St. Pete-Clearwater Sun

Florida legislators gathered Tuesday in Tallahassee to begin a special session running through May 1, with congressional redistricting emerging as the session’s most contentious issue alongside agenda items covering artificial intelligence protections and health care policy.

The push to redraw Florida’s congressional maps follows former President Donald Trump’s call last year for a new census that would exclude undocumented immigrants and non-citizens — a change that, if enacted, could shift political representation in Congress, particularly in states with large non-citizen populations.

Gov. Ron DeSantis has backed the mid-decade redistricting effort, citing significant population shifts across the state over the past four to five years as justification for redrawing district lines ahead of the traditional 10-year census schedule.

Central Florida’s rapid growth is central to supporters’ arguments. Neil Hamilton of the Orlando Economic Partnership, a nonpartisan organization focused on regional economic development, noted that the Orlando market ranks as the sixth-fastest-growing large market in the country and the fastest-growing in Florida.

Not everyone agrees that the timing is appropriate. State Rep. Anna Eskamani (D-District 42) called the move unconstitutional and characterized it as politically motivated, noting that it is being driven by the governor rather than Republican legislative leaders in the Senate or House. Democrats have signaled the new maps could face legal challenges.

The specific congressional map being proposed by the governor’s office had not been publicly released as the session opened; lawmakers were expected to see it for the first time during the proceedings, with debate expected to move quickly once introduced.

Florida is not alone in revisiting its district lines. California, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, Utah, and Virginia have all adopted new congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Republicans currently hold a narrow House majority of 217 seats to Democrats’ 214, with three vacancies.

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