Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis got his maps.<\/p>\n
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State lawmakers passed redrawn congressional lines Wednesday that create four more GOP-leaning seats in Florida, making it the eighth state to complete mid-decade redistricting in the 2026 election cycle \u2014 and most likely setting up a historic legal challenge in the state.<\/p>\n
The proposal passed the state House and Senate on largely partisan lines, even as some members of the Republican majorities have expressed skepticism about redrawing the congressional lines. Florida GOP lawmakers largely remained silent publicly as the state has become part of a Trump-backed mid-decade redistricting push designed to beef up Republicans’ slim U.S. House majority ahead of the midterms.<\/p>\n
Several Democratic-controlled states retaliated, leading to something close to a stalemate nationally<\/a>.<\/p>\n Much of the focus from opponents in the Legislature focused on how DeSantis is using his office\u2019s proposed redrawing of the state\u2019s congressional lines to do away with anti-gerrymandering language in the state constitution, known as Fair Districts. <\/p>\n The amendment includes a ban on drawing new political districts that benefit a political party or an incumbent, as well as protections built in for districts with large minority populations and for keeping districts compact.<\/p>\n DeSantis and Republicans have essentially acknowledged his map is out of line with the current state constitution, but they believe the state and U.S. Supreme Court rulings<\/a> will eventually make the proposal constitutional.<\/p>\n State Rep. Jenna Persons-Mulicka, a Republican sponsoring the map, told members several times Wednesday that it does not align with Florida\u2019s constitution \u2014 but that it is based on \u201cviable legal theory\u201d and that Florida has an \u201cevolving legal landscape.\u201d<\/p>\n DeSantis\u2019 argument rests on the idea that the Fair Districts provisions protecting minority-performing districts are unconstitutional, even though no court has ruled that way yet.<\/p>\n \u201cProperly understood, the Fourteenth Amendment forbids the government from divvying up the citizenry based in whole or in part upon race,\u201d read a memo written by DeSantis general counsel David Axelman.<\/p>\n At a committee hearing Tuesday, DeSantis administration map drawer Jason Parada acknowledged he used political performance data when he created his proposal, which Democrats argue is at odds with Fair Districts. But Parada said he did not at all consider racial data, which is in line with the governor\u2019s direction.<\/p>\n As lawmakers debated the maps Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court did hand DeSantis\u2019 legal theory a partial victory.<\/p>\n![\"DeSantis](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/260429-fla-redistricting-mb-1247-6b85e6.jpg\")
The proposed congressional redistricting plan displayed at a special legislative session at the State Capitol in Tallahassee on Tuesday.Malcolm Jackson \/ Bloomberg via Getty Images<\/p>\n