ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has approved a Democrat-drawn congressional map that gives the party a modest boost in a few battleground districts. That step taken Wednesday is expected to help the party’s candidates in a heavily contested election year when House races in the state could determine control of Congress. Lawmakers in the Democrat-dominated statehouse approved the mapping bill on Wednesday in both the Senate and Assembly. Hochul signed it hours later. The lines are similar to the existing congressional map and a proposal drawn by the state’s bipartisan redistricting commission, far from the aggressive partisan gerrymander many expected after Democrats took control of the redistricting process.
