TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida’s voters will have a new set of political boundaries to follow when they elect their state legislators in November, after the state’s high court finalized legislative maps on Thursday as part of the nation’s once-a-decade redistricting cycle.
The maps are expected to seal in place a Republican majority in the state Legislature for the next decade. The Senate map gives Republicans a likely 23-17 advantage over Democrats in the 40-member chamber — a one-seat pickup for Democrats over the current map. The House map gives Democrats as many as eight additional seats in the 120-member House, potentially reducing the Republican majority to 71 from 79, and increasing the Democratic share to 49.
The decision means that candidates may now start lining up to run in the various state House and Senate districts, and it is expected to force some legislators to move to new neighborhoods, as the new maps put some lawmakers into the same districts.
