{"id":2598249,"date":"2026-05-03T14:43:01","date_gmt":"2026-05-03T18:43:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-four-democrats-at-risk-under-desantiss-new-congressional-maps\/"},"modified":"2026-05-03T14:47:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-03T18:47:13","slug":"the-four-democrats-at-risk-under-desantiss-new-congressional-maps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-four-democrats-at-risk-under-desantiss-new-congressional-maps\/","title":{"rendered":"The four Democrats at risk under DeSantis&#8217;s new congressional maps"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fthe-four-democrats-at-risk-under-desantiss-new-congressional-maps%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2598249&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Florida\u2019s Legislature has approved new congressional district maps backed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, a move that Republicans say is needed for population changes and is \u201crace-neutral,\u201d while Democrats argue it violates Florida\u2019s ban on partisan gerrymandering. The new plan is expected to add four seats to the GOP,giving Republicans a 24-4 advantage heading into the 2026 midterms,leaving Democratic incumbents especially vulnerable.<\/p>\n<p>The article highlights several Democratic representatives who could be most at risk if the maps stand: Darren Soto, Kathy Castor, Jared Moskowitz, and Debbie Wasserman schultz.in multiple cases, newly drawn districts shift substantially toward republicans compared with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-insists-bidens-soul-of-the-nation-speech-was-not-divisive\/\" title=\"White ... Insists Biden\u2019s \u2018Soul of the Nation\u2019 Speech Was Not Divisive\">past election results<\/a>, pushing some Democrats into districts where they could face tougher general-election odds-or even potential matchups with other Democrats. Democrats and the DCCC also plan to challenge the maps in court, arguing Florida\u2019s constitution forbids districting intended to favor or disfavor a political party.<\/p>\n<p>The piece places this fight in the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >broader national redistricting struggle<\/a>, noting that similar map battles are underway in other states and touching on a recent Supreme Court decision that could affect how redistricting is handled across the country.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/florida\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"159\">Florida<\/a>\u2018s increasingly rare Democratic congressmen are in a tough spot after the state legislature approved new gerrymandered maps pushed by Gov. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ron-desantis\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"575\">Ron DeSantis<\/a> (R-FL) as Republicans look to hold on to control of the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/house\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"11272\">House<\/a> in November. <\/p>\n<p>The new congressional maps deliver Republicans four more seats, giving them a 24-4 advantage over Democrats heading into the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/2026-election\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"11675\">2026 midterm elections<\/a>. Currently, there are 20 Republicans and seven Democrats in the House, with one seat vacant after former Democratic Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick resigned over allegations of campaign finance misconduct.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/4551665\/congressional-black-caucus-lose-lose-situation-vra-ruling\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Congressional Black Caucus faces lose-lose situation after Supreme Court ruling<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/4552618\/randy-fine-backlash-dont-want-armenians-congress\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Randy Fine faces backlash after saying \u2018We don\u2019t want Armenians\u2019 in Congress<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/4550740\/johnson-caps-chaotic-house-week-wins-gop-infighting\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Johnson caps chaotic House week with several wins despite GOP infighting<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>DeSantis has argued that the mid-decade redistricting was necessary to account for population growth in the state since the 2020 census and make sure that Florida\u2019s districts are \u201crace-neutral.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee decried the new maps, with Executive Director Julie Merz calling the move a \u201ccorrupt partisan power grab\u201d that will be struck down by the courts.<\/p>\n<p>Florida\u2019s new maps are expected to be challenged in court, as Florida\u2019s Constitution bars the drawing of districts with the intent to favor or disfavor a party. Florida\u2019s approval of the new maps is only the latest in a nationwide redistricting battle that both parties have undertaken to boost their chances of winning the House in the November midterm elections.<\/p>\n<p>Here are the Democratic incumbents on the chopping block if the new maps are upheld:<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-darren-soto\">Darren Soto <\/h2>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Rep. Darren Soto (D-FL), center, accompanied by Rep. Tony Cardenas (D-CA), left, and Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-NM), right, speaks to members of the media following a meeting with President Joe Biden at the White House in Washington, Monday, April 25, 2022. (AP Photo\/Andrew Harnik)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Under the new DeSantis maps, Soto\u2019s blue-leaning 9th District is dramatically reshaped.<\/p>\n<p>As currently drawn, the district has a large Hispanic and Puerto Rican population, containing Orange, Osceola, and Polk counties, that voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris by 4 points in 2024 and reelected Soto by a 12.5-point margin. <\/p>\n<p>But under the newly drawn map, the district would swing 21 points in Republicans\u2019 favor and would have gone to Trump by 18 points, according to an analysis by the Cook Political Report. <\/p>\n<p>Soto has railed against the Republican-led maps, claiming they are an \u201cabsolutely unlawful violation of the Florida Constitution\u201d in a post on X.<\/p>\n<p>In another post, Soto claimed that with the new maps, \u201cDeSantis declared war against Florida\u2019s 1.3M Puerto Ricans. We are American citizens, our people served and died for this country, and we vote.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He continued, \u201cThis could blow up local and statewide races across Florida.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Soto has not declared which seat he plans to run in under the new maps. The <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> has reached out to his office for comment. <\/p>\n<p>The redistricting, if enacted, would mean that Rep. Maxwell Frost\u2019s (D-FL) 10th District is the only safe blue seat in Central Florida.