Fearing 'Extinction-Level Event,' N.Y. Democrats Turn Against Each Other

[Celerity]

Newly drawn congressional maps have led some House members to quickly lay claim to certain districts, even if it means challenging fellow incumbents.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/17/nyregion/democrats-redistrict-ny.html



Two weeks ago, Representative Sean Patrick Maloney warned fellow Democrats in a private meeting that a ruling by New York’s highest court to invalidate a Democratic-leaning congressional map could prompt “an extinction-level event” for the party, according to people familiar with the remarks. Democratic incumbents, he feared, could either be shoehorned into more difficult districts or forced into primaries against one another. So on Monday, when the courts finally unveiled a proposed new slate of districts unwinding Democrats’ gerrymander, Mr. Maloney, the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, knew precisely what to do.

Just 25 minutes after the maps’ release, Mr. Maloney announced on Twitter that he would leave behind the bulk of his traditional Hudson Valley seat and run instead for a newly drawn 17th Congressional District rooted in Westchester County. Mr. Maloney lives within the new lines, which happen to offer a safer path for a Democrat than the district he currently represents. What might have seemed like an easy political decision for Mr. Maloney, however, has quickly turned into a political firestorm, replete with racial overtones, off-the-record recriminations and rare breaches of congressional decorum between staff of neighboring colleagues.

Link to tweet

Some Democrats saw the maneuver as an attempt to box out Representative Mondaire Jones, a first-term congressman who represents the vast majority of the district’s population, and force him to enter a primary against Jamaal Bowman, a fellow Black progressive, in the neighboring 16th District.

Mr. Jones made no secret of his own feelings, though he has yet to say which Democrat he will challenge. “Sean Patrick Maloney did not even give me a heads-up before he went on Twitter to make that announcement,” Mr. Jones tersely told Politico on Monday. “And I think that tells you everything you need to know about Sean Patrick Maloney.” In a rare break from Congress’s genteel protocols, Mr. Jones’s chief of staff even shared a screenshot of an exchange with Mr. Maloney’s top aide, and accused the chairman of prioritizing his personal interests “rather than working to unravel this gerrymander” by the courts.

Link to tweet

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[Frasier Balzov]

1. Should be fun.

Since you don't even need to reside within the Congressional district where you're running.

[elleng]

2. Damn!

[gab13by13]

3. Exactly, the court rejected the NY map

so Democrats had a non-partisan new map redrawn.

Fast forward to Ohio where its map was rejected by the court as being too Republican partisan. What did Ohio Magats do, they submitted the same partisan map. Haven't heard if the 2nd map, same as the 1st, has been accepted.

[Karma13612]

4. If I understand correctly,

The new NY map is now slightly favoring the Republicans.

Please correct me if I’m wrong. And the worst part is, I still wind up with Elise “She Lies” Stefanik.

Gawd I hate her so much. Basically, if I want to get away from her, I actually have to physically relocate.