TALLAHASSEE — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is calling for a mid-decade redistricting that is expected to help Republicans win additional House seats ahead of the upcoming mid-term elections. Greg Abbot, the Republican Governor of Texas, recently initiated a similar plan in his state.
"I do think it would be appropriate to do a redistricting here in the mid-decade, so we're working through what that would look like," said DeSantis, "but I can tell you, just look at how population has shifted in different parts of the state over a four or five-year period, it's been really significant.
Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried pushed back, noting that such numbers have not yet been released.
"No numbers have been given to the state, no numbers have been given to the governor," said Fried. "So this is just him on a soapbox talking about this fictitious issue because if this were real, then why not do the legislative maps, if there's such movement and changes with the population inside the state of Florida?"
Texas's move followed President Donald Trump's announcement that he would like to gain five additional congressional seats in the state through mid-term redistricting. Redistricting is typically only done every ten years, following the census, or in response to a court order.
However, Trump has put pressure on Republicans to undertake the unusual effort to protect his party's slim margin in the House as issues such as the Epstein files, ICE abuses, DOGE cuts, and economic chaos from tariffs continue to poll poorly beyond his base.
Ohio is legally required to redraw its congressional district map ahead of the 2026 midterms because the current map was adopted without bipartisan support, violating provisions in the Ohio Constitution that encourage a bipartisan redistricting process. Republicans believe they can pick up two to three seats in the state with new maps. In Missouri, Republicans believe they can gain an additional seat if the districts are redrawn.
While most states lack the statutory ability to redistrict outside of the census process, Texas, Florida, Ohio, Maryland, Missouri, and Oregon can all act unilaterally in calling for redistricting. California, Washington, Illinois, New York, and New Jersey require court orders or special elections before doing so.
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san.gander
Republicans "cheat" to win. That is gerrymandering - and yes Democrats did it too. Which only proof that quest for political power corrupts both parties, because parties are are made up of venial human beings. Some worse than others... right now it is the Republicans who are embracing the worst kind of two-faced morality ever.
Wednesday, July 30, 2025 Report this
Cat L
If you have to cheat, you don't deserve the job.
Wednesday, July 30, 2025 Report this
jimandlope
The, “not so great,” trio rides again! Trump, DeSantis and Abbott rigging seats, DOGE audits and doing evil to undocumented migrants. Where do these people emerge from? Jim Tierney
Wednesday, July 30, 2025 Report this
magstarwire
san.gander - SPOT ON!
Wednesday, July 30, 2025 Report this