House Editor David Wasserman writes: If California's radical new districts and top-two primary system have ensured the biggest shakeup in the west, New York's new court-drawn Congressional map, earlier than usual June primary, and "fusion" balloting system could be the East's chaotic answer. New York lost two House seats in reapportionment, and while the decisions of Democratic Rep. Maurice Hinchey and GOP Rep. Bob Turner to forgo reelection quashed the possibility of member vs. member races, a majority of New York's 27 Congressional races feature interesting primaries or general elections. While four Democrats and four Republicans face competitive races in November, Democratic Rep. Tim Bishop (NY-01) and Republican Rep. Michael Grimm (NY-11) stand out as the only Downstate targets.
With Democrats poised to make big redistricting-generated gains in the home states of Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (California) and President Obama (Illinois), there has been considerable pressure on DCCC Chair Rep. Steve Israel (NY-03) to help Democrats emerge from his home state with a similar seat haul. Israel has warned that thanks to the new map, there's "no such thing as
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