FRI brief 4.29.22

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Today’s Stories

NEW YORK’s newly drawn Redistricting maps have been thrown out by a panel of (Democrat) judges. This is likely to have national implications.

There’s already been coverage of what the NY decision means for Congressional redistricting.

TL,DR version: The GOP probably nets between 2 and 4 seats. Incumbent Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis (Rino) - Brooklyn/Staten Island) is perhaps the biggest winner.

That’s all well and good.

However, we think the state legislative level, especially the NY Senate, is where this could get interesting. Especially towards the back end of this decade.

During local elections in 2021, the GOP saw success in weird, unexpected places.  Just outside New York City, Nassau County voted Republican at levels “not seen since the 1970s.” The GOP picked up seats on the NY City Council within city limits.

This follows specific “red shoots” that emerged during former president Trump’s re-election bid.

Now, Kathy Hocul’’s (the Democrat who succeeded Andrew Cuomo as Governor) polling numbers are in the tank. All this before another round of redistricting.

For Democrats in New York to have attempted to use redistricting to shore up their power was a (very) wise move. The implications of that failure are not yet fully understood.

Keep an eye on New York towards the back end of this decade.

(Related: Repelled by Progressive Policies, Asian-American New Yorkers look to the other side of the aisle; Chinese voters come out in force for the GOP in NYC;  Queens is More Diverse than ever and more Republican than 20 years ago; New York Democrats keep losing ground with Hispanic and Asian voters; Pretending Problems Don’t Exist Won’t Make them Disappear.) (AC)

Back in Texas, meanwhile, OPERATION LONE STAR was the subject of a legislative propaganda session “oversight hearing.”  At the behest of Abbott, DPS made a bunch of claims that nobody challenged.

The actual status of OLS:

Matthew Yglesias @mattyglesias

April 26th 2022

99 Retweets832 Likes

(Related: Gov. Greg Abbott asks for private donations to bus migrants to D.C)

Abbott doesn’t face credible opposition this November, but OLS would be a more significant drag if he did. (AC)

DENNIS BONNEN and JOE MOODY had a moment.

Joe Moody @moodyforelpaso

Late Night Texas Music: “Tales told of battles won, of things we've done, Caligula would grin.” #txlege

April 28th 2022

5 Retweets25 Likes

Comparing yourself to Caligula, when you are the top two officers in a legislative chamber, isn’t the flex that they think.

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