Nadler, Maloney could face off in primary with redrawn district

NEW YORK — Reps. Jerry Nadler and Carolyn Maloney both said they plan to run for New York's newly redrawn 12th Congressional District — setting up a potential primary between two longtime Manhattan Democratic incumbents.

Maloney's currently-configured 12th district is centered on Manhattan's Upper East Side while Nadler's 10th district is anchored across Central Park on the Upper West Side. But a draft map released Monday creates a new 12th district that covers both the Upper East and West Sides. And the two veteran members of Congress said they plan to compete for that one seat.

“I am proud to announce that I will be running to continue to represent the 12th Congressional District. A majority of the communities in the newly redrawn NY-12 are ones I have represented for years and to which I have deep ties,” Maloney said in a statement.

Nadler said in his own statement, "I believe these newly proposed lines by the special master violate the NYS constitutional requirements of keeping communities of interest of keeping communities of interest together and keeping the cores of existing districts largely intact. However, provided that they become permanent, I very much look forward to running in and representing the people of the newly created 12th District of New York.”

The new maps are not final. Carnegie Mellon fellow Jonathan Cervas, a special master tasked with drawing new congressional lines following a legal challenge by Republicans, will take comments from the public before releasing a final set of plans on Friday.

If the maps stand and both pols follow through on their plans, it would set up a primary between two influential incumbents who have both been in office nearly three decades. Nadler chairs the powerful House Judiciary Committee, while Maloney heads the influential Oversight Committee.

The potential Nadler-Maloney contest is the result of a larger set of draft maps for New York's congressional districts that were drawn by the special master after a successful court case by Republicans found that the prior configurations were unconstitutional gerrymandering.

The court-led process has upended a number of potential races with national implications. The state's 26 congressional districts will play an instrumental role in whether Democrats can retain control of the House in the midterm elections.

For example, the maps give an advantage to incumbents like Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis compared to the prior plan that made her more vulnerable to former Rep. Max Rose, a Democrat waging a comeback bid for New York's 11th Congressional District.

At the same time, they create more competition than what had previously been the case. In addition to a possible Nadler versus Maloney contest, the maps would create four more districts that could pit multiple incumbents against each other.