Florida Republicans have scheduled an inaugural meeting for the state’s redistricting committee next month, confirming their intent to move forward with the mid-decade redistricting process.
The move comes after Indiana abandoned its own redistricting plans — against the wishes of President Donald Trump, who wants Republican-controlled states to redraw their Congressional maps to gain more House GOP seats.
The Florida House Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting’s first meeting was quietly scheduled on Monday, according to a tentative calendar for the state legislature’s interim week of Dec. 1-5. The upcoming Dec. 4 meeting will be used to set the timeline for drafting a new congressional map in favor of Republicans.
The special committee was formed in August by Florida House Speaker Daniel Perez in response to population growth since the last census was taken in 2020.
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) supports the state legislature’s redistricting push, recently teasing there would be more information on that front coming soon. DeSantis previously said he expects the redistricting process to kick off in spring 2026.
The move would further increase the Republican Party’s numbers in Florida’s congressional delegation. Republicans currently hold 20 out of Florida’s 28 House seats.
Republican Party of Florida Chairman Evan Power estimated late last month that his party could gain as many as five House seats when the state’s map is redrawn.
If the plan proceeds, the state legislature would control the redistricting process. Unlike California, where voters recently approved Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D-CA) redistricting plan, there is no independent commission reviewing the matter in Florida.
Congressional redistricting typically occurs at the start of every decade after the latest census accounts for population growth. However, the process will likely start four years earlier in the Sunshine State because Trump wants to secure the House GOP’s narrow majority before the 2026 elections.
A new map requires a simple majority in the Florida House and Senate to pass. Republicans currently hold a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers of the state legislature, meaning a map could easily pass without any Democratic support.
Democrats are wholly opposed to the Republican-led move in Florida.
“Trump and Congressional Republicans know they’re on track to lose the House in 2026. Florida is now the latest state where Republicans are admitting they can’t win without cheating,” Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost (D-FL) said on Monday, per Democracy Docket.
“We will be coordinating closely with House and Senate Democrats in Tallahassee to fight this power grab,” he added. “While GOP-led states take their orders from Trump, every Democratic-led state needs to follow California’s lead and redraw their own maps.”
TRUMP RIPS ‘POLITICALLY CORRECT’ INDIANA REPUBLICANS FOR ABANDONING REDISTRICTING EFFORT
Meanwhile, Indiana Republicans backed away from considering redistricting late last week when the Indiana Senate said it won’t reconvene in December to take up the issue. The news disappointed Trump, who then threatened to primary several state lawmakers opposed to his agenda. One of them had their house swatted on Sunday.
While Gov. Mike Braun (R-IN) was also caught up in Trump’s verbal attacks, he reiterated support for redistricting following a conversation with the president.
