Hochul vows to explore 'every option' to redraw NY House maps
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) vowed Monday to explore "every option" to redraw the state's congressional maps in response to Texas's midcycle redistricting push.
“There's a phrase, ‘You have to fight fire with fire.’ That is a true statement of how we're feeling right now,” Hochul told reporters alongside New York State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D) and several Texas Democrats.
“And as I've said, another overused but applicable phrase, ‘All’s fair in love and war.’ That's why I'm exploring with our leaders every option to redraw our state congressional lines as soon as possible,” she continued, noting state legislative leaders were “on board.”
“We're already working on a legislative process, reviewing our legal strategies, and we'll do everything in our power to stop this brazen assault,” she added.
Texas state House Democrats fled their state Sunday to deny Republicans a quorum — the minimum number of lawmakers needed in order to conduct business — blocking the House from passing a map that would offer the GOP five additional pickup opportunities. The current maps in Texas already given Republicans a strong partisan advantage.
A Texas House panel had advanced the maps last week, teeing up a vote on the House floor.
Texas Democrats traveled to Illinois, New York and Massachusetts, all of which are Democratic-led states. Speaking to reporters Sunday night, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) said the state would protect Texas Democrats who are facing arrest — in addition to incurring a daily $500 fine — over breaking quorum.
New York, where House maps were struck down by a court in 2022 for giving a partisan advantage to Democrats, faces a conundrum over middecade redistricting.
For one, the Empire State uses a redistricting commission to draw its maps, though they are subject to the state Legislature’s approval. A second issue is that any amendment to the state constitution requires it to be passed in two consecutive sessions before going before voters, meaning New York Democrats wouldn’t be able to change their maps in time for the 2026 cycle.
Hochul acknowledged those constraints, saying, “it is not the timeline that I would have preferred.”
“We're going to also look at litigation strategies,” Hochul said. “We're in close conversations about options there, and so I would say this — we're considering all options right now.”
Hochul notably agreed with the idea that the redistricting commission approved by voters in 2014 should be disbanded or changed.
“I'm tired of fighting this fight with my hand tied behind my back,” she said.
New York is not the only Democratic-led state to explore options over midcycle redistricting in response to Texas's move — California is also weighing several avenues over how to ultimately change its House map. Florida is doing so, too, on the GOP side.