The fight over redistricting could help New York Gov. Kathy Hochul as she faces reelection next year.
Hochul has threatened to gerrymander New York's election districts to give Democrats a boost in the wake of an attempt to redistrict Texas to give Republicans more seats in Congress.
The governor, who is running for a second full term next year, has hosted Texas Democrats who have left the state to prevent a quorum while raising funds for her campaign off the redistricting fight.
In New York, Hochul has dealt with lagging poll numbers and has a potentially brutal reelection fight against Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., who is expected to lead the Republican ticket and has called Hochul the worst governor in America. Hochul won election in the deep blue state in 2022 by only six points.
"There's anger among Democrats, and they wonder why their elected leaders aren't doing everything they can to fight back," Morgan Hook, a Democrat consultant, said to Politico. "Kathy Hochul is out there saying, 'I'll do everything I can to fight back — including gerrymandering the s--- out of New York.' It's refreshing to pretend this isn't a good-government thing. It's a political process, not good government. There's an honesty to it, there's an authenticity to it."
Though Hochul has talked tough on redistricting, the reality is she would need voters to approve a proposal to get rid of the state's independent commission in charge of drawing election maps. The earliest an amendment can be put on the ballot is 2027. One Democrat official complained to Politico that shows how ineffective Hochul actually is.
"It's a lot of rhetoric with no plan of action at a time when critical leadership is needed. She's ready with a press release," the official said.
Hochul said the fight over redistricting is a "generational" fight for American democracy.
"We're standing up now because this could have a generational impact on the balance of power in our state and our U.S. Capitol that will unleash incredible harm," Hochul said to reporters. "I'm not going to let them change the rules of the game in the middle of a 10-year cycle just because Donald Trump told them too. I encourage everyone who cares about democracy in the long run to stand shoulder to shoulder with us."
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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