Effort to stop Florida’s new, GOP-friendly congressional map blocked by judge

Florida’s new congressional map is likely locked in.

The map will stay in place for the 2026 elections after a Tallahassee judge denied a request for a preliminary injunction Tuesday.

Drafted by a staffer in Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office, the redesign could give the GOP four more seats among Florida’s 28 districts and help the Republican Party hold on to control of Congress.

On social media, DeSantis celebrated the decision, posting a photo of the map and writing, “Let’s roll!”

Some of the plaintiffs, including left-leaning organizations like the League of Women Voters of Florida and Common Cause, said they would appeal Judge Joshua Hawkes’ denial.

“Because Floridians of all political backgrounds are so clearly against partisan gerrymandering, we will exhaust all legal options to make sure a map this partisan does not last the rest of this decade,” Amy Keith, Common Cause Florida’s executive director, said in a statement.

But as the case continues, the election inches closer. The primary is Aug. 18, and candidates for Congress need to qualify for the race by June 12.

Already, attorneys representing Florida have argued it would be too close to the election to throw out the map, which DeSantis signed into law in early May after a speedy two-day special session.

Hawkes seems to agree. In his order, he said “public interest weighs more in favor of certainty than a haphazard judicial mandate of discarded maps.”

Opponents of DeSantis’ plan accuse him of creating a map that violates Florida’s Fair Districts Amendment, a constitutional provision adopted by the voters that prohibits partisan gerrymandering.

While DeSantis has steered clear of saying President Donald Trump had any influence on the state redistricting, groups say that the motivation — benefiting the Republican Party — is obvious. The governor’s office first released the map to Fox News, color-coded red and blue to show the GOP’s potential pickups.

Under the new map, South Florida’s congressional districts were redrawn in a way that leaves three left-leaning districts in a region that elected five Democratic representatives in 2024.