Florida Republican leaders move toward congressional redistricting, Democrats criticize move

Drawing new congressional map in Florida

Florida is moving closer to joining President Donald Trump's push to get more Republicans in Congress through redrawing congressional maps. Evan Axelbank reports.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Florida is moving closer to joining President Donald Trump's push to get more Republicans in Congress through redrawing congressional maps.

What we know:

On Thursday, Florida House Speaker Daniel Perez sent a memo to lawmakers announcing the creation of the Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting.

Perez says the committee will only focus on congressional districts, saying the House doesn't have the capacity to include legislative redistricting.

Map of Florida's Congressional districts.

By the numbers:

Florida’s congressional delegation has 20 Republicans and eight Democrats.

Typically, redistricting maps are drawn every 10 years, with the latest effort taking place just three years ago.

Dig deeper:

Florida is currently using the congressional map pushed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2022, but he's now arguing it should be remade again, claiming more population growth necessitates changes.

"I also think the way the population has shifted around Florida – just since the census was done in 2020 – I think the state is malapportioned," DeSantis said during a July news conference in Manatee County. "So I do think it would be appropriate to do a redistricting here in the mid-decade."

RELATED: Gov. DeSantis floats idea of redrawing districts while speaking in Manatee County

This also comes as Republicans in Texas are looking to redraw districts amid the Trump administration's push to help the GOP keep its slim control of the U.S. House.

Nearly a dozen states have since joined the fray, with lawmakers in red states like Indiana and South Carolina calling for a similar redistricting effort. Some leaders in blue states like California and New York are also threatening to redraw their maps to counteract the potential shift.

The other side:

Florida Democrats have called the latest redistricting effort "deeply troubling" and a threat to fair representation.

"Essentially, what Governor DeSantis is insinuating is that they want to redistrict lines to be even more imbalanced to the point where you will no longer have competitive elections in Florida," State Rep. Anna Eskamani (D-Orlando) said.

Fair voting groups have threatened to sue the states that follow through, regardless of their blue or red state leanings.