DeSantis vows to veto latest GOP-proposed congressional map in Florida

CNN, WFTS

By Steve Contorno, CNN

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday vowed to veto a new congressional map produced by his fellow state Republicans, calling it “DOA” if it reaches his desk and throwing another wrench into the state’s already drawn-out redistricting process.

DeSantis issued his threat on Twitter while the state House of Representatives was in the middle of debating the GOP-controlled Legislature’s latest attempt to draw congressional boundaries.

“I will veto the congressional reapportionment plan currently being debated by the House,” DeSantis posted at 10:30 a.m. Eastern time, a half hour after debate on the new map began.

Democrats also oppose this map and instead favor one passed by the state Senate, which would largely maintain the status quo. Florida Republicans currently hold 16 seats in the US House to 11 for the Democrats. The state gained a seat in redistricting and will have 28 House seats for the next decade.

At a news conference in Jacksonville later Friday, DeSantis explained his tweet by saying he wanted to make clear where he stood in case lawmakers thought he was bluffing.

“What makes you think when I say I’m going to do something that I’m not going to follow through?” he said. “I don’t make declarations lightly.”

“I don’t bluff,” he added.

DeSantis has inserted himself into the state’s once-in-a-decade redistricting process far more than any of his predecessors, even going so far as to submit his own maps for consideration. He has repeatedly said he would veto any map that does not reapportion Florida’s 5th Congressional District, a Black plurality seat that stretches across north Florida to connect African American communities in Tallahassee and Jacksonville. The district is represented by Democratic Rep. Al Lawson, who is Black. DeSantis would also break up an Orlando-area district represented by Rep. Val Demings, who is also Black.

Democrats say DeSantis’ demands are unconstitutional because his maps would reduce the number of Black-access districts in Florida from four to two. DeSantis believes Lawson’s district represents an unconstitutional gerrymander, even though it was approved by the state Supreme Court last decade.

The map proposed by DeSantis would give Republicans the advantage in at least 18 of the 28 districts in the state, and as many as 20.

Lawmakers have one week left in their 60-day legislative session. If they cannot agree on a map by then, they could return for a special session or, perhaps, kick the fight to the state Supreme Court.

The-CNN-Wire
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