TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Florida Senate passed bills creating a new state congressional map and redrawing Senate districts with bipartisan support.
Only four Democrats opposed the congressional map the chamber approved Thursday, and three voted against the Senate districts. The congressional map creates a new 28th district in central Florida that should favor Republicans.
But, most Democrats supported the plan.
Democratic Sen. Linda Stewart said the process was open and fair. The state constitution requires that districts be compact, contiguous and drawn without benefitting a political party or candidate.
However, nothing is set in stone. The House still needs to approve its version of the congressional map, and differences between the plans need to be resolved.
In an atypical move, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis submitted his own map to both chambers. However, the Senate decided to pass on it.
Between 2010 and 2020, Florida saw its population grow by 2.7 million more people, hence the new congressional seat.
10 Tampa Bay's Andrew Quintana contributed to this report.
