Florida Legislature passes redistricting plan creating four additional GOP-leaning House seats

2026 ElectionFlorida Legislature passes redistricting plan creating four additional GOP-leaning House seatsFlorida Gov. Ron DeSantis proposed the map earlier this week. Florida is the eighth state to redraw its congressional map this election cycle.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in Lake Worth in 2025.Amy Beth Bennett / TNS via Getty Images fileShareAdd NBC News to GoogleApril 29, 2026, 3:06 PM EDTBy Matt DixonFlorida Gov. Ron DeSantis got his maps.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.State lawmakers on Wednesday passed redrawn congressional lines that create an additional four GOP-leaning seats in Florida, making it the eighth state to complete mid-decade redistricting in the 2026 election cycle — and likely setting up a historic legal challenge in the state.The proposal passed the Florida state House and Senate on largely partisan lines, even as some members of the Republican majorities have expressed skepticism about redrawing the congressional lines. Florida GOP lawmakers largely remained silent publicly as the state has become part of a Trump-backed mid-decade redistricting push designed to beef up Republicans' slim U.S. House majority ahead of the midterms.Several Democratic-controlled states retaliated, leading to something close to a stalemate nationally.Much of the focus from opponents in the Legislature focused on how DeSantis is using his office’s proposed redraw of the state’s congressional lines as a vehicle to do away with anti-gerrymandering language in the state constitution, known as Fair Districts. The amendment contains a ban on drawing new political districts that benefit a political party or incumbent, as well as protections built in for districts with large minority populations and for keeping districts compact.DeSantis and Republicans have essentially acknowledged his map is out of line with the current state constitution, but they beli...