Will Florida redistrict to combat California’s Prop 50 gerrymander?
Gov. Ron DeSantis has hinted that a redistricting effort may soon be underway, despite Florida House Speakership noting that there are no official plans to do so
Analysis by Summer Lane | November 14, 2025
In the great state of Florida, many are wondering if Governor Ron DeSantis (R) will spearhead a potential effort to redistrict in the Sunshine State in response to California Governor Gavin Newsom’s (D) recent passage of Proposition 50.
Gov. DeSantis has not been explicit about whether such an effort will be pushed, but he did offer an ambiguous comment on the matter this week on social media, in response to a headline from NewsWire reporting that Florida House Speaker Daniel Perez (R) confirmed that there are no plans for redistricting in the state at this time.
“Stay tuned…” Gov. DeSantis wrote on X.
Such a move would be momentous for Republicans amid a back-and-forth redistricting battle that has sprung forth from an initial redistricting push in the great state of Texas. In the Lone Star State, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed a bill into law earlier this year, greenlighting congressional redistricting, which could result in up to five new House seats for Republicans.
This spurred a direct response from Gov. Newsom in California, who launched a special election effort to codify Proposition 50 – a mid-decade congressional redistricting effort that passed by a large margin two weeks ago, poised to flip up to five Republican-held House seats to Democrat control in the 2026 midterms.
The gerrymandering battle begins
Like it or not, it seems as if partisan efforts to redistrict ahead of the 2026 midterms are here to stay. With Republicans holding majority control in Congress by a razor-thin margin, President Trump needs to expand the GOP’s presence in the House and Senate next year if he wants to codify many of his America First policies permanently. Losing the majority would be catastrophic for his presidency – he would be even more legislatively crippled than he is now with a slim and ever-waffling majority.
According to an analysis by Florida Voice’s Eric Daughtery, a potential redistricting effort in the Sunshine State could effectively “cancel out” Gov. Newsom’s Prop 50 congressional redraw by flipping five House seats red.
But there’s another boon for Republicans on the horizon if potential court battles go their way.
The lawsuit against California’s Proposition 50
If Florida were to gain five seats, just as Texas is poised to do for Republicans, it would greatly offset California’s Prop 50 redraw. However, if California wasn’t able to implement the new maps at all, it would give House Republicans a clear advantage heading into 2026.
How? Thanks to a lawsuit filed by California State Republicans and, now, President Trump’s Department of Justice, Proposition 50 could be held up in court or even struck down.
On Thursday, Attorney General Pam Bondi’s DOJ joined the pre-existing lawsuit against California’s Prop 50, accusing the newly redrawn congressional maps of being racially motivated.
“California Democrats are openly gerrymandering by race in this case. That’s immoral and illegal,” AG Bondi wrote on X.
The lawsuit alleges that the California legislature has engaged in racial gerrymandering. Attorney Mark Meuser of the Dhillon Law Group, who is helping represent the case, explained, “In total, sixteen of California’s fifty-two congressional districts—nearly one-third of the entire map—were deliberately drawn to favor one racial group. Yet there was no Voting Rights Act violation to remedy: under the prior Commission map, racial minorities were already electing 27 members of Congress, and analysts confirmed the old map fully complied with federal law. The Legislature had no evidence and no legal basis to sort millions of Californians by race.”
If this lawsuit prevails against Prop 50 – and it very well could, if they can prove that the lines were drawn in favor of one particular racial group – California’s congressional map will remain unchanged for the midterms, and, potentially, Republicans could gain up to 10 new total House seats between Texas and, possibly, Florida.
Photo: Adobe Stock
