Florida House members on Wednesday approved a new congressional map proposed by Gov. Ron DeSantis that, if passed by the Senate, will give Republicans four additional seats as the party works to keep control of Congress in this year's midterm elections.
The measure now moves to the GOP-controlled Florida Senate, where the party holds a two-thirds majority, reports CBS News.
The map is not yet unanimously supported by Florida's Senate Republicans, as three GOP members of the Senate Rules Committee voted against the proposal Tuesday, with one GOP state senator voicing opposition during the hearing.
At least seven Republican defections would be needed to block the measure.
Florida's current federal delegation includes 20 Republicans and seven Democrats, with one Democrat-leaning seat vacant following the resignation of Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick earlier this month.
The proposed map would eliminate or shrink Democrat-leaning districts in Tampa, Orlando, and parts of the state's southeast coast.
The House vote came hours after the Supreme Court narrowed a section of the Voting Rights Act that requires some states to create majority-minority districts.
At least one district redrawn under the proposal had been a majority Hispanic district in central Florida.
During committee hearings on Tuesday, attorney Mohammed Jazil did not say whether the maps comply with that provision.
Critics also raised concerns that the proposal could violate the Fair Districts Amendment, a 2010 addition to the Florida Constitution that sets standards for redistricting.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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