A group of fugitive Texas lawmakers joined Gov. Kathy Hochul in Albany to blast a Republican grab for congressional seats in Texas that New York Democrats are itching to counteract.
At a fiery press conference on Monday, August 4, the six Texans sat with Hochul and New York Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie to condemn a redistricting ploy that has set off a national clash. Texas Democrats have fled the state to deny their GOP-run legislature a quorum and try to stop a vote on redrawn congressional lines that are meant to flip five Democratic-held U.S. House seats to the GOP in 2026.
"These brave public servants are taking a stand, a strong stand against a blatant power grab that's happening in their state as we speak," Hochul said. "This will have implications not just in Texas, but for our entire nation and its future."
Texas GOP trying to help party keep narrow House majority
Texas Republicans are pursuing an unusual mid-decade redistricting to pick up new seats at the behest of President Donald Trump. The line-shifting tactic is meant to help his party preserve its narrow House majority for his last two years in office, in case Democrats gain other seats as expected in the midterm elections.
Hochul and fellow Democrats in New York want to redraw their state's House lines as well, doing the same sort of gerrymandering that Texas is doing in a bid to counteract any GOP gains. But they're hamstrung by past reforms that made New York's redistricting less partisan, and that have forced them to consider a constitutional amendment — a multi-year process that bars a new map until 2028.
"We're already working on a legislative process, reviewing our legal strategies," Hochul said. "And we'll do everything in our power to stop this brazen assault."
What legal action the state might take is unclear. The only legislative option for Democrats is to seek to amend the state constitution to allow mid-decade redistricting, which is now forbidden. The state Legislature would have to approve that proposal in two sessions — first in 2025 or 2026, and again in 2027 — for it to be put to New York voters on November 2027 ballots.
That is no help to Democrats in 2026, and an uncertain prospect beyond that even if voters were to approve the amendment. The state's 2014 redistricting reforms created an independent panel to draw districts and prohibited manipulating lines for partisan advantage — the very hardball approach that Texas is taking and New York Democrats want to mimic. That rule led New York courts to reject a House map seen as tilted to Democrats in 2022.
Kathy Hochul: 'Politics is a political process'
Hochul voiced frustration with New York's limitations, answering "yes" when asked by a reporter if she thought New York's redistricting commission should be disbanded or changed.
"I'm tired of fighting this fight with my hand tied behind my back," she said. "With all due respect to the good government groups, politics is a political process."
Republicans heaped scorn on Hochul after the press conference for what they described as grandstanding and hypocrisy. They pointed out New York Democrats had tried before to tweak the new independent redistricting rules for their own advantage. They didn't criticize what Texas Republicans are doing.
Court battle: NY to draw redistricting lines again, top court rules. What that means for 2024 races
Rep. Elise Stefanik, a potential GOP candidate and opponent for Hochul in the 2026 governor's race, said in a statement: "Kathy Hochul is hell bent on angrily spiting the New York State Constitution, the will of New York voters, good government groups, and the courts by dismantling fair and legal district lines."
New York's congressional lines were redrawn in both 2022 and 2024 after drawn-out court fights between Republicans and Democrats. Democrats flipped four GOP-held House seats last year after losing four in 2022, and now hold 19 of New York's 26 seats. Republicans occupy seven.
Chris McKenna covers government and politics for The Journal News and USA Today Network. Reach him at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: NY Dems, Hochul scramble to counter Texas bid to redraw House lines
Comments