A Redistricting Surprise in New York: A Map That Plays Few Favorites

When New York’s top court ordered the state to redraw its congressional map late last year, the state’s ruling Democrats were widely expected to exploit the opening to aggressively reshape district lines in their favor.

But on Thursday, a bipartisan state commission created to guide the redistricting process overwhelmingly approved a new proposed map that looks a lot like the current court-drawn map that helped Republicans pick up seats in 2022.

The panel’s 9-to-1 vote now thrusts a politically and legally thorny choice on legislative leaders in Albany who have the final say on any plan.

They can rubber-stamp the compromise, dashing the hopes of Representative Hakeem Jeffries and other powerful Democrats in Washington, or reject it and risk sending the whole process back to court by pushing for a more favorable alternative.

The answer could have far-reaching consequences for the national fight for control of the House this fall, where New York’s swing seats alone could be enough to tip the contest.

The commission’s map includes modest tweaks that would help Democrats flip one seat in Syracuse, and would most likely make a pair of vulnerable incumbents — one Democrat and one Republican — safer in the Hudson Valley.