Newly drawn congressional maps with significant changes to the state’s 3rd District were approved by a state Supreme Court judge on Friday night.

Patrick McAllister, the state Supreme Court judge who approved the newly-drawn maps, previously rejected maps drawn up by Democratic officials, saying they were “unconstitutionally drawn with political bias.”

Some of the changes in the previously approved congressional maps included the state’s 3rd District stretching into parts of the Bronx and Westchester counties.

While the 3rd District under the new proposal doesn’t extend as far West into the Bronx and Westchester counties, it does stretch to more southern parts of Nassau County such as Hicksville and Massapequa. The new lines do exclude the parts of the district that stretch into Suffolk County, mainly Huntington and Smithtown.

An analysis from Politico shows that the newly-drawn 3rd Congressional District is incorporating some of the more Republican areas in terms of voting breakdowns from the 2020 Presidential election.

The vote margin for the current 3rd District is +10.5 in favor of Joe Biden, compared to the newly-drawn lines having it as a +8.5 vote margin in favor of Biden.

Joshua Lafazan, a Nassau County Legislator and Democratic candidate for the 3rd Congressional District, said he was pleased with the newly-drawn lines and reiterated his priorities on what he plans to advocate if elected.

“I am happy with the new lines of congressional district 3,” Lafazan said in a statement. “I have been serving and delivering for the people of Nassau as a school board member and county legislator and I am excited to go to Congress and fight for Long Island to have affordable and accessible healthcare, lower taxes, enact common-sense gun laws and curb out of control inflation.”

Jon Kaiman, a former supervisor for the Town of North Hempstead and another Democratic candidate in the 3rd Congressional District race, also said he was “encouraged” by the newly-drawn maps and his campaign “continues to move full speed ahead.”

“As a U.S. Representative for the 3rd Congressional District, I will continue to prioritize government reform and deliver resources directly to the people of Long Island and Queens,” Kaiman said.

The election’s most notable Republican candidate, George Santos, said the newly drawn lines make the 3rd District “stronger” and “fairer,” reiterating his desire to keep a more secure border, prioritize the well-being of veterans and combat inflation.

“I am ready to make you all proud and bring much-needed change to Washington D.C in the 118th congress,” Santos said in a statement. “The road ahead is not easy but we will band together through this journey and with your vote, we will come out victorious on November 8th. I look forward to meeting the people of the newly added areas and to strengthening my relationships with our newly added communities.”

Melanie D’Arrigo, another candidate on the race’s Democratic ballot, said that the 3rd District will always be home to her, regardless of what the newly-drawn lines indicate.

“With the stakes this high, it’s not enough to elect just any Democrat,” D’Arrigo said in a statement. “We need to elect better Democrats — the kind who remember our FDR roots, who lead with conviction, and who will stand up for all people.”

Evan Chernack, the campaign manager for fellow Democratic candidate Robert Zimmerman, said the lines will result in a “much more competitive general election.”

“You can rest assured that while our district may look different, our campaign remains as committed as ever to fighting for the people NY-03,” Chernack said in a letter.

No major redistricting changes were featured in the 4th Congressional District, which includes central and southern Nassau County, including Floral Park, Garden City, Hempstead, Mineola, Carle Place, New Hyde Park and Westbury. The vote margin for Joe Biden increased from +12.4 to +14.8 under the new maps, according to Politico.

A total of 15 of the state’s 26 congressional districts had vote totals from the 2020 Presidential election shift to being more in favor to Republicans, according to Politico.

The maps were submitted by a court-appointed “special master” and have been viewed as more neutral compared to ones that were rejected by a state appeals court several weeks ago.

Dave Wasserman, a national elections analyst with the Cook Political Report, told The New York Times that “Democrats could lose a lot of ground this fall and that could drive a stake through their hopes of keeping the House majority.”