JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Governor Ron DeSantis may get his way on redistricting after all, with Florida legislative leaders announcing lawmakers will not be putting forward their own congressional maps during next week’s special session.
At the heart of the redistricting debate is Congressional District.
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It runs from Tallahassee to Jacksonville’s urban core and is currently held by Democratic Congressman Al Lawson.
The governor proposed this map back in January, which erases that district and replaces it with a Republican-leaning district covering most of Duval County.
Gov. DeSantis vetoed the legislature’s congressional maps and called lawmakers back for a special session late last month.
Only one week before gaveling in, legislative leaders announced that it would be the governor drawing the maps.
“It is not the governor’s duty to draw maps,” said State Representative Angie Nixon (D-Jacksonville).
Nixon fears if the governor gets his way, then the 5th District, which is a minority access district will be wiped out.
“This is an attack on our democracy. We are literally suppressing the Black vote,” said Nixon.
The district was drawn by the courts back in 2015, after maps produced by the legislature were found to be unconstitutional.
However, DeSantis and supporters like State Representative Jason Fischer (R-Jacksonville) have called it an illegal gerrymander.
“They created a district that touches Jacksonville, but it really Tallahassee-centric. Whereas the way that the governor has proposed it, follows the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution and it also benefits Jacksonville,” said Fischer.
DeSantis reiterated on Tuesday, the new districts in northern Florida will not be drawn with the intent of benefiting one race over another.
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“It will though have north Florida drawn in a race-neutral manner. I mean we are not going to have a 200-mile gerrymander that divvies people up based on the color of their skin,” said DeSantis.
Legal questions aside, with only two months before qualifying UNF political scientist Dr. Michael Binder anticipates whatever map comes out of the special session will be the map in place for the 2022 election.
“With the new map, it could very easily be 20 Republican seats to eight Democratic seats. That’s an enormous shift of four seats,” said Binder.
And if the map looks anything like the map the governor proposed in January, Binder predicts there will be significant political ramifications in Duval and northern Florida.
“I would envision two Republican seats here and really the closet Democrat would be Orlando. That would be the furthest north Democrat in the entire state,” said Binder.
Some names already floating around political circles of potential candidates if a new Republican seat is created in Duval include Mayor Lenny Curry, Sheriff Mike Williams, Councilman Rory Diamond and State Representative Jason Fischer.