'Shaking in their boots': Red state GOP warned gerrymander will backfire after major flips

Although GOP legislative leaders say that a special session on the state budget won’t take place next week, they still intend to meet later this month for an unusual mid-decade congressional redistricting session that Democrats say is unconstitutional and could backfire on Republicans.

“This is illegal,” said Rep. RaShon Young, D-Orlando, on a Zoom conference call held Wednesday night. “It is against the Constitution to redraw maps in favor of a party.”

“We are very clear that this is going to happen — however they want to draw these maps with their crayons, they’re going to do it, right? They’re going to do it illegally and they know that they’re going to do it illegally. This is classic Ron DeSantis,” added Tampa Bay area Rep. Michele Rayner.

“They are willing to do an illegal unconstitutional act by doing mid-decade redistricting,” added Rep. Ashley Gantt, D-Miami. “That is literally nullifying a section of the Constitution that is unambiguous.”

Those comments reference the section of the Florida Fair Districts amendments passed in 2010 by the voters, which says no reapportionment plan or individual district can be drawn “with the intent to favor or disfavor a political party or incumbent.”

Why is this happening now?

Like the rest of the country, Florida redrew it congressional (and legislative) boundaries in 2022, following the U.S. Census that takes place every 10 years. In July 2025, however, several states began to redraw their congressional districts ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. That effort began in Texas, after President Donald Trump told Republicans there that pursuing a redrawn map would yield five new Republican seats.

Several red and blue states began following suit, and Gov. DeSantis on July 24 said the state needed to redistrict as well — saying Florida was “malapportioned” because of the significant change in the state’s population since 2020.

While the population has increased (allowing Republicans to build a nearly 1.5 million voter registration lead), any maps the Florida’s Legislature’s staff will draw won’t be based on new Census information and will instead rely on the same numbers used four years ago.

DeSantis has refrained from commenting about how redistricting would increase the number of Republican members serving in Congress because of the state constitutional ban on gerrymandering. That’s why he has emphasized that the state would likely be “forced to” redistrict due to an expected U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Section Two of the federal Voting Rights Act (VRA).

That ruling hasn’t come down yet and likely won’t before the Legislature meets for redistricting on April 20, leading DeSantis to say this week that the VRA decision was only “one of the reasons” they the state needs to redistrict.

Republican have controlled 20 of the state’s 28 congressional district since the 2022 redistricting.

‘A really, really bad decision’

Public opinion polls show Floridians oppose the plan to redistrict.

Sen. LaVon Bracy Davis, D-Ocoee, said that with Democrats lacking numbers in the Legislature to block a new congressional map, it’s up to the public to “make their plan backfire.” She referenced the Democrats’ upset legislative victories in two red districts earlier this month as a potential harbinger.

“I think everybody right now who thinks that they’re in a plus-10 district should be shaking in their boots right now, because Democrats and Republicans aren’t buying what they’re selling,” she said.

“Because the only way that those two seats that have been flipped would flip is because NPAs [no party affiliated voters] said, ‘We’re not leaning on this side anymore.’ Democrats voted Democrat and Republicans voted Democrat.”

Bracy Davis acknowledged Floridians might not be “crazy” about the Democratic Party, but are growing weary of GOP control of all branches of government.

“There are Republicans who are saying … Republicans have had the supermajority, Republicans have the governor’s mansion, Republicans have the speaker of the House and the chair of every single committee and that has gotten us nowhere. So you know what? I’m going to try something new.

“That’s how those two seats were won, and I think when we do this illegal redistricting, I think we need to show them that this was a really, really bad decision.”

The Zoom call was organized by Justice Over Everything, a nonprofit group that lists Rayner as a co-executive director.

Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Michael Moline for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com.