House Democrats scramble after redistricting lessens competitive edge

In the November midterm election, Republicans need to net only five seats to regain the House majority, a possibility that is likely given the historic trend of a first-term president’s party losing in the midterm election.Even with the map changes this month, independent analysts say that Democrats remain competitive nationwide after adding three new districts more favorable to Biden versus the current lines that were drawn in 2010. Redistricting, however, has eliminated 18 competitive seats according to a Washington Post analysis, making it less likely that either party can have more of an edge in future races.How redistricting is shaping the 2022 U.S. House mapDemocrats were hoping that new congressional maps, especially in predominantly blue states like New York, could make up for likely losses in swing districts. Democratic leaders in states like California, Colorado and Oregon established independent commissions to more transparently draw new district lines that they hoped would be less partisan and more representative — but doing so seems to have put the party at a disadvantage given that Republicans in several states, including DeSantis, were still determined to draw maps as favorably as possible for their party.The courts have been a check on those sorts of efforts, and Democrats notched some early wins — which have since been reversed. Many New York Democrats are angry with Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.) as well as Jonathan Cervas, a redistricting expert and the “special master” who drew the latest map, which initially placed eight Democrats’ homes outside their current districts and forced two member-on-member primaries.In 2014, New York voters overwhelmingly passed a ballot initiative intended to make redistricting less partisan. I’ll be running in mine,” he said.Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) defended Maloney at a news conference Thursday, telling reporters she remains “very proud” of him and declining to get involved in any of the races.Several House members privately expressed their frustration toward leaders, particularly Pelosi for not twisting some members’ arms about whether it’s worth challenging certain incumbents.Jones made a surprising announcement shortly after the judge’s finalized map was made public: Rather than defend his home turf in the Hudson Valley from Maloney, Jones said he has decided to seek reelection in the new 10th Congressional District, which envelopes Lower Manhattan and parts of liberal Brooklyn.