Florida Governor Ron DeSantis criticized Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries for his provocative remarks about redistricting in Florida, poised to become a critical arena in the national competition for political leverage through congressional district mapping.
“By all means, come on down. I’ll personally cover your trip to Florida for campaigning,” DeSantis retorted.
“I’ll host you at the governor’s mansion here, and we can even go fishing,” he added.
“Having Jeffries visible across the state would be the best thing to happen for Republicans in Florida,” DeSantis noted.
These statements came in response to Jeffries’ comments made earlier on Wednesday.
“To Florida Republicans, I say: test us and see what happens. If they pursue a DeSantis-style gerrymander… the political climate in Florida is shifting,” Jeffries declared.
The standoff demonstrates both parties’ resolve to double down on gerrymandering as a strategy central to winning control of the U.S. House of Representatives in the upcoming 2026 midterms.
Since President Donald Trump urged state lawmakers to expand the GOP’s 217-213 majority by eliminating five Democratic seats in Texas, states including North Carolina, Alabama, Louisiana, New York and Georgia have followed suit.
Most recently, voters in Virginia approved a redistricting effort spearheaded by Gov. Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat, to turn her party’s 6-5 advantage in the Commonwealth into a 10-1 majority by extending Republican-leaning districts into Democratic strongholds.
Florida is developing plans to be next.
With a Republican trifecta and eight Democratic-held districts to carve up, DeSantis has called a special session this week to explore the Sunshine State’s options.
“Today, I announced that I will be convening a special session of the Legislature focused on redistricting to ensure that Florida’s congressional maps accurately reflect the population of our state,” DeSantis said in his January announcement, citing changing demographics in the state.
Florida’s state constitution forbids individual districts from being drawn “with the intent to favor or disfavor a political party or an incumbent.”
Democrats, who have framed their redistricting efforts as retaliatory, have warned that Republicans are stretching their support too thin in some areas, diluting their advantage and inviting challenges in districts that haven’t been competitive in the past.
Jeffries believes that might be the case in Texas, and it could be the case for Florida too.
“The Florida Republicans are going to find themselves in the same situation as Texas Republicans who are on the run right now,” Jeffries said.
“Under no circumstances are Texas Republicans picking up five seats. They’ll be fortunate if they get two or three, while in California, we are going to get all five. The Republicans are dumbly meandering their way into the minority before a single vote is cast.”
Florida legislators have yet to unveil what their potential redistricting effort could look like.
Republicans hold 20 of the state’s 28 seats.
