Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a new congressional district map into law on Monday, a move that gives Republicans an electoral advantage in four additional races in November's midterm elections. The governor announced the approval on social media, posting on X: "Signed, Sealed, and Delivered," along with a map of the new districts.
With the stroke of a pen, DeSantis has done more to shape the outcome of congressional elections in Florida than any political operative or field organizer. The new map redraws districts around Miami, Orlando, and the Tampa Bay area, slicing communities to benefit Republican candidates.
As an example of the mid-decade redistricting's impact, mapmakers packed reliably Democratic voters around Orlando into a single district, forcing Democratic Representatives Darren Soto and Maxwell Frost to compete for the same constituency. Conversely, the Tampa Bay area is split from two districts into three, shoring up the 13th district for Republicans—currently held by firebrand Trump supporter and influencer Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna—while weakening a left-leaning district held by Democrat Kathy Castor.
Longtime Democratic figure Debbie Wasserman-Schultz has had her seat drawn out from under her, and Miami's Democrats have been packed into three tight coastal districts. Florida's current delegation consists of 20 Republicans and eight Democrats.
Criticism of the redistricting has come from both sides of the aisle. Democrats accuse DeSantis of violating the state's constitution, which includes a plain-language prohibition on partisan gerrymandering passed by popular mandate. Republicans fear the aggressive redraw endangers as many of Florida's GOP representatives as it protects and may backfire.
Immediately after DeSantis's announcement, opponents filed a lawsuit in Leon County challenging the redistricting. The Elias Law Group, which has been challenging redistricting across the country over the past year, filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Equal Ground Education Fund and 18 Florida voters, arguing that the new congressional map is an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander in violation of the Florida constitution's fair districts amendment.
