Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will sign redrawn congressional district lines designed to flip up to four U.S. House seats to Republicans in the November election. The redistricting plan removes Democratic voters from competitive districts and concentrates them into safer Democratic seats, a strategy known as "packing and cracking."
The new maps put several Democratic incumbents in jeopardy of losing reelection. Republicans currently hold a narrow House majority and view Florida as a pickup opportunity. Democrats lost ground in the state during the 2020 presidential election, making redistricting critical for protecting their remaining seats.
DeSantis personally shaped the redistricting process, overriding the legislature's initial proposal. He submitted his own map that maximized Republican gains. The governor framed the changes as correcting what he called Democratic gerrymandering from previous cycles.
Florida courts previously rejected DeSantis's initial redistricting map in 2022 as an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander. However, the Republican-controlled legislature adopted a new version that DeSantis supported, and it faced less immediate legal challenge.
The redistricting reflects the broader national battle over congressional maps following the 2020 census. Both parties aggressively redraw lines in states where they hold power to cement electoral advantages.