Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law on May 4 a new congressional map that could add four districts favorable for Republicans ahead of a high-stakes midterm election this year.
“Signed, Sealed, and Delivered,” DeSantis said in a post on X with a map of the new districts in Florida.
Democratic state lawmakers have called the governor’s redistricting effort, which leaves the Tampa Bay area without any Democratic districts, illegal and a hasty attempt to redraw the map ahead of midterms.
Sen. Darryl Rouson (D-Fla.) said during debate on the map last week that it’s "politically motivated.”
Other state lawmakers claim that it’s a violation of their oaths as representatives, saying the map is an illegal attempt to eliminate Democratic seats while strengthening Republicans' chances to widen their majority in Congress.
The Florida House and Senate reviewed and debated the new map for about a day and a half during their special session last week before passing it by both chambers on April 29. The lower chamber advanced it that morning in an 83–28 vote.
One Democratic representative disrupted the House’s proceedings as members voted on the bill, walking up and down the center aisle of the floor, shouting loudly into a bullhorn about the map’s alleged illegality.
State Rep. Yvette Benarroch (R-Fla.), who sat near Democratic Rep. Angela Nixon during her outburst, called the behavior unacceptable.
“Rep. Nixon used a blow horn next to my ear. I had to seek medical attention and am now dealing with possible damage to my ear,” Benarroch wrote in a post on X. “We must do better.”
Despite the commotion, the lower chamber advanced it to the upper chamber. Amid debate and Democratic state senators taking turns berating the map, the Supreme Court ruled that a race-based congressional map in Louisiana was unconstitutional.
Florida’s Senate went on recess to review the high court’s ruling, and DeSantis addressed it in a post on X, saying the decision impacted a district in Florida, which has now been fixed with the state’s new map.
The Sunshine State’s upper chamber eventually passed the map in a 21–17 vote.
DeSantis and other Republicans in the state previously said that the Supreme Court case was one reason why redistricting was brought up in a special session. Proponents of the new map also argued that a sharp increase in population growth was another reason that redistricting was necessary.
Florida has been unfairly represented since the 2020 census, DeSantis previously said, and his state becoming a GOP stronghold warranted redrawing district boundaries.
Republican voters outnumber their counterparts by about 1.5 million in Florida, the governor said.
Florida’s previous map used racial considerations in drawing districts, DeSantis said, which is now deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
“Our new map for 2026 makes good on my promise to conduct mid-decade redistricting, and it more fairly represents the makeup of Florida today,” DeSantis told Fox News.
Other states, such as California and Texas, have also taken steps to redraw districts before midterms later this year.
Voting rights groups and Florida Democrats have vowed to pursue legal avenues to prevent the state’s new districts from taking effect.
Florida’s congressional, state, and gubernatorial primaries are set for Aug. 18, and the general election is Nov. 3.