Florida legislature approves new congressional map that could give Republicans 4 more seats
Florida's state legislature passed a new congressional map on Wednesday that could allow Republicans to flip up to four seats.
It now goes to Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who had proposed it earlier this week after teasing mid-decade redistricting for months. The governor has argued that Florida's population growth and other legal issues meant the state had to redraw its map.
The new map, analysts say, could leave just four Democratic-held districts in the state after the 2026 midterms.
But it's likely to face legal challenges, particularly because the Florida Constitution has what are known as the Fair Districts Amendments, which prohibit drawing congressional districts "with the intent to favor or disfavor a political party or an incumbent" and includes protections for minority voters and keeping districts contiguous.
Representatives for DeSantis have argued that the Fair Districts Amendments, approved by voters in 2010, are faulty.
But Democrats have been adamant that the process of considering the map was rushed, and that the mid-decade redistricting gambit will be found illegal by courts.
"This is a map that is designed and intended to rig outcomes, and to benefit one political party, the Republican Party, Donald Trump's Republican Party, in direct violation of Florida's constitution," Democratic state Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith said on Wednesday ahead of the vote.
Republican Party of Florida Chair Evan Powers said "Florida got it right."
"Governor Ron DeSantis and our Legislature have delivered congressional maps that reflect the continued growth of our state that are fair, and constitutional, ensuring Florida voters are represented accurately," Powers said in a statement on Wednesday.
Some Republican members of Florida’s U.S. House delegation had previously expressed concerns that a map redraw could backfire for the GOP, weakening incumbents while galvanizing Democratic voters.
The passage of Florida's new map came on the same day that the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Louisiana's congressional map as an unconstitutional racial gerrymander and dealt a blow to Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
DeSantis and his team argued that the case and ruling lent credence to Florida redrawing its map.
The new Florida map also comes roughly a week after Republicans faced a loss when Virginia voters approved allowing a new congressional map there that could let Democrats flip up to four seats. The results of that election are currently held up in court.
