Gov. Ron DeSantis has released a proposed congressional map to be considered by the Legislature during a Special Session starting tomorrow.
The map appears to threaten four Democratic-held seats, including a Tampa seat held by U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, a Central Florida seat held by U.S. Rep. Darren Soto, a South Florida seat that could effectively displace U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz, and a majority Black-voter district previously in South Florida previously represented by former U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick.
The map was first released to Fox News.
“Our new map for 2026 makes good on my promise to conduct mid-decade redistricting, and it more fairly represents the makeup of Florida today,” DeSantis said in a statement to the outlet.
The map bears close resemblance to some first reported on Bluesky by independent journalist Andrew Pantazi. Those maps netted Republicans four seats while maintaining similar compactness scores to the current congressional map in Florida, which was also produced in DeSantis’ Office and signed by the Governor in 2022.
The map disassembles two districts that legal counsel to lawmakers long said were protected by the federal Voting Rights Act. Those include Florida’s 20th Congressional District, where Cherfilus-McCormick represented before her resignation this month, and one represented by U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson, a Miami-Dade Democrat.
The map does leave in place three South Florida districts where Democrats hold a statistical edge over Republicans, but right now the region has five such districts.
An area of Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties represented by four other Democratic U.S. Representatives would be left with three Democratic seats and one coastal seat that will likely be a battleground.
That could mean Moskowitz is wrestling with U.S. Reps. Lois Frankel, Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Wilson over who runs in which district. None of those lawmakers are expected to face one another in a Democratic Primary right now.
Castor’s seat, Florida’s 14th Congressional District, gets disassembled into several Republican-favoring seats under the map, which cuts the Tampa area pinwheel style into several different seats.
Similarly, while Democratic U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost’s seat in Florida’s 10th Congressional District isn’t severely altered, the neighboring Florida’s 9th Congressional District is cut apart, with much of it now laying in GOP-favoring seats.
Moskowitz and Soto were both already being targeted by the National Republican Congressional Committee.
The Legislature is expected to pass the DeSantis map in a Special Session starting on Tuesday.
The post Gov. DeSantis releases proposed congressional map for Florida, could cut 4 Democratic seats appeared first on Florida Politics – Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government..