DEMOCRATS LOSE: Florida Democrats Suffer Major Defeat As Judge Blocks Redistricting Challenge, Allows GOP Congressional Map To Stand

Huge win. Great night.

The new maps gives the GOP four additional seats.

Townhall: Florida’s new Republican-backed map is allowed to plow forward for now, after a state-level judge did not stop the map from going into effect as it faces an ongoing legal fight, according to The Hill. The map, which was signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) this spring, will potentially give Republicans four more seats in Congress in the Sunshine State. “The election machinery of the state is already underway,” Circuit Judge Joshua Hawkes wrote in his Tuesday order. Hawkes was appointed by DeSantis in 2020. “The primary is less than three months away, and the general less than six months. The public interest weighs more in favor of certainty than a haphazard judicial mandate of discarded maps,” he added.

Florida judge blocks effort to halt new GOP House map

By Caroline Vakil, The Hill, May 26, 2026

A Florida judge on Tuesday blocked an effort to temporarily halt the use of a new Republican-favored House map in the Sunshine State, delivering another blow to Democrats after another judge denied a separate bid to halt a new GOP-friendly map in Tennessee.

Florida Circuit Court Judge Joshua Hawkes, an appointee of Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), denied a request from several groups to temporarily pause the use of a new GOP-friendly map designed to net Republicans several seats in November.

DeSantis signed the map into law earlier this month after convening a short special session of the Legislature in which he pressed lawmakers to pass it. The new map could impact as many as four Democrats in the state, which currently has a 20-8 GOP advantage in its congressional delegation.

Critics who sued over the new map argue that it violates the Florida Constitution, which bans lawmakers from redrawing maps for partisan gain and undercutting minority voters from fair representation. They also argue that the map has become less compact, urging the court to block it from being used before the November elections.

Hawkes, however, argued that the groups didn’t sufficiently prove that the map was made with partisan intent and that it was too close to the election to introduce changes to voters.

“The primary is less than three months away, and the general less than six months. The public interest weighs more in favor of certainty than a haphazard judicial mandate of discarded maps,” Hawkes wrote, nothing his decision did not rule out halting the use of the maps after the courts weigh in on the merits of the case.

Opponents have already declared they will appeal the decision.

“We will continue our fight to protect the will of Floridians who overwhelmingly voted to ban partisan gerrymandering in this state,” Common Cause’s Florida executive director, Amy Keith, said in a statement.

“Because Floridians of all political backgrounds are so clearly against partisan gerrymandering, we will exhaust all legal options to make sure a map this partisan does not last the rest of this decade,” she added.

The ruling delivers another blow to Democrats, who are looking to counter recent redistricting in Southern states ahead of the midterms.

The Florida redistricting case is further complicated by a recent Supreme Court ruling that dismantled the Voting Rights Act and the ability for race to be considered in redistricting, as the Florida Constitution has clear language against partisan gerrymandering, too.

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Pamela Geller

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