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\n The Republicans who control Florida\u2019s Legislature on Tuesday will take up a new map proposed by Gov. Ron DeSantis to give the GOP an edge in four seats now held by Democrats \u2013 in what is likely the final maneuver in the coast-to-coast redistricting battle<\/a> that has raged for months between the political parties.\n <\/p>\n \n The proposal targets a Tampa-area district held by Democratic Rep. Kathy Castor as well as an Orlando-area district held by Rep. Darren Soto. It also appears to redraw South Florida districts now represented by Democrats for Republican gain.\n <\/p>\n \n Florida Republicans currently control 20 of the state\u2019s US House seats. DeSantis\u2019 plan is aimed at leaving Democrats with just four.\n <\/p>\n \n Within hours of its release, Democrats vowed legal action. Redistricting experts warned of overreach that could end up backfiring on Republicans if a blue wave washes over November\u2019s midterm elections.\n <\/p>\n \n Given the stronger-than-typical performance of Democrats in recent elections, University of Florida redistricting expert Michael McDonald said DeSantis\u2019 proposal \u201cis probably a plus-two or plus-three map\u201d for the GOP.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cBut it could backfire gloriously if it\u2019s just a bloodbath everywhere\u201d for Republicans, he added.\n <\/p>\n \n House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries responded to DeSantis in a statement Monday: \u201cSee you in Court.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Jeffries later told reporters on Capitol Hill that he believes Democrats could pick up anywhere \u201cbetween three and five additional seats\u201d if November\u2019s turnout in the state mirrors that seen in the 2018 midterms or the 2020 presidential election.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cThe DeSantis Dummymander is going nowhere,\u201d he said, using a pejorative term for a gerrymander that backfires on the party in control.\n <\/p>\n \n Matthew Isbell, a Democratic strategist in Florida who specializes in voting data, said the DeSantis map is considerably more challenging to the party\u2019s 2026 prospects than Jeffries\u2019 optimistic projections, which don\u2019t seem to account for the state\u2019s rapid population growth or the sharp rightward turn the state has experienced in recent years.\n <\/p>\n \n In 2018, Democrats held a registration advantage; today, Republicans outnumber them by about 1.5 million voters. DeSantis triumphed in the 2018 governor\u2019s race by just 0.4 percentage points. In 2022<\/a>, he notched a nearly 20-point victory.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cI\u2019m not saying we\u2019re destined for just four seats, but it\u2019s going to be very tough,\u201d Isbell said. \u201cHolding onto eight seats would be a very good result for Democrats.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n President Donald Trump kicked off the redistricting fight last year when Texas drew new lines at his behest. California Democrats quickly countered with their own map. And just last week,\u202fVirginia voters approved a referendum<\/a>\u202fthat could give Democrats better chances at four US House seats in the state \u2013 although legal wrangling continues over the process lawmakers there used to put the map before voters.\n <\/p>\n \n Florida likely represents the last batch of US House seats Republicans can target through redistricting in the 2026 cycle. Candidates face a June 12 deadline<\/a> to qualify for the state\u2019s August primary.\n <\/p>\n \n Florida\u2019s congressional delegation had initially been worried about any map that sought to gain more than three seats, with some members anxious about Democrats\u2019 overperformance in special elections earlier this year. But the early assessment from one House GOP campaign operative was that the map should not endanger any GOP incumbents and that they could have a serious chance of picking up three or four seats.\n <\/p>\n \n At least four Democrats from Tampa to Fort Lauderdale now face big decisions about where \u2014 or whether \u2014 to run if GOP legislators successfully overhaul their current seats. That includes Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Jared Moskowitz, whose seats were effectively drawn together.\n <\/p>\n \n Moskowitz told CNN on Monday, \u201cLook, I\u2019m running for reelection. There\u2019s three seats I could potentially run in. And so we\u2019re analyzing it.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n In a letter to lawmakers, DeSantis\u2019 team argued that population changes in the state since the 2020 census and a pending US Supreme Court decision in a redistricting case out of Louisiana justified the state redrawing its maps, although the high court has yet to render judgment in that case.\n <\/p>\n \n Any redistricting in Florida is expected to face legal challenges. The so-called Fair Districts Amendment \u2013 or FDA \u2013 to the state\u2019s constitution approved by voters in 2010, imposes restrictions on partisan gerrymandering.\n <\/p>\n \n But the state\u2019s seven-member Supreme Court \u2013 stacked with six DeSantis appointees \u2013 has already signaled its willingness to upend the FDA. Last year, in a legal challenge against the state\u2019s existing congressional map drawn by DeSantis in 2022, the court struck down a provision in the amendment that guards against diminishing the voting power of racial minorities in redistricting.\n <\/p>\n \n The ruling handed the governor a significant victory and has emboldened him to push to further diminish the FDA. In the letter to legislators, DeSantis\u2019 general counsel, David Axelman, argued that the Fair Districts Amendment\u2019s other provisions no longer applied once the state\u2019s high court ruled against the race-related section.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cThe FDA was sold to the voters as a package,\u201d Axelman wrote. \u201cThere was no severability provision included in the FDA when it was presented to the voters. And because one part is unconstitutional, there\u2019s little reason to think that voters would have approved the remaining parts by themselves.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n DeSantis\u2019 map was released Monday, one day before the Florida Legislature opens a special session DeSantis convened in part to deal with redistricting. The governor first revealed the map on Fox News \u2014 sharing it with a network watched by many conservatives before lawmakers in his own party.\n <\/p>\n \n Members of the GOP supermajority in the Florida Legislature have made clear they will proceed with DeSantis\u2019 map proposal rather than draw one of their own. They could move within days to enact it \u2013 even as some of the state\u2019s Republican congressmen have publicly expressed concern that an aggressive redraw could put at risk GOP seats.\n <\/p>\n \n State Sen. Don Gaetz, a Republican who is sponsoring the legislation to enact the DeSantis map in the Florida Senate, told CNN on Monday that it\u2019s not his job \u201cto be concerned about any member of Congress whose lines are being affected by the governor\u2019s proposals.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cMembers of Congress who have concerns should contact the governor,\u201d he added. \u201cI\u2019m not going to be negotiating with individual members of Congress.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Gaetz said he expected a key Senate committee to vote on the map Tuesday. Action on the Senate floor could come as early as Wednesday.\n <\/p>\n \n The measure will move to the Florida House once it clears the Senate. The special session is slated to end Friday.\n <\/p>\n \n This story has been updated with additional information.<\/em>\n <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The Republicans who control Florida\u2019s Legislature on Tuesday will take up a new map proposed by Gov. Ron DeSantis to give the GOP an edge in four seats now held by Democrats \u2013 in what is likely the final maneuver in the coast-to-coast redistricting battle that has raged for months between the political parties. 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