Former CNN anchor John Avlon announced Wednesday that he was joining the busy June Democratic primary to take on New York Rep. Nick LaLota, a Long Island Republican who represents a constituency that Joe Biden narrowly carried in 2020. None of the candidates, though, can be sure what the 1st Congressional District will look like once the Empire State finishes its newest round of redistricting.
Avlon, a longtime media personality who co-founded No Labels in 2010, launched his campaign less than a week after New York's Independent Redistricting Commission approved a new congressional map that made only minimal changes to LaLota's constituency. But the Democratic-run legislature must approve the map before it can take effect, and it remains to be seen whether lawmakers give it the green light.
One New York Democrat who suggested he'd like to see the proposal get rejected is House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who argued last week that the IRC's plan failed to "address many of the flaws in the current map drawn." Even if legislators devise their own lines, however, it's too early to know how, or if, they'd reshape LaLota's seat.
Avlon is by no means the only challenger who isn't waiting to find out before running for the 1st, which currently includes the eastern and northern portions of Suffolk County. Several other Democrats launched campaigns against LaLota last year, and one familiar name ended 2023 with a big financial advantage over all of her intraparty rivals.
