‘Democrats can’t catch a break’: election maps setback spells midterms trouble

New York ruling that 26 congressional districts were illegally distorted deals major blow to party's quest to retain House

New York's highest court on Wednesday dealt national Democrats a major setback in their quest to keep control of the US House, when it struck down the state's 26 congressional districts because they were illegally distorted in favor of Democrats.

New York is critical for Democrats in the decennial process of redrawing congressional districts. The state's 26 seats offer the party one of the richest opportunities to use mapmaking power to their advantage. Democrats currently have a 19-8 advantage in the congressional delegation, but drew a map that gives them three additional seats, increasing their advantage to 22-4 (New York is losing a congressional seat because of population loss). It would give the party 85% of the congressional seats in a state Joe Biden won with about 61% of the vote.