Four years ago a Florida appeals court put the brakes on a judge who tried to block DeSantis' congressional map — calling the move "patently unlawful" — and let his map sail through on the final day of qualifying.
DeSantis just ran the same play.
And this time nobody even got close to stopping him.
The Map That Rewrites Florida's Congressional Future
Leon County Circuit Judge Joshua Hawkes – a DeSantis appointee – denied an injunction Tuesday that would have blocked Florida's newly redrawn congressional map from taking effect before the 2026 elections.
DeSantis' office drew the map itself, redrawing 21 of Florida's 28 congressional districts.
The projected result: Republicans move from 20 seats to as many as 24.
Four seats Democrats are about to lose – and they knew it the moment DeSantis called the special session.
Voting rights organizations challenged the map in court, arguing it violates Florida's Fair Districts Amendment – the 2010 constitutional ban on partisan gerrymandering.
https://twitter.com/RonDeSantis/status/2059363850097467751?s=20
Judge Hawkes wasn't persuaded.
"The Court concludes that from this record, there is insufficient evidence of impermissible intent to show substantial likelihood of success on the merits," Hawkes wrote.
Translation: suspicion isn't evidence, and we're not blowing up an election over it.
He went further – noting that even if plaintiffs win at trial, the proper remedy would be ordering the Legislature to redraw, not a judge imposing a different map from the bench.
That is a court telling Democrats: you can win the case and still lose the seats.
Candidate qualifying opens June 12. The primary is August 18.
Courts don't upend maps six weeks before candidates start filing.
The Court Democrats Have Left Is the One DeSantis Built
Here's what the coverage isn't dwelling on.
Democrats' remaining path runs through the Florida Supreme Court.
DeSantis appointed six of the seven justices on that court – and all seven were put there by Republican governors.
Democrats are asking a bench controlled 6-to-1 by DeSantis appointees to throw out a map DeSantis' own office drew.
That's not a legal strategy. That's a closed door.
https://twitter.com/RonDeSantis/status/2059611062278689133?s=20
Back in 2022, a Leon County judge named Layne Smith tried to block DeSantis' first remapped districts and ordered the state to use a replacement drawn by a Harvard professor instead.
The 1st District Court of Appeal called it "patently unlawful" and killed it – on the last day of qualifying.
DeSantis got his delegation of 20 Republicans, and his opponents spent four more years litigating it.
Now he's done it again – and this time a DeSantis-appointed judge handled the challenge before it ever reached an appeals court.
The system performed exactly as designed.
Florida Republicans Hold a 1.5 Million Voter Advantage and They're Done Pretending Otherwise
Republican Party of Florida Chairman Evan Power put it plainly after the ruling.
"Gone are the days of snake-shaped districts," Power said. "Republicans hold a more than 1.5 million voter registration advantage in Florida, and our representation should reflect today's Florida – not outdated, court-driven maps of the past."
He's right.
https://twitter.com/FLVoiceNews/status/2059608067755413743?s=20
For years, Democrats used court-ordered maps to hold seats in a state turning reliably red.
Those districts were drawn to drain Republican votes from surrounding areas – some stretching from Jacksonville all the way to Orlando.
The Fair Districts Amendment they're now hiding behind passed in 2010, when Florida was still a genuine swing state.
It isn't anymore.
DeSantis won Miami-Dade in 2022.
He won reelection by nearly 19 points.
The maps are going to reflect the Florida that actually exists – not the Florida Democrats needed to survive.
What Four Florida Seats Mean for November
This isn't a Tallahassee story. It's a House majority story.
Trump launched the mid-decade redistricting push precisely because he understood Republicans would face headwinds in 2026 and needed a cushion built into the map before Election Day.
https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/2059362932236951777?s=20
Texas added seats. North Carolina added seats. Missouri added seats.
Cook Political projects Republicans netting five to seven House seats from redistricting nationally – and Florida's four could land on top of that.
Every seat locked in before a single vote is cast is a seat Democrats have to claw back just to break even.
They'll have plenty to say between now and November.
But Florida voters built a 1.5 million registration advantage for Republicans.
Somebody was going to draw a map that reflected it.
DeSantis made sure it was him – then spent a decade building the court that would let it stand.
Sources:
- Frank Kopylov, "Florida court upholds GOP-friendly congressional map," Florida Voice News, May 27, 2026.
- "Leon County circuit judge lets Florida's new congressional map stand for 2026 elections," Tampa Bay 28, May 26, 2026.
- "Florida's New Congressional Map One Step Closer to Reality After Circuit Court Judge's Ruling," RedState, May 26, 2026.
- "Florida redistricting ruling protects DeSantis' map for now," Axios, May 26, 2026.
- "2025-2026 Redistricting Tracker: How Many Seats Could Flip?" Cook Political Report, May 2026.
- "Florida appeals court rejects injunction in redistricting fight," CBS News, May 2022.
