Ron DeSantis just dropped a Florida congressional map that could change the math in Washington.

The new proposal would push Florida from a 20 Republican, 8 Democratic House delegation on paper to a 24 Republican, 4 Democratic map if lawmakers approve it and it survives the legal fight everyone knows is coming.

That is the kind of move that can matter in a narrow House majority.

Fox News:

Fox’s report says DeSantis unveiled a new redistricted congressional map for Florida that would give Republicans an opportunity to gain four additional House seats. The map still has to move through Florida’s Republican-controlled Legislature, then return to the governor for signature before it can apply to the 2026 midterms. The current Florida delegation includes 20 Republicans and seven Democrats, with one additional Democratic-leaning seat vacant after the resignation of former Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick.

DeSantis framed the proposal as a representation issue, pointing to Florida’s population growth, the state’s Republican voter-registration advantage and his objection to race-based districting. Fox also reported that a source familiar with the governor’s map said the plan was not simply a reaction to Virginia’s redistricting fight. The source described the governor as focused on Florida’s changing population and demographics. In practical terms, the proposed map would consolidate GOP-leaning areas and leave only four Democratic-favored districts in a state that sends 28 members to the U.S. House, making Florida a central test case in the national redistricting battle.

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DeSantis gave Fox a blunt explanation, saying Florida was shortchanged in the 2020 Census and that the state has moved to a 1.5 million Republican registration advantage.

Democrats are already calling it a power grab. Republicans are looking at the calendar and the House count.

Dave Wasserman at The Cook Political Report flagged the obvious caveat: a 24-4 map does not mean every one of those 24 Republican seats would be safe in a rough midterm environment.

That is the gamble. Stretch the map too far and you can make more seats winnable, but also less secure.

ABC News:

ABC’s coverage says the DeSantis proposal is another major volley in the mid-decade redistricting battle that began after Texas, California and other states moved to redraw congressional lines outside the usual once-a-decade census cycle. ABC reports that the map supplied by the governor’s office appears designed to flip up to four Democratic-held seats, but also notes that the plan will have to pass the Legislature and likely survive court challenges before it can be used in November.

The legal pressure point is Florida’s Fair Districts Amendments, which restrict maps drawn to favor a party or incumbent. ABC notes that DeSantis’s general counsel argued the amendments themselves may be unconstitutional because they require race-conscious districting. Election-law experts quoted in the broader coverage expect challenges over whether the map complies with the state constitution. Strategically, the report says some Republicans worry the effort could backfire if safer GOP districts are weakened in order to make Democratic seats more competitive. That is why the proposal is both aggressive and risky.

The Florida Legislature is expected to take up the proposal during a special session.

News4JAX:

News4JAX, citing News Service of Florida reporting, says DeSantis’s office formally submitted the map to lawmakers on Monday before the special session. The report says House and Senate committees are set to review the proposal, with a likely floor vote to follow quickly. The map would affect districts in Central and South Florida and could flip several seats now represented by Democrats if approved and implemented.

The local report also focuses on the legal memo from DeSantis general counsel David Axelman. According to that account, Axelman argued that the race-related components of Florida’s Fair Districts framework cannot be separated from the rest of the amendment package. The report says Senate President Ben Albritton had already reminded members that Florida’s constitution places limits on what lawmakers can consider during redistricting. Democrats blasted the map as partisan. The governor’s side argues the current map no longer fits Florida’s growth, registration changes and legal landscape.

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This is why the Florida fight matters beyond Florida.

Texas, California, Virginia and now Florida are all part of the same national redistricting war. Both parties are trying to lock in whatever advantage they can before voters go back to the polls in November.

If DeSantis gets this through and courts allow it, Republicans could walk into the midterms with a much stronger Florida firewall.

If it backfires, Democrats will say he got greedy.

Either way, Florida just became one of the biggest map fights in the country.

This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport. View the original article here.
 

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