Marc Elias has spent years filing lawsuits to hand Democrats congressional maps they couldn't win at the ballot box.
Florida's Supreme Court just said no.
And now the man Democrats pay millions to redraw America's political map is staring at a 2026 midterm he cannot touch.
DeSantis Runs the Table
The Florida Supreme Court voted 6-1 on Wednesday to reject an emergency petition from the Elias Law Group – the same firm that tried to block the map at the circuit level and lost, tried again at the appeals level and lost, and is now 0-for-Florida.
The ruling clears DeSantis' redistricted congressional map for the 2026 midterms.
Republicans currently hold 20 of Florida's 28 congressional seats.
The new map could flip four more, putting the GOP at a 24-4 advantage in a state Donald Trump won by double digits.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier didn't mince words.
"The Florida Supreme Court just stopped Marc Elias' attempted takeover of Florida's congressional map and denied his request to hear the case," Uthmeier wrote. "COMPLETE AND TOTAL VICTORY."
https://twitter.com/AGJamesUthmeier/status/2064812479562076652?s=20
DeSantis echoed him hours later: "The Florida Supreme Court has REJECTED the challenge to the state's redistricting plan and new map. This assures that the recently enacted map will be in place for the 2026 election."
Six of the court's seven justices were DeSantis appointees.
The lone dissenter – Justice Jorge Labarga, the only DeSantis non-appointee on the court – complained the court had abdicated its duty to millions of Florida voters.
The other six disagreed.
Elias Has Now Lost Everywhere That Matters
This is not a bad week for Marc Elias.
This is a losing streak that stretches from Wisconsin to Virginia to Florida and keeps getting worse.
In late 2025, Wisconsin's liberal-majority Supreme Court unanimously refused to hear not one but two of his redistricting challenges.
He lost a Wyoming proof-of-citizenship case.
He lost a Kansas foreign-funding challenge.
Two of those decisions came from Obama-appointed judges.
https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/2064814641310568667?s=20
In Virginia, Democrats tried to ram through a map that would have produced a 10-1 Democrat advantage – and the Virginia Supreme Court struck it down.
Elias responded by posting the Virginia Constitution's language about the right to "abolish" government.
Republicans went nuclear.
The clip went everywhere.
Now Florida.
Everywhere Elias has tried to block Republican maps or force Democrat-friendly ones in 2025 and 2026, courts have handed him his briefcase and pointed him toward the exit.
He Ran Out of Time and He Knows It
Here's what Democrats aren't telling you about Wednesday's ruling.
The Florida Supreme Court didn't just reject Elias – it ran out the clock on him.
Friday was the deadline for candidates to qualify for Florida's August 18th primaries.
That means even if Elias wins on the merits at some point down the road – and he hasn't won anything yet – the map that seats are being drawn around is already locked in for November.
Republicans are clinging to a 220-213 House majority heading into a midterm cycle where the president's party historically loses seats.
Democrats are counting on that history.
Hakeem Jeffries is already measuring the drapes in the Speaker's office.
https://twitter.com/MichaelARothman/status/2065024841942720597?s=20
Florida alone torches that fantasy.
Four new Republican seats from Florida – stacked on top of gains already locked in from Texas, Missouri, and North Carolina – means Democrats need to run the table everywhere else just to break even.
DeSantis drew that map knowing exactly what it would mean for the House.
Trump pushed Republican governors across the country to redistrict mid-decade last year. DeSantis answered faster than almost anyone.
He called a special session, drew the map in-house, signed it May 4, and let Elias spend six weeks swinging at air.
The clock hit zero Friday.
The map stands.
Sources:
- "Total Victory: Florida's Top Court Allows Use of DeSantis' New Congressional Maps," Florida Tribune, June 10, 2026.
- Shawn Fleetwood, "Judge Hands Marc Elias Major Loss in Challenge to Florida's Map," The Federalist, May 27, 2026.
- "A Rough Year in Court for Marc Elias," Washington Examiner, December 29, 2025.
- "Florida Supreme Court Clears New GOP House Map in Blow to Democrats," The Hill, June 10, 2026.
- Fox News Staff, "DeSantis Launches Florida Redistricting for More Republican Seats," Fox News, January 8, 2026.
