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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis unveiled a new congressional map proposal on Monday (April 27) that, if approved, could grant Republicans four extra seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Lawmakers will convene in a special session on Tuesday (April 28) to discuss the redistricting proposals in more detail, according to The Hill. The map aims to create a 24-4 Republican majority in the House, drawing four blue, Democrat-held seats in Central and South Florida, while coloring the remaining districts red for Republicans.
Dave Wasserman, senior editor and elections analyst for the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, shared on X that the Democratic lawmakers most at risk from the governor’s map proposal include Reps. Darren Soto, Kathy Castor, Jared Moskowitz, and Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
DeSantis claimed the proposal reflected shifts in Florida’s population since the 2020 Census and the current map doesn’t accurately represent the state’s demographics, according to Newsweek.
“Florida got shortchanged in the 2020 Census, and we’ve been fighting for fair representation ever since,” he said in a statement.
However, some analysts suggest that the gains Republicans expect from the proposal may not be as high as they hope.
Republican strategist Karl Rove told Fox & Friends in an interview Monday that redistricting could make Republicans "lose a seat or two” if the proposal went through.
“If Florida moves like it can, the Republicans will at least be even,” he said. “But there’s a risk there, because what they’re going to do is they’re going to have to take Republican votes out of Republican districts and put them into Democrat districts.”
Kyle Kondik, managing editor for Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics, also suggested on X that the map is more likely to offer Republicans only three seats instead of four.
Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries suggested on X that the Democrats would fight back if the GOP passed the new map. "If Florida Republicans proceed with this illegal scheme, they will only create more prime pick-up opportunities for Democrats, just as they did with Trump’s dummymander in Texas,” he said.
A number of legal challenges are also likely to emerge in response to the proposal. The Florida state constitution specifically bars redistricting on the basis of race, outlining that districts “shall not be drawn with the intent or result of denying or abridging the equal opportunity of racial or language minorities to participate in the political process.”
David Axelman, DeSantis’ general counsel, also wrote in a letter Monday to the state Legislature that the “use of race in redistricting should never happen,” referencing how the U.S. Supreme Court is poised to potentially limit the role of race in redistricting in a pending case at the high court over the Voting Rights Act.
Florida voters also adopted an anti-partisan gerrymandering ballot amendment in 2010.
The new map represents the latest development in a nationwide movement for redistricting ahead of the November midterms, following President Donald Trump’s push last year for Republicans in GOP-led states to redraw district lines to favor the party, starting in Texas.
Following voter approval of a new congressional map in Virginia that favors Democrats, the Circuit Court of the City of Richmond refused to block its implementation amid legal pushback from the Republican National Committee (RNC), according to Democracy Docket.
The suit alleged that the Democrat-controlled Virginia General Assembly exceeded its authority when passing the redistricting amendment, but the court denied the claim, holding that the assembly had plenary authority to do so.
Virginia Supreme Court justices deliberated on Monday whether the state’s assembly complied with constitutional requirements, according to The Associated Press. They had previously placed Tazewell County Circuit Judge Jack Hurley Jr.’s ruling that the amendment was invalid on hold back in January, allowing the vote to proceed.
The court has yet to announce a decision at the time of writing.
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