DeSantis' congressional map likely to pass in Florida, boosting U.S. Republicans

Florida lawmakers are expected to approve a new congressional map proposed by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis in a special legislative session this week, a move that would give his party a boost in the November elections. Republican legislative leaders have said they do not intend to consider alternatives to DeSantis' map, despite objections from Democrats and civil rights activists that the map illegally discriminates against Black voters and favors Republican candidates.

Florida lawmakers are expected to approve a new congressional map proposed by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis in a special legislative session this week, a move that would give his party a boost in the November elections.

Republican legislative leaders have said they do not intend to consider alternatives to DeSantis' map, despite objections from Democrats and civil rights activists that the map illegally discriminates against Black voters and favors Republican candidates. The governor vetoed a Republican-drawn map last month and called for the special session that opened on Tuesday.

"He wants to take us back to a time when rigging districts for political gain and running roughshod over minority voters was permitted in Florida," state Senator Rosalind Osgood, a Black Democrat, said at a rally Tuesday morning. Florida is one of three states that have not completed their once-a-decade congressional redistricting, which is typically controlled by lawmakers. The practice of manipulating district lines to help one party expand power is known as partisan gerrymandering.

DeSantis' map would likely give Republicans control of 20 of the state's 28 districts, up from the current 16-11 split, according to Dave Wasserman, a redistricting expert at the Cook Political Report. Florida is adding a 28th district this year due to population growth. That outcome would erase any gains Democrats had hoped to secure via their own maps in New York and Illinois, as well as a series of favorable court decisions. In an analysis published this week, Wasserman estimated that Democrats would emerge from the redistricting cycle with a net gain of zero or one seat.

Republicans need to flip only five seats nationally to retake control of the U.S. House of Representatives in November's midterm elections, which would enable the party to block much of Democratic President Joe Biden's agenda. DeSantis' map would also likely reduce the state's number of Black Congress members from four to two, drawing accusations of racism from several Black lawmakers.

Advocacy groups have said the proposal runs afoul of a state constitutional amendment that voters approved in 2010, which banned districts drawn for partisan benefit and outlawed any map that denies minority voters an equal opportunity to elect representatives. DeSantis, who is widely seen as a leading 2024 Republican presidential hopeful, has said his proposal is "race-neutral" and that the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled race cannot be the sole consideration when creating districts.

If the map is approved, it is likely to prompt legal challenges in both state and federal court. Florida's primary election takes place on Aug. 23.