
“Because we’re the nice party!”
UPDATE: The Daily Caller offers additional, ironic details:
Democratic firm Elias Law Group, led by high-profile election lawyer Marc Elias, argued that Malliotakis’ district covering all of Staten Island and parts of southern Brooklyn eroded Latino and black New Yorkers’ voting power. Acting New York State Supreme Court Justice Jeffrey Pearlman, an appointee of Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, ruled that the state’s independent redistricting commission must redraw the district by Feb. 6.
“Petitioners have shown through testimony and by empirical data that the history of discrimination against minority voters in CD-11 still impacts those communities today,” Pearlman wrote, adding that the current configuration is a “contributing factor” to the disenfranchisement of minority voters.
Malliotakis, a Latina who spoke Spanish at home growing up, has notably represented New York’s 11th district since 2021. She trounced her Democratic opponent by nearly 30 points in 2024. The district as currently drawn voted for President Donald Trump by 24 points that year. Staten Island is solidly Republican while the segment of southern Brooklyn in her district is more moderate-leaning.
It is unclear how significantly the redistricting commission will redraw the Republican-leaning district, but Democrats argued the seat should include deep-blue Lower Manhattan, which could complicate Malliotakis’ path to reelection.
New York Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman, who lives in Lower Manhattan and is facing a primary challenge from left-wing former New York City comptroller Brad Lander, could switch districts and challenge Malliotakis if the commission draws a Democratic-friendly seat. This scenario would likely result in both Goldman and Lander, both white men, going to Congress.