Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has rolled out a proposed congressional map that his team says could net Republicans more House seats. The map the Republican governor revealed Monday could give the party four additional seats, on top of the state's current 20–7 GOP edge, with one Democratic seat vacant, Fox News reports. DeSantis says the new map "more fairly represents the makeup of Florida today." The Republican-led legislature must first sign off; if it does, the map would be in place for the November midterms. The Democrats in danger of losing their seats include Rep. Kathy Castor, whose district, which includes much of Tampa, is being cut "pinwheel style into several different seats," per Florida Politics.
DeSantis argues the changes reflect Florida's fast-growing, increasingly Republican population. He claims Florida "got shortchanged in the 2020 Census" and says race-based districting "which is reflected in our current congressional districts, is unconstitutional and should be prohibited." A source aligned with the governor tells Fox that the plan has been in the works independent of Virginia's recent Democratic-friendly redistricting push, which is projected to flip multiple GOP-held seats there. Florida lawmakers are expected to approve the map in a special session this week, though there could be legal issues because the state constitution prohibits political maps that show an "intent" of favoring one party, NBC 6 reports.
National Democrats aren't buying the Florida move as mere housekeeping: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries blasted it as a partisan "dummymander" and warned Republicans could pay a political price. DeSantis responded by inviting Jeffries to campaign in Florida, saying nothing would help the state GOP more. House Speaker Mike Johnson backs the effort. "Florida has the right and the intention to do it," he said last week. "And my view is that they should."
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