TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida’s Republican-controlled House is holding the first meeting of its select committee on congressional redistricting Thursday, as the state becomes the latest to consider redrawing electoral maps amid a partisan battle for every edge in next year’s midterm elections.
The national wave of redistricting efforts was instigated by President Donald Trump, who hopes to buck the historical trend of the president’s party losing seats in midterms, and his allies are wagering that his adopted home state could yield three to five more seats for Republicans. Each seat is crucial, because Democrats need a net gain of just three to control the chamber.
But the push for redistricting faces major challenges in Florida due to bitter infighting between Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and leaders in the GOP-dominated Legislature, along with a provision in the state Constitution that explicitly bars redrawing maps with the intent to “favor or disfavor a political party or an incumbent.”
DeSantis has voiced support for redistricting and even called for a redo of the 2020 U.S. census, claiming that Florida was shortchanged in the count, which determines how many congressional seats each state gets.
“We are going to press this issue,” DeSantis said in August.
This week, in an interview with online outlet The Floridian, DeSantis floated the possibility of calling lawmakers back in a special session if they do not get redistricting done in the regular session, which is scheduled for Jan. 13 to March 13.
The state Senate has declined to wade into the fray so far.
Senate President Ben Albritton, also a Republican, has said there is “no ongoing work” on the matter in his chamber, citing the governor’s desire to address it in the spring.
Civil liberties and voting rights organizations say any redistricting for partisan gain in Florida is unconstitutional, and their supporters plan to pack committee meetings to voice opposition.
“To redraw the lines for partisan reasons is illegal. Period, full stop,” said Genesis Robinson, executive director of the voter engagement organization Equal Ground.
Florida has 28 congressional seats, with a Republican-Democratic split of 20-8.
Nationwide, midcycle redistricting has resulted in nine more congressional seats that Republicans believe they can win and six that Democrats think they can win. The redistricting is being litigated in several states, however, and there is also no guarantee that the parties will win the remapped seats.
___
Kate Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
