Republicans across the country are praising Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida for his central role in delivering the party four additional congressional seats in his state, Politico reports.
Last spring, DeSantis pushed Republicans in Florida to approve a congressional redistricting map designed to be friendly to Republicans, according to interviews Politico conducted with Florida GOP lawmakers at the time. He fought against leading Florida GOP lawmakers and successfully pressured rank-and-file lawmakers to buck leadership and support his map, Politico reported at the time. He flexed his muscles in the legislative process by promising to veto a congressional map drawn by Republican leadership and convincing allies to support his plan to draw four new Republican seats.
Ron DeSantis’ congressional maps netted Florida Republicans four additional House seats on Election Day – and essentially helped the GOP win its tiny majority https://t.co/DSK2ZlFhpm
— POLITICO (@politico) November 17, 2022
After Republicans narrowly reclaimed the House, Republican Florida Rep. Vern Buchanan praised DeSantis, telling Politico that “Republicans in Congress owe a big thank you to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, whose insistence on redrawing the state’s congressional districts led to a four-seat pickup in the U.S. House on Tuesday.”
The future of DeSantis’ map is uncertain, with a coalition of left wing groups mounting a legal challenge to the map’s perceived partisan gerrymandering, Politico reported. A U.S. District Court judge ruled against the map back in May because it violated anti-gerrymandering provisions in the state’s constitutions, Politico reported. The liberal groups were unable to get the maps redrawn ahead of the 2022 midterms but they are determined to have the map redrawn ahead of future cycles, according to Politico. (RELATED: DeSantis Appears To Respond To Trump’s Attacks Ahead of Expected Presidential Run Announcement)
Heading into the midterm elections, Republicans were expected to win a much larger House majority than the narrow one they ended up with, making the four Florida seats crucial to the GOP’s success in reclaiming control of the chamber. DeSantis was reelected by almost 20 points against Democratic challenger Charlie Crist in what was once considered a perennial swing state. He is now being floated as a potential contender for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.