Florida’s DeSantis targets April redistricting push

Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida said Wednesday that he is calling state lawmakers back to Tallahassee for a special legislative session in April to draw new congressional maps — a move that could boost Republicans’ chances of flipping Democratic‑held seats and help the House GOP defend their narrow majority.

Mr. DeSantis, a Republican, said the goal is to “ensure that Florida’s congressional maps accurately reflect the population of our state,” adding that “Every Florida resident deserves to be represented fairly and constitutionally.”

He said the April session will give the Supreme Court room to rule on a major voting‑rights case that could determine how much states can rely on race when drawing districts to remedy past discrimination.

“I don’t think it’s a question of if they’re going to rule. It’s a question of what the scope is going to be,” the governor told reporters in Steinhatchee, Florida. “So, we’re getting out ahead of that.”

“I have a very high degree of confidence that at least one or two of those districts on our current map are going to be implicated by this Supreme Court decision,” Mr. DeSantis said.

It is the latest chapter in a redistricting saga that was inspired by President Trump and began in Texas over the summer, when Gov. Greg Abbott and GOP lawmakers broke with tradition and redrew their map mid‑decade — a shift that positioned Republicans to pick up as many as five seats in the midterms.

Since then, the fight has spilled into red and blue states alike.

In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democrats pushed through a referendum allowing the legislature to replace maps drawn by an independent commission with more partisan lines, aiming to blunt GOP gains in Texas.

Missouri and North Carolina have approved new maps expected to give Republicans an additional seat in each state.

For Mr. Trump, the Florida effort is a welcome development after a high‑profile setback in Indiana, where Republican state senators rejected his pressure to adopt a new map that could have delivered the GOP full control of the state’s nine‑member House delegation.

Florida Republicans currently hold 20 of the state’s 28 House seats.

The nonpartisan Cook Political Report estimates they could net as many as three more, though it cautions that the broader national redistricting battle — which has energized both parties — could ultimately end in a draw.

Other states are also weighing changes.