TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida lawmakers Wednesday rubber-stamped a new congressional map that fails to solve either problem cited by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis as justifications for an unprecedented mid-decade redistricting — even as it flouts a state constitutional ban on partisan map drawing by likely giving Republicans more House seats, as demanded by President Donald Trump.
Exactly 53 hours after the new map made its first appearance showing a sea of 24 red districts with four small blue dots on Fox News, the Florida Senate approved on a 21-17 vote a map created entirely by DeSantis with zero input from lawmakers or the public. It now goes to DeSantis for his signature.
“Let me tell you what this is about. This is about fear. Not just any fear ― panic, the kind of panic that comes from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue when the ground is shifting beneath you and you can’t win in a fair fight,” said Orlando Democratic state Sen. LaVon Bracy Davis.
Brian Nathan, a Democratic Navy veteran who unexpectedly won a Tampa state Senate seat in a recent special election, said none of his new constituents has asked for a new map. “We are here because of two people. The president asked explicitly for more Republican districts, and the governor is happy to oblige,” he said.
