First posted on Instagram · @profilopolitics
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has argued that the state's newly redrawn congressional map prevented Republicans from losing two U.S. House seats in the November 3 midterm, saying Republicans held all 20 of their seats under the new map and would have won only 18 under the previous map. He described the contest as the party's worst midterm environment since Watergate and said holding the line was a significant win.
Florida has 28 House seats. The Associated Press results show the Republican Party leading in 20 seats, and Creative Loafing Tampa reported on November 4 that, if the tight races hold, the delegation would remain 20 Republicans to 8 Democrats, as before the election, although some races were still listed as too early to call, including Districts 7, 13, 26 and 27, where Republicans held leads.
The map was passed by the Florida Legislature on April 29, 2026, and signed by DeSantis on May 4, 2026. It redrew about 20 of the 28 districts and was designed to target four Democratic-held seats, aiming at a 24-4 Republican delegation on paper.
In the targeted seats, Jared Moskowitz held District 25 over Scott Singer, Kathy Castor held District 14 over Mike Beltran, Pia Dandiya won District 22, and Darren Soto held a narrow 50.26% to 49.74% lead in District 9.
Republicans also won narrowly elsewhere: Anna Paulina Luna won District 13 by 49.5% to 48.7%, Aaron Bean won District 4 by 50% to 48.3%, and Ryan Elijah won District 7 by 49.8% to 49.2%, while Maria Elvira Salazar held a thin lead in District 27 and Mario Diaz-Balart held a thin lead in District 26.
DeSantis's point was that the redraw had originally been designed to gain seats, but that holding the line in this environment still mattered, and that the map could create more opportunities in future cycles.
The Florida Supreme Court allowed the map to be used for the 2026 elections, while the underlying legal challenge continued.