JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Florida lawmakers approved a new congressional map aimed at giving Republicans a bigger advantage in the state. The move is part of a broader national fight over redistricting ahead of the midterm elections.
The vote came just two days after Governor Ron DeSantis introduced his proposal, and the same day the U.S. Supreme Court rolled back part of the Voting Rights Act.
If approved and upheld, the new map could shift Florida’s congressional seats from a 20-8 Republican majority to 24-4.
Rick Mullaney, WOKV Political Analyst and President of the Jacksonville University Haskell Public Policy Institute, explained what’s behind the push.
“What the attempt to do here is pretty clear, of course, that Florida, as you’ve seen in Virginia, and they’re undergoing a legal challenge, as you’ve seen in California, as you’ve seen in Texas and other states, Florida is attempting to redistrict to get partisan advantage. Currently, with 28 congressional districts, 20 of them are held by Republicans in Florida. Eight are held by Democrats. Now with this redistricting, it is the hope on the Republicans side, that it’ll be 24 Republicans and four Democrats, which means a pickup of four seats. But a couple of things to keep in mind, number one, there’s going to be a legal challenge under the Fair Districts Amendments Act. Number two, be careful what you pray for here, because while the Republicans are having to do this, they’re having to dilute some of their more red districts to go to the other districts. That may make some of these districts more competitive, and in November, you may see a little bit of a tilt blue. In fact, a potential blue wave given the low approval rating of the president. So, be careful what you pray for here. It could be more challenging than some think.”
The congressional map is now awaiting a signature from Governor DeSantis.
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