There was a collective sigh of relief last week for Republicans as the just-released new map for U.S. House seats in New York leaves 11 districts that were carried by Republican gubernatorial nominee Lee Zeldin in 2022.
Republicans had feared the court-ordered redistricting would eliminate as many as five GOP-held seats in favor of Democrats.
New York's top Republicans say its delegation should remain 10 Republicans and 16 Democrats.
This is key to Republican efforts to maintain their wafer-thin hold of three seats in the closely divided House of Representatives.
The acceptance of the New York State Assembly and Senate, both of which have Democrat "supermajorities," of a map that essentially maintains the status quo of U.S. House districts is due to the work of a new bipartisan group know as Stop NY Corruption.
Since the New York Court of Appeals in December ordered the state's Independent Redistricting Commission to redraw the lines that were sculpted by a special master following completion of the census in 2021, Stop NY Corruption has hammered away at what it warned would be partisan gerrymandering.
Stop NY Executive Director Bobbie Anne Cox, an attorney and registered Democrat, told Newsmax her group was "very vocal about this."
Stop NY Corruption blitzed the state, holding press conferences in Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo, and just about any major news outlet.
Their message was twofold.
First, as Cox told Newsmax, "no one should be drawing maps in the middle of the decade."
The initial map was drawn in accordance to the constitutional procedure of redistricting completed immediately after the census every 10 years.
A McLaughlin Group poll commissioned by Stop NY Corruption showed that a supermajority of 81% of voters statewide felt the gerrymander of congressional and legislative districts was a form of cheating.
Cox's group also pointed out that millions of taxpayer dollars were already being wasted by Democratic efforts to overturn legally drawn maps.
Democrats, reportedly with House Democrat Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York privately weighing in, opted for a map that — slight changes in two districts aside — preserves the present lines under which members of Congress from New York were elected in 2022.
The success of the GOP in very blue New York is the result of citizen power and grassroots activism — a model now for conservatives across the nation.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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