Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis blasted a Democrat-backed lawsuit that’s searching for to redraw Staten Island’s congressional district to incorporate Decrease Manhattan — telling The Submit it’s a partisan try and “silence” Massive Apple conservatives.
The gerrymandering go well with, filed by the DC-based Marc Elias Group in Manhattan Supreme Court docket on Monday, claims the present drawing of the NY-11 “dilutes black and Latino voting energy” by constantly electing Republicans and that the treatment is to redraw the district to incorporate the Democrat stronghold of decrease Manhattan.
“It’s a very frivolous nonsensical lawsuit that has zero advantage,” Malliotakis mentioned in her first public feedback in regards to the lawsuit that would push her out of Congress, the place she’s served since 2021.
“That is the Democrat’s newest try and attempt to silence the voters of the one district that elected a Republican and alter the make-up of the one aggressive seat in your entire metropolis of New York.”
NY-11 is the one Republican seat within the 5 boroughs and beforehand elected Democrat Max Rose to the Home of Representatives in 2019.
The NY-10, which incorporates the chunk of decrease Manhattan under 14th avenue that the lawsuit is searching for to affix with Staten Island’s district, is presently represented by Democrat Rep. Dan Goldberg and final elected a Republican, medical physician and lawyer Lester Volk, in 1920.
Malliotakis additional questioned the supposed racial dilution alleged within the present maps which had been simply accredited by the state’s high Democrats Meeting Heastie Carl Heastie and state senate boss Andrea Stewart-Cousins, each of whom are African-American, prematurely of the 2024 election.
“For Democrats to by some means now declare that this map disenfranchises minorities is a whole fallacy. It’s ludicrous.”
“It’s clear what they’re attempting to do — change the principles, tilt the size, to present their occasion a bonus in subsequent 12 months’s elections and this case must be thrown out by the choose,” the Trump-backed rep mentioned.
“They’ve tried every thing to vary the make-up of this district so it’s extra Democrat-leaning to remove the one conservative voice [New Yorker’s] have in Washington.”
The lawsuit is the newest in a nationwide gerrymandering push forward of the 2026 midterm elections that may see all 435 of the seats within the Home of Consultant up for grabs with the Republicans presently holding onto a slim 219-212 majority within the decrease home, in response to Ballotpedia.
Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul has beforehand endorsed her occasion’s makes an attempt to favorably redraw districts within the Empire State.
“I could also be governor of New York, however I cannot sit on the sidelines with timid souls and merely watch whereas Republicans dismantle democracy. That’s not who we’re. And that’s definitely not the management that this second requires,” Hochul wrote in an op-ed in The Houston Chronicle in Aug.
“If [Republicans] rewrite the principles, then so will we,” she mentioned, concluding, “All’s honest in love and struggle. Carry it on.”
Sources accustomed to the lawsuit mentioned the Division of Justice is monitoring the result and If the state of New York loses the lawsuit there can be an attraction in federal court docket to reverse the choice.
Rep. Malliotakis mentioned she is just not afraid of a court docket battle.
“We’ve beat them twice earlier than and we’re gonna do it once more whether or not or not it’s in state court docket or if we’ve to raise this to federal court docket, probably even to the Supreme Court docket.”
“We’ve gone to court docket now thrice, each time I’ve run for reelection we’ve had a redistricting battle,” she mentioned.
The Marc Elias Regulation Group’s acknowledged mission is “serving to Democrats win,” in response to its web site.
