Photo: Alamy
Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday signed a new set of congressional district maps into law, a move expected to add several Republican-leaning seats to Florida’s delegation in the U.S. House.
“Signed, Sealed, and Delivered,” DeSantis wrote in a post on X, sharing an image of the newly approved map.
The Florida Senate has approved the new congressional map proposed by DeSantis last week that could expand the Republican advantage in the state’s U.S. House delegation ahead of the midterm elections.
State senators passed the plan in a 21-17 vote, with four Republicans joining Democrats in opposition. The Florida House of Representatives had already approved the map earlier in the day by an 83-28 vote.
Florida’s current congressional delegation includes 20 Republicans and seven Democrats, with one Democrat-leaning seat vacant following the resignation of former Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick.
The Florida redraw follows a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in a Louisiana case that addressed how race can be considered under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
That ruling has prompted additional map revisions in several Southern states. Louisiana is already revisiting its districts, while lawmakers in Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee are also moving toward potential changes.
Redistricting plays a key role in shaping congressional representation, and both major parties have pursued map changes in various states as they seek to gain an advantage heading into future elections.
The votes came shortly after the Supreme Court of the United States narrowed a provision of the Voting Rights Act regarding the creation of majority-minority districts. At least one district affected by the new map had previously been majority-Hispanic.
“Called this one months ago,” DeSantis posted to X at the time. “The decision implicates a district in FL — the legal infirmities of which have been corrected in the newly-drawn (and soon to be enacted) map.”