Overview
- The Legislature approved a map that Gov. Ron DeSantis unveiled on Fox News before sharing it with state lawmakers.
- Lawmakers voted about a day after the plan arrived, and a few Republicans joined Democrats in opposition, citing the state constitution.
- Analysts say the lines raise Republican-leaning districts from 20 to 24, positioning the party to gain up to four U.S. House seats.
- At a Senate hearing, the governor’s counsel said he does not view the Fair Districts Amendment as binding, and the map-drawer said he used partisan data and declined to name who else reviewed the map.
- The new lines reshape Tampa Bay, Orlando, and South Florida, endangering Democrats such as Kathy Castor, Darren Soto, Jared Moskowitz, and Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and they dissolve a heavily Black district after a Supreme Court ruling narrowed race-based protections.