Joined by Texas Democrats who left their state Sunday to prevent Republicans from adopting their own gerrymander, Hochul says she wants New York to “fight fire with fire.”
“I’m tired of fighting this fight with my hands tied behind my back," adds Hochul. "With all due respect to the good government groups, politics is a political process, and to think that we’re going to do this with a purity test and make sure it’s completely fair to everybody involved...The reason that we’re able to draw the lines is because the majority of the people in this state elected us to be leaders.”
New York and Texas aren’t the only states battling over Congressional district maps ahead of next year’s midterm elections: Ohio, California, and Missouri are discussing it as well. The 2026 elections will determine which party controls the House. If Democrats flip it, President Trump will face much more opposition in Congress as he tries to push through his agenda.
While Hochul seeks to “fight fire with fire,” she potentially faces significant legal hurdles. The New York State Constitution was amended to allow for an independent redistricting commission to redraw Congressional boundaries once a decade, in line with the U.S. Census. Changing the law could lead to litigation and claims of political bias. Any change to the constitution wouldn’t go before voters until 2027 at the earliest.
Rachael Fuss, a senior policy advisor for the government watchdog Reinvent Albany, says an amendment was introduced in the state legislature last month. It would allow the state legislature to bypass the Independent Redistricting Commission and directly draw its own maps mid-decade if another state does so. She calls the idea a “race to the bottom.”
“The comments about ‘fighting fire with fire’ — we’re talking about people’s enfranchisement; we’re talking about democratic principles and people’s rights," says Fuss. "‘Fighting fire with fire’ by disenfranchising voters is not a solution that New Yorkers deserve and I think it will lead to more cynicism. And the public will rightly be upset about this.”
New York Republicans are already blasting the idea. Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay says it’s hypocritical. He feels Democrats already don’t play fair.
“Democrats have been changing election laws every session, substantially, that would ultimately benefit Democrats and disadvantage Republicans," he says. "So changing the rules of what’s ‘fair’ or ‘unfair’ is a tradition we have a long history of in New York state.”
Such criticism did not seem to phase Hochul Monday. Nor did it phase Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, who says he’s on board.
“It’s very difficult to say ‘play fair’ when your opponents are playing dirty and using every tool in their toolbox to undermine democracy," says Heastie. "And what we’re proposing, that we may bring before the voters in 2027 — we hope not to have to use it — but sometimes the best way to get a bully to stop being a bully is to remind them that they can be bullied too.”
Meantime, Texas Democrats say the redistricting push by Republicans in their state is at the direction of Trump, as [because?] the GOP fears losing its House majority. Dallas Democrat Mihaela Plesa condemned her Republican colleagues for their priorities Monday, on the one-month anniversary of the deadly flooding that killed more than 130 people in central Texas.
“Today on the House floor, House Republicans did not want to put flood relief, disaster relief [on the table]. They didn’t want to do anything for the people of Texas," say Plesa. "They’re bending the knee to President Donald Trump. The playing field has changed not just for Democrats, but all Americans, and it’s time to meet them on the new field.”
Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott says he will begin trying to remove Plesa and the other Democratic lawmakers from office if they do not return. Asked about it Monday, some of the lawmakers dismissed Abbott’s threats as “smoke and mirrors” that go beyond his legal authority.
