Florida appears ready to move forward with congressional redistricting after a warning from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries that Republicans will end up the losers.
“Our message to Florida Republicans is ‘F’ around and find out,” he said, according to Fox News, calling the potential to redraw lines on the eight Democratic districts to favor the GOP a “DeSantis dummy-mander.”
Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis shrugged off the challenge.
“Please. Be my guest. I will pay for you to come down to Florida to campaign,” DeSantis said. “I’ll put you up in the Florida governor’s mansion. We will take you fishing.”
“There’s nothing that could be better for Republicans in Florida than to see Jeffries everywhere around this state.”
“Our message to Florida Republicans is F around and find out. If they go down the road of a DeSantis dummy-mander … the electoral tide is turning in Florida,” Jeffries said.
Whatever Florida does has taken on new importance after Virginia voters approved new district lines that, based on party enrollment, would give Democrats up to 10 seats on the House and Republicans only one instead of the 6-5 party split in which Democrats have the higher number.
President Donald Trump last year called upon states to redrawn lines so Republicans would not lose control of the House in the upcoming midterm elections. That kicked off a series of state actions in which both parties tried to expand the number of seats likely to go their way.
Florida is up next, with a special session on tap for next week, according to Politico.
“This is honestly an all-hands-on-deck moment, because if you lose the House, you’re going to bring, essentially, the agenda to a grinding halt,” Florida-based GOP strategist Ford O’Connell said, adding that if the term-limited governor brings the GOP additional seats, “it could give rebirth to his political career.”
“All eyes are on Ron DeSantis and Florida now. It’s a little poetic,” one Republican Politico called an operative without using his name, said.
“DeSantis has his marching orders: Take the gloves off like Democrats did in Virginia and California and draw as many districts as you can, legally, for Republicans.”
Another said it may be too late to make a difference.
DeSantis “would still like to get something done on redistricting. But he realizes the atmospherics for the 2026 election are already in place and it will be tough for Republicans to retain the House regardless of what happens in Florida,” the source said.
In 2022, DeSantis pushed through a map that helped give Republicans a 20-8 edge in congressional seats.
No map has yet been released.
“By the time we get to Tallahassee, I’m sure there will be a map and the body will consider it at the right time,” state House Speaker Daniel Perez said.
The Virginia results are pushing Republicans to act.
“I don’t like this redistricting in the middle of the census, but in light of what Virginia is doing, we may need to respond to that,” Florida Republican Rep. John Rutherford said.
He had previously opposed redistricting.
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