New York Judge Signs Off On Democrat Effort To Eliminate GOP House Seat

Democrats scored a major win Wednesday evening after a Manhattan judge ruled Republican New York Rep. Nicole Malliotakis’ district is unconstitutional and must be redrawn ahead of November’s midterm elections.

Democratic firm Elias Law Group, led by high-profile election lawyer Marc Elias, argued that Malliotakis’ district covering all of Staten Island and parts of southern Brooklyn eroded Latino and black New Yorkers’ voting power. Acting New York State Supreme Court Justice Jeffrey Pearlman, an appointee of Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, ruled that the state’s independent redistricting commission must redraw the district by Feb. 6.

“Petitioners have shown through testimony and by empirical data that the history of discrimination against minority voters in CD-11 still impacts those communities today,” Pearlman wrote, adding that the current configuration is a “contributing factor” to the disenfranchisement of minority voters.

Malliotakis, a Latina who spoke Spanish at home growing up, has notably represented New York’s 11th district since 2021. She trounced her Democratic opponent by nearly 30 points in 2024. The district as currently drawn voted for President Donald Trump by 24 points that year. Staten Island is solidly Republican while the segment of southern Brooklyn in her district is more moderate-leaning.

It is unclear how significantly the redistricting commission will redraw the Republican-leaning district, but Democrats argued the seat should include deep-blue Lower Manhattan, which could complicate Malliotakis’ path to reelection.