President Donald Trump\u2019s yearlong effort to redraw congressional districts ahead of the 2026 midterms has not gone as planned. But Republicans have one last mid-decade redistricting battleground on the table: Florida.<\/p>\n
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At the urging of Gov. Ron DeSantis, Florida state lawmakers will gather in Tallahassee next week for a special legislative session to consider redrawing the state\u2019s 28 congressional districts \u2014 a move that could lead to between two and five new GOP-leaning seats. But it has drawn opposition<\/a> from many in his own party because of concerns it could dilute existing Republican-held seats to the point where the party could lose incumbents in the fall.<\/p>\n That reflects a gloomy political environment for Republicans at the moment. So far, even the Trump-led mid-decade redistricting cycle has disappointed the White House.<\/p>\n After the president pushed GOP-leaning Texas to redraw congressional lines last year, a handful of Democratic-led states also redrew their maps. The back-and-forth makes it likely that neither party nets more than a handful of seats through redistricting, no matter what happens in Florida.<\/p>\n National Democrats have already highlighted Florida as Trump\u2019s last stand on redistricting this year. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters earlier this week that his party will be targeting Florida seats during the midterms, something that has not been the case in recent election cycles.<\/p>\n \u201cOur message to Florida Republicans is, \u2018F around and find out,\u2019\u201d Jeffries said.<\/p>\n DeSantis shot back, needling Democrats over their poor brand in Florida.<\/p>\n \u201c\u2018We\u2019re going to go after Florida.\u2019 Please, be my guest,\u201d DeSantis said of Jeffries earlier this week. \u201cI will pay for you to come down to Florida and campaign. I\u2019ll put you up in the Florida governor\u2019s mansion. We\u2019ll take you fishing.\u201d<\/p>\n Readying for redistricting battle<\/p>\n Florida\u2019s state constitution expressly prohibits the passage of any political map that shows \u201cintent\u201d of favoring one party over the other.<\/p>\n That makes the legal hurdles in Florida \u2014 which would be the eighth state to redraw a congressional map ahead of the midterms \u2014 much different than in other states, where lawmakers involved in redistricting openly talked about picking up more House seats for their party. In Florida, though, that sort of talk could become part of legal challenges.<\/p>\n Democrats and opponents of the redistricting effort will almost certainly file additional legal challenges when the maps are passed, under the idea they were part of a politically driven attempt to pad Republicans\u2019 slim House majority.<\/p>\n Republicans, however, remain unfazed by the legal threats, arguing that the current maps include vestiges of a Democratic-drawn map approved by the courts in 2012. They are trying, they say, to right a redistricting wrong rather than make any sort of overt political move.<\/p>\n \u201cThe current maps have vestiges of the DCCC map imposed by the courts a decade ago,\u201d said Florida GOP Chairman Evan Power. \u201cRecent court rulings say we don\u2019t have to draw districts that way anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNow, we can draw fair and compact districts to empower voters to choose the representation they want,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Florida\u2019s current congressional maps were also largely drawn by DeSantis and approved by GOP lawmakers just a few years ago. Republicans won a 20-8 advantage in the Florida delegation under those lines.<\/p>\n DeSantis\u2019 redistricting push has already drawn legal challenges from a group of state voters led by well-known Democratic attorney Marc Elias, who filed a lawsuit claiming the governor had overstepped his authority when he called for a special session on redrawing lines.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Governor\u2019s powers are defined by Florida\u2019s Constitution \u2014 which does not confer unilateral authority to bind the Legislature into passing legislation,\u201d the lawsuit says<\/a>.<\/p>\n A group called No Partisan Maps has also said it will hold protests at Florida\u2019s state Capitol on Tuesday to mark the start of the redistricting special session.<\/p>\n Intraparty conflict<\/p>\n DeSantis is facing significant pushback from fellow Republicans, most notably from members of the congressional delegation, who are concerned that redistricting could dilute the GOP vote in ways that could put some districts in play in the midterms, as Democrats have shown early momentum in special elections.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t do it. I\u2019ve said it from the beginning,\u201d Rep. Daniel Webster, R-Fla., told Punchbowl News<\/a> earlier this month. \u201cI\u2019ve been around enough reapportionments to know it\u2019s a slippery slope.\u201d<\/p>\n Longtime Republican consultant Karl Rove on Friday also warned<\/a> that Florida Republicans should not overreach.<\/p>\n \u201cRight now, the Democrats are ahead. If Florida moves like it can, the Republicans will at least be even,\u201d Rove told \u201cFox & Friends,\u201d analyzing the national redistricting state of play to date. \u201cBut there\u2019s a risk there, because what they\u2019re going to do is they\u2019re going to have to take Republican votes out of Republican districts and put them into Democrat districts, and that\u2019s going to lower the numbers for some incumbent Republicans, and they may lose a seat or two.\u201d<\/p>\n DeSantis also has problems with lawmakers in his own GOP-dominated Legislature, many of whom have been openly feuding with the governor since his failed 2024 presidential bid.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is no one that wants to do this here,\u201d said a Republican state representative, who was granted anonymity to speak freely about their opposition to the Republican governor\u2019s plans. \u201cThis is a DeSantis-driven ship. I don\u2019t think there is any doubt about that. We will see how it goes.\u201d<\/p>\n Five Republican state lawmakers interviewed by NBC News shared the sentiment, with most saying there is a general apathy among legislators about passing congressional maps that don\u2019t directly impact them.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I had to guess, as long as the maps are not too egregious, I think we will vote to pass,\u201d said another. \u201cBut don\u2019t mistake that for anyone caring or really supporting the idea.\u201d<\/p>\n Still, there is increased pressure on Florida Republicans to do something after Virginia voters approved a plan<\/a> that could see Democrats pick up four House seats in the state.<\/p>\n \u201cFlorida has the right and the intention to do it,\u201d House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters this week. \u201cAnd my view is that they should.\u201d<\/p>\n