Gov. Ron DeSantis dropped a political bomb on Monday, unveiling a new congressional map for Florida that he says will finally give the Sunshine State the representation it deserves — and if it holds up, Republicans could walk away with four additional U.S. House seats heading into the 2026 midterms.
The proposal is a mid-decade redraw of Florida’s congressional districts, and it’s already getting a friendly reception. Republicans control both chambers of the Florida legislature, so passage is more a matter of when than if. Once the map clears the House and Senate, it comes back to DeSantis for his signature.
The governor has been telegraphing this move for a while, and he’s not shy about explaining why. Florida was “shortchanged” in the 2020 Census, DeSantis argues, despite explosive population growth and a seismic shift in the state’s political landscape. The state has gone from a Democratic voter-registration advantage to a 1.5-million Republican edge — a transformation that the current congressional map simply doesn’t reflect.
“Florida got shortchanged in the 2020 Census, and we’ve been fighting for fair representation ever since,” DeSantis said.
But his argument isn’t just political — he’s also making a constitutional case. The existing district lines, he contends, were drawn based on race, and that’s a problem. “Drawing maps based on race, which is reflected in our current congressional districts, is unconstitutional and should be prohibited,” DeSantis said, framing the remap as both a legal correction and a democratic one.
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He’s also calling it a promise kept. “Our new map for 2026 makes good on my promise to conduct mid-decade redistricting, and it more fairly represents the makeup of Florida today,” he said.
Florida currently sends 20 Republicans and seven Democrats to the U.S. House, with one additional Democratic seat vacant after former Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick resigned. The new map consolidates GOP-leaning areas and carves out four additional Republican-favored seats.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has released a draft congressional map ahead of the state’s special redistricting session.
Compared to the current map (left), the new map (right) would eliminate as many as 4 Democratic representatives – 2 in central Florida and 2 in south Florida. pic.twitter.com/rdVKUGQi7M
— Decision Desk HQ (@DecisionDeskHQ) April 27, 2026
DeSantis’s push is the latest escalation amid a full-blown national redistricting war. Virginia just approved a constitutional amendment empowering the state to redraw its congressional map, a move expected to flip four seats from Republican to Democratic control. This move by Florida would effectively neutralize the impact of the Virginia gerrymandering.
A source familiar with DeSantis’ plan pushed back on any suggestion that Florida is simply playing tit-for-tat with blue states. “The governor has been planning this long before what took place in Virginia, and continues to be adamant that Floridians deserve fair representation that accurately reflects the state’s changing population and demographics,” the source told Fox News Digital.
Naturally, Hakeem Jeffries, who supported what happened in Virginia, isn’t happy. Let’s be honest; his eyes are firmly fixed on the speaker’s gavel if Democrats flip the House. He warned Florida Republicans that advancing what he dubbed a “DeSantis dummymander” would blow up in their faces, just like he claims happened to Texas Republicans.
Isn’t that weird? It’s always okay when Democrats do it, just not when Republicans do it. “Our message to Florida Republicans is F around and find out,” Jeffries said, vowing electoral consequences for anyone who supports the map.
It looks like more Democrats effed around, and now Democrats are going to find out what happens when you mess with Republicans who aren’t pushovers.
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