Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' office came close to admitting he wanted state lawmakers to intentionally create new Republican congressional seats by sending reporters a new House map that color-coded districts by party.
Why it matters: Florida's constitution bans intentionally drawing maps to benefit either party, but President Trump has pushed red states to redraw their districts to improve Republicans' chance of holding Congress in November.
- The map showed four blue districts for Democrats and 24 red for Republicans, up from 20 Republicans in Florida's current delegation.
- DeSantis has signaled he has a three-step plan for his maps to survive court challenges, at least in the short term, by playing for time, Axios reported last week.
- Democratic and liberal groups already plan to sue the moment the maps are passed.
Normally, redistricting maps have a broad array of colors that clearly delineate district boundaries.
- Florida legislators historically avoided maps with just red and blue district colors to avoid the appearance of partisan gerrymandering.
- DeSantis' office did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.
The big picture: DeSantis went beyond pushing new maps. He told lawmakers to treat the Fair Districts Amendments as entirely void, wiping out protections 63% of voters approved in 2010.
- His general counsel argued the amendments' language mirroring the federal Voting Rights Act was unconstitutional. That, he said, nullifies everything in the amendments.
- The amendments banned partisan gerrymandering, barred protecting incumbents, and required compact districts. It also offered protections for Black and Hispanic voters.
- Nick Stephanopoulos, a Harvard law professor and the director of strategy of the school's Election Law Clinic, told Axios ahead of the map's release he's skeptical the Fair Districts Amendments would "have any teeth," given the state Supreme Court — all but one of whom were appointed by DeSantis — has already chipped away at it.
Driving the news: The Florida legislature will convene a special session Tuesday to consider the proposed map, which was first reported by Fox News Digital
- DeSantis has claimed redistricting is necessary to reflect Florida's changing population, citing his grievances with how many seats his state received following the 2020 census. Under his map, Florida will continue to have 28 seats. Redistricting just moves the lines between them.
- DeSantis also said he expects the Supreme Court to rule to rule that drawing districts based on race violates the 14th Amendment.
State of play: The new map, based on Axios' analysis, gives Republicans a better chance of resisting political headwinds after strong Democratic performances in Florida special elections.
- Trump would have carried 24 of the proposed districts, up from 20 under the current map. He would have won 22 seats in 2020.
- If voters swing 10 points toward Democrats from 2024 presidential levels, Republicans would still carry 23 seats and nearly tie in a 24th.
Friction point: Analysts have said redistricting Florida could be a gamble that risks diluting GOP dominance in districts held by Republicans. That's left sitting House members sweating.
- Rep. María Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.) has been warning about slipping GOP support among Latinos, a critical voting bloc in Florida that swung toward Trump in 2024.
- "I like my lines," Salazar, who represents a heavily Latino district that includes parts of Miami, told Axios' Kate Santaliz when asked if she supported the redistricting push in her state.
- But DeSantis has a chilly relationship with the state's congressional Republicans, who supported Trump over the governor the 2024 GOP primary.
Editor's note: This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
