Supreme Court preserves only GOP-held congressional district in New York City for 2026 elections

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday sided with Republicans in ruling that the boundaries of the only GOP-held congressional district in New York City do not not need to be redrawn for the 2026 elections, despite a court ruling that the district is unfair to Black and Hispanic residents.

Over the dissent of the court's three liberal justices, the conservative majority halted the state court ruling that had ordered New York's redistricting commission to redraw the district held by Rep. Nicole Malliotakis that covers Staten Island and a small piece of Brooklyn.

The outcome is a victory for Republicans in a national tug-of-war over redistricting that could determine control of the closely divided House of Representatives. Republicans currently hold a razor-thin majority.

New York Republicans and the Trump administration had sought the high court's intervention. Qualifying for congressional elections in New York began last week.

A judge had ruled that the district was drawn in a way that dilutes the power of its Black and Hispanic voters and had ordered the state’s Independent Redistricting Commission to complete a new map.

The court did not explain its rationale, as is typical in emergency appeals. But Justice Samuel Alito wrote that the judge's ruling under New York's constitution amounted to “unadorned racial discrimination” in violation of the U.S. Constitution.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor objected to the Supreme Court's decision to step into the case now, though she did not defend the ruling that has been challenged.

“Time and again, this Court has said that federal courts should not meddle with state election laws ahead of an election. ... Ignoring every limit on federal courts’ authority, the Court takes the unprecedented step of staying a state trial court’s decision in a redistricting dispute on matters of state law without giving the State’s highest court a chance to act,” Sotomayor wrote, joined by her two liberal colleagues.

Malliotakis praised the high court for halting what she said was an attempt “to manipulate our state’s courts to use race as a weapon to rig our elections.”

“I thank the Justices who stopped the voters on Staten Island and in Southern Brooklyn from being stripped of their ability to elect a representative who reflects their values,” she said in a statement.

The dispute in New York is part of the redistricting battle that was spurred by President Donald Trump when he urged Republicans in Texas to redraw the state’s congressional districts for political gain. Democrats countered with their own gerrymandering in California. More states soon followed.

The Supreme Court has allowed the new maps in California and Texas to be used in this year’s elections, even as court challenges continue.

In New York, a law firm affiliated with Democrats had argued that the Staten Island district should be reshaped by excising the small section in Brooklyn and replacing it with a chunk of Lower Manhattan. The swap would have taken some Republican-leaning neighborhoods out of the district and replaced them with areas where President Donald Trump lost to former Vice President Kamala Harris by more than 50 points in 2024.

While a state judge declined to impose the map they requested, he ruled change was needed to give more voting power to the growing population of Black and Hispanic residents on Staten Island.

The judge left the decision on how to redraw the state's congressional maps to New York's bipartisan redistricting commission, which had yet to produce any proposals.

New York State Republican Party Chairman Ed Cox praised the Supreme Court order and criticized Gov. Kathy Hochul and other Democratic leaders for allowing the case to proceed.