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<\/p>\nWASHINGTON\u00a0 \u2014 If you closed your eyes at the U.S. Capitol, you might think you had suddenly been transported to the state Capitol in Tallahassee.\u00a0 Democrats on Capitol Hill erupted in anger on Monday as details of a new Congressional district map for Florida finally became public, the latest exchange in an increasingly bitter national redistricting fight.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is blatantly unconstitutional,\u201d U.S. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said of the new Florida map, as Democrats vowed a series of court challenges.\u00a0 \u201cIf Ron DeSantis wants a different map, he should do what Democrats did in California and Virginia, take it to the voters,\u201d Jeffries told reporters.\u00a0 \u201cRon\u2019s problem is he\u2019s afraid of that, so he\u2019s going to try to bully the legislature.\u201d<\/p>\n
Two Democrats seeking the seat of GOP Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar echoed those attacks:<\/p>\n
\u201cCorrupt politicians like Maria Elvira Salazar and her party bosses are hyper focused on rigging the election by changing the districts in a sham process,\u201d said Robin Peguero in a statement. Eliott Rodriguez, who is also hoping to be the Democratic nominee, said Salazar\u2019s \u201ctotal inaction on doing anything to bring relief to the out of control cost of living facing families here in Florida\u2019s 27th is why this district is competitive, no matter how it\u2019s drawn.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
State lawmakers in both parties were busy trying to figure out the exact impact of the new map on their own districts. The biggest outcry came from Democrats, as the map would chop their current eight favorable districts in the Democratic column down to just four, three of them in South Florida. <\/p>\n
One thing\u2019s for sure: Key Biscayne won\u2019t have a say in the state House on any redistricting plan, because House District 113 remains vacant. DeSantis didn\u2019t call a special election when former Rep. Vicki Lopez left her seat to take a spot on the Miami-Dade County Commission. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis map is an absolutely unlawful violation of the Florida Constitution,\u201d said U.S. Rep. Darren Soto, D-Florida, who represents a district in the Orlando area.\u00a0 \u201cThe Legislature should reject it. The courts should strike it down.\u201d<\/p>\n
South Florida Republicans in Congress had said little in recent days about the new map.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I would have left the lines the way they were,\u201d said U.S. Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, R-Miami. \u201cBut if the Governor of the state of Florida and the legislature believes differently, who am I to say?\u201d<\/p>\n
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Pressed by reporters, Salazar refused to criticize DeSantis or President Trump over the GOP efforts to change Congressional maps in Texas and other states \u2013 all in a bid to defeat more Democrats in November.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like my district, I think I\u2019m doing well,\u201d Salazar said just off the U.S. House floor.\u00a0 \u201cIt is what it is.\u00a0 You don\u2019t control it \u2013 you don\u2019t worry about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Also saying very little about redistricting in Tallahassee was U.S. Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Miami.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am not going to talk about redistricting,\u201d Gimenez said several times to reporters. \u201cI\u2019m just going to be safe on this one.\u201d<\/p>\n
Other Florida Republicans said they welcomed any effort to squeeze out more GOP seats in Congress, as they mocked Democrats for claiming that a new district map might make Republicans more vulnerable in November.<\/p>\n
\u201cY\u2019all can\u2019t even win Florida,\u201d U.S. Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Gainesville, tweeted at Democrats.<\/p>\n
But Democrats have been on the offensive after winning a redistricting vote last week in Virginia, which could allow them to flip four GOP-held seats in that state.<\/p>\n
Democrats say if Republicans change the district lines to win more GOP seats in Florida, it might actually be easier for them to defeat a series of incumbents.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will aggressively target for defeat Mario D\u00edaz-Balart, Maria Elvira Salazar, Carlos Gim\u00e9nez, Kat Cammack, Anna Paulina Luna, Laurel Lee, Cory Mills and Brian Mast,\u201d Jeffries vowed.<\/p>\n
The main political action committee for U.S. House Democrats announced last week that it would spend up to $20 million on Congressional races in Florida.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re on offense,\u201d said Jeffries, the top Democrat in the U.S. House.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s our Democratic gift to Ron DeSantis and the Florida Republicans who he is putting in jeopardy.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Jamie Dupree<\/p>\n