{"id":250261,"date":"2026-04-28T22:10:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T22:10:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/250261\/"},"modified":"2026-04-28T22:10:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T22:10:11","slug":"florida-republicans-confront-uneasy-reality-with-new-congressional-map","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/250261\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida Republicans confront uneasy reality with new congressional map"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gov. Ron DeSantis\u2019 push to redraw Florida\u2019s congressional map has put the state\u2019s Republican representatives in an awkward spot: defending an openly partisan gerrymander that could put some of their own seats at risk.<\/p>\n

But if Florida\u2019s Republicans in Congress are worried that DeSantis has stretched the map too thin, they\u2019re keeping those concerns to themselves.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy district stayed the same. Not bad, right?\u201d Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar R-Fla., who could be at risk of losing her seat in this fall\u2019s midterms, told reporters hours after the map became public. \u201cI\u2019m used to those lines, so, I\u2019m happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPlay<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

As DeSantis tries to pack the state\u2019s Democrats into just four of the 28 congressional districts \u2014 up from a map where the breakdown is already 20-8 in favor of the GOP \u2014 Republicans are claiming this openly partisan game has nothing to do with politics.<\/p>\n

Rep. John Rutherford, R-Fla., told MS NOW to look at the new districts that were drawn.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are not gerrymandered like the ones in Virginia,\u201d Rutherford said.<\/p>\n

Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., also claimed that the new Florida map wasn\u2019t a gerrymander to help Republicans, scoffing that \u201cwe don\u2019t do that in Florida.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t redistrict based on partisan advantage,\u201d Fine claimed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Never mind that DeSantis\u2019 own map drawer \u2014 Jason Poreda, a senior analyst in the governor\u2019s office \u2014 testified Tuesday<\/a> before the Florida statehouse\u2019s Redistricting Committee that he took partisan splits into account..<\/p>\n

\u201cPartisan or electoral performance was a consideration,\u201d Poreda said.<\/p>\n

Of course, opponents in Florida told MS NOW it\u2019s laughable to argue that politics isn\u2019t the end goal of DeSantis\u2019 map.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo try and explain this as anything other than partisan is absolutely foolish,\u201d said Genesis Robinson, executive director of Equal Ground, an organization opposing the new map and focused on building Black political power in Florida. \u201cThe voters of Florida are sophisticated enough to see a partisan power grab when it\u2019s right there in front of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPlay<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Other Republicans were also more transparent about DeSantis\u2019 political goals.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., who is facing a potentially difficult reelection path<\/a> due to allegations of misconduct<\/a>, said DeSantis\u2019 new map was just a response to Florida getting stiffed in the apportionment of Representatives from the Census. \u201cThe reality is that Texas and Florida was owed a seat in that last census survey. So I think what we\u2019re doing is we\u2019re kind of righting the ship, if you will,\u201d Mills said.<\/p>\n

Normal redistricting happens every 10 years after the Census. But mid-decade redistricting is a major factor these days, with courts often deciding maps and some statehouses and governors moving at their own whims.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some Florida lawmakers tried to sidestep questions about the new map. Even Salazar noted that \u201cI don\u2019t control this process.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI never knew about it,\u201d Salazar continued. \u201cI didn\u2019t know whether my lines were going to go up, down, to the sides, so I have no comments.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rep. Laurel Lee, R-Fla., tried to take a similar approach, telling MS NOW that \u201cthe decision to redistrict is the purview of our state legislature.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really not something that we engage in in Congress,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\tRecommended<\/p>\n

But whether the lawmakers themselves have much of a say over the maps, they\u2019re certainly affected by them.<\/p>\n

Before DeSantis presented his map, Florida Republicans in Congress had been warning that, if the GOP got too greedy, the new map could come back to haunt them.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe legislature needs to be very cognizant of the fact that if they get too aggressive \u2026 you could put incumbent members at risk,\u201d Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., told Politico<\/a> in March.<\/p>\n

Rep. Daniel Webster, R-Fla., also told Politico at the time redistricting was a \u201cslippery slope.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been around enough reapportionments to know it can come back and bite you,\u201d Webster said.<\/p>\n

Just a day after DeSantis released his new map, Webster announced his retirement at the end of this term. The plan moving in Tallahassee would cause Webster\u2019s Orlando-area district to absorb part of the seat held by Democratic Rep. Darren Soto \u2014 including Sea World.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPlay<\/p>\n

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A spokesman in Webster\u2019s office told MS NOW in an email Tuesday that \u201cbetween making calls to House leadership, his team and the White House, I don\u2019t think the congressman has even had an opportunity to go over the maps.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHis decision is not due to redistricting. He intended and was actively running for reelection, but about a month ago his wife suffered a heart attack. Her health now requires him to be home more and given the demands of Congressional service, he cannot both care for her and serve well in DC,\u201d the spokesman said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Still, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., was quick to warn that Republicans trying to spread out Democrats\u2019 voters could hurt the GOP in a year where the left is seeing midterm momentum. Whether the impact could be as far reaching as Jeffries projected, however, remains to be seen.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are deep in the hole, and Florida is not going to make a meaningful difference as it relates to their efforts to rig the midterm elections. That effort has failed. It\u2019s over,\u201d Jeffries said. \u201cAnd what the DeSantis dummymander might lead to in the first instance is that, based on our analysis of the map, there are anywhere between three and five additional seats that Democrats can pick up if we get a turnout that mirrors 2018 or 2020.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

For now, however, Democrats in Florida are just waiting to see if their political futures will be upended.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., said there are three different districts he could run in if the map does become law. But he was also critical of the governor\u2019s office for \u201csaying the state constitution is unconstitutional \u2014 which is definitely a new one.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kevin Frey contributed to this report.<\/p>\n

\"MS<\/p>\n

\u00a9\u00a02026 Versant Media, LLC<\/p>\n

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