There’s an entirely new Congressional district in New York City that’s attracting a fabulous cast of characters and scads of cash, as the fallout from the state’s newly drawn congressional maps continues.
Those district lines became final on Friday as special master Jonathan Cervas, a Carnegie Mellon University fellow, signed off on his handiwork. He left chaos and misery in his wake — much to the delight of New York Republicans.
“Today is a good day for democracy. Democrats’ scheme to rig the election is finally dead beyond revival,” state GOP Chair Nick Langworthy said in a statement.
That scheme would have given the Democrats up to 21 seats to just five for Republicans, from the Dems’ previous partisan advantage of 19-8. But New York lost a seat in redistricting, and that has thrown several incumbents into cage matches that will give Republicans at least three more seats statewide.
Nowhere is the entertainment going to be better than in the new 10th district that will cover parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Already, two heavyweights have declared their intentions to run for the seat, including former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and current radical Congressman Mondaire Jones, who doesn’t currently live in the district.
Another person eyeing the race is Dawn Smalls, a one-time candidate for the position of public advocate in New York City three years ago. Smalls worked in both the Clinton and Obama White Houses before being appointed to the role as monitor of a global financial company.
“I’m definitely looking at it,” Smalls, who lives in the district, said in a brief phone interview Friday. “I haven’t made a final decision.”
Smalls said she had “no intention of running” until a special master tasked with drawing New York’s congressional lines released draft plans Monday, “and it included my apartment.”
The list of candidates is a long one only a few days after the map was finalized. And it’s only expected to grow as the days go by.
And Daniel Goldman, an attorney who led the first round of House impeachment hearings against former President Donald Trump, is considering a run for the seat as well, according to a person close to him. Goldman — whose interest in the seat was first reported by City & State — is being advised by pollster Jeff Liszt of Impact Research, the person said.
City Councilmember Carlina Rivera has set up a federal election committee ahead of the Aug. 23 primary, and other candidates or hopefuls include Sen. Brad Hoylman as well as Assembly Members Robert Carroll and Jo Anne Simon.
Earlier this week POLITICO reported state Sen. Simcha Felder said he was considering the seat, which includes an Orthodox Jewish section of Brooklyn that he has long represented.
In truth, unless something drastic happens, the front runners are going to be Jones and de Blasio. It should be an interesting match-up. De Blasio polls poorly among wealthy whites — the kind of voters who make up a large part of the new district.
Jones (who is black), on the other hand, won a seat in a largely white suburban district. The race is expected to set spending records, as it’s not cheap to run a congressional race in New York City and both men have extensive donor networks they can tap for cash.
The bottom line is that the new map has dashed all hope for national Democrats to use gains from gerrymandering in New York to offset Republican gerrymanders in Texas and Florida. Regardless of which Democrats come out on top, they will be sitting on the minority side of the House.
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