NEW: GOP Scores Major Victory At Supreme Court

The Supreme Court handed Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis a major win Monday, blocking an attempt to redraw her Staten Island-based district in a way that would have boosted Democrats ahead of the midterms.

The high court stepped in after Malliotakis challenged a January ruling from a New York state judge that would have forced the state’s redistricting commission to overhaul the 11th Congressional District. The congresswoman warned the move amounted to a “racial gerrymander” that would throw “New York’s elections into chaos.”

“Today’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to keep New York’s 11th Congressional District intact helps restore the public’s confidence in our judicial system and proves the challenge to our district lines was always meritless,” Malliotakis told the Daily Caller News Foundation in a statement. “The plaintiffs in this case attempted to manipulate our state’s courts to use race as a weapon to rig our elections. That was wrong and, as demonstrated by today’s ruling, clearly unconstitutional.”

Malliotakis’ district, which covers all of Staten Island and swaths of southern Brooklyn, is the lone Republican-held seat in New York City. Democrats had eyed the district as a top pickup opportunity, and the proposed redraw would have tilted the lines in their favor.

The state court order came from Justice Jeffrey Pearlman, an appointee of Gov. Kathy Hochul, who ruled the current map diluted the voting strength of Black and Latino residents and directed the commission to redraw it.

RELATED: Supreme Court Justice Rumored To Be Considering Retirement

Malliotakis, 45, the daughter of Cuban and Greek immigrants who grew up speaking Spanish at home, has leaned into her background as a member of the Congressional Hispanic Conference. She first won election to the state Assembly in 2012 and ousted a Democratic incumbent to capture the congressional seat in 2020.

“Unfortunately, the politicization of New York’s courts and its judges necessitated action from the nation’s highest court. 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,” the congresswoman added in her statement to the DCNF. “Whether I serve another term in Congress is a decision for the voters, not Democrat party bosses and their high-priced lawyers.”

In a written opinion, Justice Samuel Alito said the state order mandating a redraw “blatantly discriminates on the basis of race.”

The court’s liberal bloc dissented. Justice Sonia Sotomayor pushed back, writing, “Time and again, this court has said that federal courts should not meddle with state election laws ahead of an election. Today, the court says: except for this one, except for this one, and except for this one.”

RELATED: Trump Floats GOP Senator For Supreme Court

The decision marks a setback for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who has pledged to counter Republican-led redistricting efforts in states like Texas with mid-cycle map changes in blue states.

New York Democrats already faced scrutiny in 2022 when state courts struck down a Hochul-backed congressional map as gerrymandered “with impermissible partisan purpose.”

Malliotakis currently faces no primary challenger ahead of the June 23 GOP contest. On the Democratic side, Michael DeCillis, Troy McGhie, and Umar Usman are vying for the nomination to take her on in November.

The Cook Political Report rates the 11th District as “Solid Republican.” President Donald Trump carried the district by 24 percentage points in 2024, underscoring the uphill climb Democrats would face even with friendlier lines.

The ruling also lands as Democratic efforts to redraw Maryland’s lone Republican-held congressional seat remain stalled. Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson has declined to advance what he has described as a “catastrophic” mid-cycle redistricting plan, leaving Jeffries’ broader strategy in limbo.

Download the FREE Trending Politics App to get the latest news FIRST >>