First Texas, now Florida? DeSantis threatens a showdown with redistricting idea
In Florida, the state constitution prohibits elected officials from manipulating congressional maps for political gain. That's for good reason: Voters should pick their members of Congress, not the other way around. Yet Gov. Ron DeSantis is already floating the idea of lawmakers redrawing districts, though he hasn't followed through with it.
Redrawing the maps now would be unusual and wrong if it's done for mere partisan gain. It's been only three years since Florida lawmakers passed the latest maps, which already gave the GOP an advantage. The maps were drawn by DeSantis in an unusual move given that's normally been the job of lawmakers. The Legislature is not due to draw new seats until the 2030 U.S. Census is released.
GOP legislative leaders so far have been silent about DeSantis' redistricting proposal. A top Republican, Rep. Alex Andrade of Pensacola, told the Orlando Sentinel that the governor is 'not in a position to force us to do anything that we don't think is a good idea. All we'd have as an impetus for this is partisanship.'
Let's hope lawmakers' silence indicates they know that although gerrymandering is an unfortunate American tradition, going back to Tallahassee with marching orders to draw more GOP-leaning congressional seats would cross a line. It would also draw legal challenges, and the state would likely lose in court if lawmakers act with obvious partisan intent.
Worse, building congressional maps to favor a party dilutes the voice of voters who are grouped into districts with the sole purpose of making a certain election outcome more likely.
If Republicans are afraid of losing the House in the 2026 midterms because of Trump and the passage of the unpopular One Big Beautiful Bill, rigging the system shouldn't be the answer. Florida legislative leaders like House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, should continue to exert their independence from DeSantis as they did during this year's session.
DeSantis hasn't committed to a rare mid-decade redistricting but said 'this is obviously something that we're looking at very seriously,' the Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau reported. Perhaps foreseeing potential legal challenges, DeSantis has been careful not to explicitly say his goal is to help Trump and himself. Ending his tenure as governor with new congressional wins — or avoiding any losses in the Sunshine State — would be a bonus if he runs for president again in 2028.
DeSantis is raising concerns about the 2020 U.S. Census, which helped Florida get one extra congressional seat because of population growth. The U.S. Census Bureau later released a report showing that Florida was undercounted, and DeSantis said Trump is considering a mid-decade census.
DeSantis refused requests that the state help with the 2020 count, saying he didn't want to spend state dollars counting non-citizens. Whenever the next Census happens, DeSantis said he would want to exclude foreign nationals, even though the point of the Census is to count everyone living in the country. The count is used to decide how many seats each state gets in the 435-member U.S. House and to distribute federal funds.
DeSantis' ambition likely means he'll continue to push for the redrawing of Florida's congressional seats. Lawmakers would be wise to balk, as they did many times this year. Florida doesn't need to be Texas. Let's spare ourselves that embarrassment and stand up for what's right for Florida voters.
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