Florida Republicans are barreling ahead with a high-stakes redistricting session as the party looks to offset Democrats’ new maps in Virginia. The effort, however, has some Republicans warning Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) to tread lightly, pointing to recent Democratic wins across the states as well as the Florida Constitution’s clear anti-gerrymandering language. They warn the push could pose more risk than reward.
“I don’t feel great about it,” a GOP consultant with a close relationship to DeSantis and the legislature told The Hill when asked about the redistricting session.
Florida state Rep. Kevin Chambliss (D), one of three Democrats on the Florida House Select Redistricting Committee, suggested the plan hasn’t been released because the state doesn’t have “accurate Census data or accurate population data as referenced by several members of both parties for the last four years to even start to draw a map.” He noted that Democrats haven’t seen a map.
“It’s still kind of unknown what the ultimate goal is,” the Republican consultant added. Anticipating lawsuits against any redistricting plan, some in the GOP expressed concern it would be hard to defend the redrawing of maps before the Florida Supreme Court — even though the majority of justices were appointed by DeSantis.
Source: The Hill