![\"Capitol](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2b57bd283cba94771f82ebe6f37aab0edd-Nicole-Malliotakis-2256932711.rsquare.w400.jpg\")
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\n Representative Nicole Malliotakis speak with the press on Capitol Hill on July 2, 2025.
\n Photo: Demetrius Freeman\/The Washington Post\/Getty Images\n <\/p>\n
The U.S. Supreme Court has halted an attempt to redraw New York\u2019s 11th Congressional District, likely ensuring that the city\u2019s lone Republican representative, Nicole Malliotakis<\/a>, will keep her seat through this year\u2019s midterm elections.<\/p>\n On Monday, the Court sided with Malliotakis when it issued an emergency stay of a lower court\u2019s ruling, which dictated that the boundaries of the congresswoman\u2019s district are unconstitutional and need to be redrawn. Late last year, a group of Staten Island voters filed a lawsuit<\/a> alleging that the district, which covers the entire borough and parts of southern Brooklyn, dilutes the voting power of Black and Latino voters by not accounting for the decades-long growth of those populations in Staten Island, thus putting it in violation of the state constitution.\u00a0A State Supreme Court judge ruled in favor of their argument and ordered<\/a> the state\u2019s independent redistricting commission to redraw the district by a February deadline, a process that was put on hold following Malliotakis\u2019s immediate appeal.<\/p>\n Though the Court\u2019s order was brief and offered little explanation, Justice Samuel Alito wrote that the lower court\u2019s ruling ordering the House district to be redrawn \u201cblatantly discriminates on the basis of race.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat is unadorned racial discrimination, an inherently \u2018odious\u2019 activity that violates the Fourteenth Amendment\u2019s Equal Protection Clause except in the \u2018most extraordinary\u2019 case,\u201d Alito wrote.<\/p>\n Justice Sonia Sotomayor<\/a> \u2014 who was joined by the Court\u2019s other two liberal justices, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson<\/a> \u2014 issued a dissenting opinion, arguing that the Court should not intervene before the state\u2019s highest court has had a chance to weigh in on the matter itself.<\/p>\n \u201cIf this Court\u2019s grasping reach extends even to a nonfinal decision of a state trial court, then every decision from any court is now fair game. By granting these applications, the Court thrusts itself into the middle of every election-law dispute around the country, even as many States redraw their congressional maps ahead of the 2026 election. It also In a statement<\/a>, Malliotakis praised the Court\u2019s decision, saying the ruling \u201chelps restore the public\u2019s confidence in our judicial system and proves the challenge to our district lines was always meritless.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI 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. Whether I serve another term in Congress is a decision for the voters, not Democrat party bosses and their high-priced lawyers,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Though the Court\u2019s stay is only in effect temporarily, while legal challenges continue in the state courts, the move likely takes Malliotakis\u2019s district off the board for redistricting ahead of the midterms, striking a blow to House Democrats looking to expand their representation in the chamber. Democrats had hoped to merge Malliotakis\u2019s heavily Republican district with bluer territory, making the three-term congresswoman more vulnerable to a general-election challenger.<\/p>\n Speculation had grown about whether a more competitive 11th Congressional District would appeal to Representative Dan Goldman<\/a>, who represents the neighboring Tenth Congressional District and is facing a significant primary challenge from former comptroller Brad Lander<\/a>. The former federal prosecutor acknowledged the Supreme Court\u2019s decision, reaffirming his plans to run for reelection in his home district. \u201cNY-10 is my home, and it is my honor to fight for my neighbors every single day in Congress. With our most fundamental rights on the line, I look forward to earning reelection to enact a truly bold, progressive agenda, make New York City more affordable for working families, defend our democracy and the rule of law, and hold Donald Trump and his cronies accountable for their lawlessness,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Lander, who would\u2019ve had a far easier path to victory if Goldman switched districts, also reemphasized his commitment to his congressional bid in a statement<\/a>. \u201cOnce again the MAGA Supreme Court justices have put partisan politics over impartial justice. But now the race for NY-10 is set. We\u2019re up against an AIPAC-aligned multimillionaire who bought his seat, and we\u2019re building a people\u2019s movement to take it back,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Sign Up for the Intelligencer\u00a0Newsletter<\/p>\n Daily news about the politics, business, and technology shaping our world.<\/p>\n Vox Media, LLC Terms and Privacy Notice<\/p>\n
invites parties searching for a sympathetic ear to file emergency applications directly with this Court, without even bothering to ask the state courts first,\u201d Sotomayor wrote.<\/p>\n