Rep. Nicole Malliotakis vows to fight the redrawing of the 11th District map lines. Here's what she claims.
New York City Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis is vowing to fight an attempt to hurt her reelection chances.
The Staten Island Republican called a court filing meritless after it found the lines of the 11th District, which she represents, were unconstitutional.
"They want to change the map to prevent a Republican from ever being elected"
The Verrazzano Bridge connects Staten Island and Brooklyn, the two parts of Malliotakis' current district. Even though there is a ferry to Manhattan, she says there's no connection between Staten Island and Lower Manhattan communities like Battery Park and Greenwich Village, which is how a new court decision would redraw her district.
"They wanted to add more white liberals from Manhattan to take out me, the first Hispanic to actually represent the district. That's how ludicrous this lawsuit was," Malliotakis said.
- Read more: Nicole Malliotakis, NYC's lone House Republican, on gerrymandering, the mayor's race and more
The judge ruled Malliotakis' current district is unconstitutional because it diluted the votes of minorities, and ordered the map be redrawn by Feb. 6. The decision came after Democrats filed a lawsuit trying to enhance their chances of taking control of the House of Representatives next fall.
Malliotakis told CBS News New York she will fight the ruling tooth and nail, even if she has to appeal all the way to the Supreme Court.
"They're trying to tilt the scale, despite the fact that they already have a voter registration advantage. They want to change the map to prevent a Republican from ever being elected, not only here in this district but in the city of New York," Malliotakis said.
"It doesn't pass the laugh test"
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said the New York case is an attempt to fend off Republican gerrymandering in states like Florida and Texas.
"This is not going to end well for Donald Trump Republicans and the extremists," Jeffries said.
Political expert J.C. Polanco said Malliotakis is raising some important issues.
"How do you throw in Battery Park City and the Village and Lower Manhattan in full and tell me that they have more in common with Staten Island than Dyker Heights and Bay Ridge? It doesn't pass the laugh test," said Polanco, a professor at the University of Mount Saint Vincent in the Bronx.
