In boon for House GOP, Florida Supreme Court sides with DeSantis, upholds congressional map
TALLAHASSEE, Florida — The state Supreme Court on Thursday upheld Florida’s congressional map — delivering a win to Gov. Ron DeSantis, who pushed through the changes that helped Republicans flip and maintain the House majority.
The Florida Supreme Court’s ruling could be far-reaching; it suggests legislators can sidestep protections for minority voters adopted in 2010. But the legal battle may not end, as one of the groups involved in the litigation said the battle over the district is “far from over.”
The legal challenge centered around the dismantling of a north Florida congressional seat that had been held by then-Rep. Al Lawson, a Black Democrat, and was initially put in place by the state Supreme Court 10 years ago. Lawson was elected in a district that stretched nearly 200 miles and connected Black neighborhoods from just outside Tallahassee to Jacksonville. Legislators, at the insistence of DeSantis, split the original district’s Black voters into four districts.
Florida’s Supreme Court, which has been completely remade by DeSantis, concluded Lawson’s old district is likely an illegal race-based gerrymander that violates equal protection rights under the U.S. Constitution, and that legislators had a “superior” obligation to follow federal law. That was the same logic used by DeSantis when he pressed lawmakers to scrap Lawson’s district.
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/17/florida-supreme-court-sides-with-desantis-upholds-congressional-map-00459893