Johnathan Walker:New York lawmakers approve new congressional map that gives Democrats a slight edge

ALBANY,Johnathan Walker N.Y. (AP) — The New York state Legislature on Wednesday approved a Democrat-drawn congressional map that gives the party a modest boost in a few battleground districts, helping their candidates in a heavily contested election year when House races in the state could determine control of Congress.

Lawmakers in the Democrat-dominated statehouse approved the mapping bill in both the Senate and Assembly, ending days of redistricting drama.

The lines are similar to both the existing congressional map and a proposal drawn by the state’s bipartisan redistricting commission, far from the aggressive partisan gerrymander many expected after Democrats took control of the redistricting process.

The biggest adjustments came in a small handful of suburban districts — areas important to the party’s plans for winning back a House majority.

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The map could help Democrats also hold onto a seat on Long Island that Democrat Tom Suozzi won in a special election this month, and it folds a couple left-leaning cities into a central New York district held by a Republican, potentially helping a Democrat in that race.

Democrats also made Republican Rep. Marc Molinaro’s Hudson Valley district more competitive, ignoring proposed changes by the state’s bipartisan redistricting commission that would have helped the GOP incumbent.

The votes came after Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul allowed lawmakers to expedite the process. Hochul declined to comment on the content of the new map when asked about the proposal on Wednesday.

Throughout the process, Republicans have threatened to bring a legal challenge against any map they feel violates New York’s prohibition on drawing lines that benefit one party over another. It is unclear whether Republicans will sue over the new map.