TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) 鈥� With President Donald Trump’s poll numbers fading, beleaguered Florida Democrats hoped this year would be an opportunity to gain ground in the state.
But now they’re looking at the possibility of losing up to four U.S. House seats in the midterms because of passed this week by the Republican-controlled legislature.
said redistricting will reflect Florida’s population growth and political leanings. Democrats called it a power grab by Trump, who has been urging Republicans to
The changes use both 鈥減acking and cracking,鈥� the principal tools of gerrymandering. Packing involves concentrating like-minded voters into fewer districts, or into a single district, to minimize their overall impact across multiple districts. Cracking involves spreading like-minded voters across more districts, making it harder for them to influence any single district鈥檚 election.
Under the new lines, there are 24 districts where Trump won in 2024 by double digits, according to analysts from both parties. If Republicans win all of them, it will be a gain of four seats.
Although there will almost certainly be legal challenges to the map, here鈥檚 a look at how the new boundaries affect Florida鈥檚 current Democratic-controlled districts.
Cracking in Tampa Bay area could mean no Democratic seats
Pinellas and Hillsborough counties were, not that long ago, regarded as two of the most populous swing counties in U.S. politics. Voters in and around Tampa and St. Petersburg served as a bellwether in presidential contests.
Currently, the core metro area is split between the right-leaning district represented by Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna and the left-leaning district represented by Democratic Rep. Kathy Castor. The new map splits that into three districts, all of which tilt Republican, and Castor’s seat now includes more conservative rural areas.
She called the new designs 鈥渂latantly illegal鈥� because of Florida鈥檚 state constitutional ban on partisan gerrymandering. But she said, 鈥淣o matter how new districts are drawn, I will keep fighting for Tampa Bay families.鈥�
Luna, a top Democratic target in November, picked up more Republican-leaning precincts, but Democrats in Washington said they could still win the seat given Trump鈥檚 lagging popularity.
Packing in Orlando turns two Democratic districts into one
Right now, Democrats Darren Soto and Maxwell Frost have adjoining districts in and around Orlando, with Frost鈥檚 concentrated in the city and Soto鈥檚 covering Kissimmee and extending south and east over much of Osceola County.
Now, the Orlando metro core will become a single district that is all but guaranteed to go Democratic. Meanwhile, other parts of Orlando will become part of a separate district that’s more sprawling and more Republican.
Frost blasted the design for pairing city residents with voters who live a two-hour drive away. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 how hard DeSantis map-makers had to work to dilute the impact of voters in Orange County and make this district red,鈥� he said on social media.
Soto, who is Puerto Rican and represents many Puerto Ricans now, lashed out at the governor.
鈥淒eSantis declared war against Florida鈥檚 1.3M Puerto Ricans,鈥� he wrote on social media. 鈥淲e are American citizens, our people served and died for this country, and we vote.鈥�
Heavily Black district erased to reorder south Florida seats
The new map singles out a heavily Black south Florida district that had been represented by Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick before her recent resignation during a House ethics inquiry into her use of campaign funds. The district was drawn originally to comply with Voting Rights Act provisions that the U.S. Supreme Court
DeSantis described the district as an egregious race-based gerrymander, with most of it located inland while two arms stretched toward coastal Democratic areas.
Now the district will essentially be erased, spread out across multiple districts.
Frankel鈥檚 and Moskowitz鈥檚 districts scrambled in Palm Beach, Broward counties
Reps. Lois Frankel and Jared Moskowitz currently have adjoining districts covering swaths of Palm Beach and Broward counties. Both lean slightly Democratic.
The new map creates a more Democratic district anchored by West Palm Beach, mixing some of Frankel鈥檚 voters and those formerly represented by Cherfilus-McCormick. It divides Moskowitz鈥檚 current territory across three districts, a more difficult blow for his reelection prospects than Frankel would face.
Parkland, where Moskowitz lives, will be in a more Republican district that reaches across the state to Naples. One of the national Republicans鈥� top targets even before redistricting, Moskowitz has not said what district he will choose for a reelection bid.
Wasserman-Schultz loses her district and Wilson鈥檚 is redrawn
Reps. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, a former Democratic National Committee chairwoman, and Frederica Wilson currently represent neighboring districts to the south of Frankel鈥檚 and Moskowitz鈥檚 pairing.
Wasserman-Schultz has north Broward, including Weston, where she lives, along with Hollywood, Pembroke Pines and part of Miramar. Wilson, who lives in Miami Gardens, represents the second-most Democratic district on the outgoing map, with south Broward and parts of Miami-Dade.
Now, there will be just one concentrated Democratic district in Miami-Dade, with Wilson in position to stay in office there. Between that new Miami-Dade district and Frankel鈥檚 Palm Beach County base is a new heavily Democratic Broward district. Wasserman-Schultz does not live in that part of Broward. She will have to decide whether to run there or choose one of the new, more Republican districts that Moskowitz also is considering.
Wasserman-Schultz has called the redraw 鈥渁 nakedly partisan scheme鈥� that 鈥渂reaks state law.鈥�
In a possible bright spot for Democrats nationally, the south Florida changes did not substantially bolster Republican Reps. Mar铆a Elvira Salazar, who lives in Coral Gables, or Carlos Gim茅nez, another Miami-Dade lawmaker. Democrats plan to continue targeting them in this year’s midterms.
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