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-kathy-castor\">Kathy Castor<\/h2>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Rep. Kathy Castor (D-FL) questions witnesses during a hearing of a special House committee dedicated to countering China, on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Alex Brandon)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Florida\u2019s 14th District, which under the old maps included Hillsborough County and Pinellas County, voted for Harris by 8 points in 2024 and elected Castor by 15 points.<\/p>\n<p>Under the redrawn lines, Trump would have won the district by 10 points in 2024, and Republicans have an 18-point advantage. <\/p>\n<p>However, Castor announced on Friday that she intends to stay in her home district despite the shift. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo matter how lines are drawn on a map, I will continue to fight to lower the cost of living and stand up for my Tampa Bay neighbors,\u201d Castor said in a statement. \u201cThat\u2019s why I remain committed to running for reelection in Florida\u2019s 14th district.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Florida Democrat went on to call the maps \u201cblatantly illegal,\u201d citing the passage of the state\u2019s Fair Districts Amendment, passed in 2010, that bars gerrymandering in favor of a political party or candidate. <\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-jared-moskowitz\">Jared Moskowitz<\/h2>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) holds up a Trump Bible as he questions Attorney General Pam Bondi at the Capitol, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP Photo\/J. Scott Applewhite)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Districts in South Florida are seeing some of the biggest shifts under the updated electoral map, with Moskowitz seeing his 23rd Congressional District shifted into a new 25th district. <\/p>\n<p>Florida\u2019s current 23rd District, containing parts of Broward County and Palm Beach County, barely swung in favor of Harris in the 2024 election by 2 points, with Moskowitz winning by 5 points. Under the new map, Trump would have won in 2024 by 9 points, and Republicans hold a 14-point advantage.<\/p>\n<p>The Democrat, and former DeSantis appointee, told <em>Axios<\/em> that while he is definitely running for another term, he has not decided which district he is running in.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think there\u2019s three districts I could choose,\u201d Moskowitz <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/AndrewSolender\/status\/2048906737315401852\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/x.com\/AndrewSolender\/status\/2048906737315401852\">told<\/a> the outlet.<\/p>\n<p>Cook Political Report\u2019s Dave Wasserman told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> that Moskowitz could run in the newly drawn 22nd, 25th, or 23rd districts.<\/p>\n<p>However, running in the 23rd District would likely mean he would be running against a fellow Democrat, Rep. Lois Frankel (D-FL). Wasserman doubted Moskowitz would make that move, as the party would try to avoid a fight between members.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-debbie-wasserman-schultz\">Debbie Wasserman Schultz<\/h2>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., speaks during an event on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024, to raise awareness of the sexual and gender-based violence Hamas perpetrated against women and children in Israel on and since October 7. (AP Photo\/Susan Walsh)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Wasserman Schultz is severely undercut by the state-passed maps, with her current 25th Congressional District getting \u201cblown into smithereens,\u201d according to the Cook Political Report\u2019s Wasserman. <\/p>\n<p>The 25th District was previously made up of Broward County, and was won by Harris by 5 points and elected Wasserman Schultz by 9 points.<\/p>\n<p>But under the maps drawn by DeSantis, Wasserman Schultz\u2019s home would be under the new red-leaning 22nd District, which stretches across Florida\u2019s panhandle to the Gulf Coast.\u00a0The newly drawn district swings toward Republicans by 16 points and would have elected Trump by 10 points.<\/p>\n<p>Wasserman told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> that Wasserman Schultz could run in the 20th District, a seat recently vacated by Cherfilus-McCormick.<\/p>\n<p>However, that race is packed in its own right with four Democrats jockeying to replace Cherfilus-McCormick, who has also signaled she plans to continue her 2026 campaign despite legal challenges.<\/p>\n<p>Wasserman Schultz said in a post on X that the redistricting was a \u201cclear effort to steal seats for Republicans\u201d that \u201cshows total contempt for Florida voters, who voted two-to-one in favor of a ban on partisan gerrymandering in our Constitution.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Florida Democrat has not announced her plans for the 2026 midterm elections. The <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> has reached out to her office for comment.<\/p>\n<p>Florida\u2019s passage of the gerrymandered maps follows voters approving gerrymandered maps in Virginia pushed by Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA).<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4547856\/florida-desantis-redistricting-map-four-seats\/\"><strong>FLORIDA LEGISLATURE PASSES DESANTIS\u2019S REDISTRICTED MAP IN HOPES OF ADDING FOUR GOP HOUSE SEATS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>A nationwide redistricting effort began after President Donald Trump pushed GOP-led states to redraw their congressional maps to help the party for the midterm elections. Besides Virginia and Florida, that has seen California and Texas redraw their maps as both parties battle for control of the House in November.<\/p>\n<p>But this week\u2019s Supreme Court landmark ruling in <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/4410470\/supreme-court-strikes-down-race-based-redistricting-map-in-louisiana\/\">Louisiana v. Callais<\/a><\/em> is set to shake up the congressional maps even more. The striking down of race-based redistricting in Louisiana <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/4410470\/supreme-court-strikes-down-race-based-redistricting-map-in-louisiana\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/4410470\/supreme-court-strikes-down-race-based-redistricting-map-in-louisiana\/\">has opened the door for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/2022-midterms-republicans-losing-redistricting-battle-to-aggressive-democrats\/\" title=\"2022 Midterms: ...ublicans Losing ... Battle\u00a0to Aggressive ...\">multiple red states<\/a> in the South<\/a>, including Tennessee and Alabama, to move to redraw their own maps.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Florida Democrats face tough odds after DeSantis-backed gerrymandered maps add four GOP seats<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2912,"featured_media":2598250,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-collage-0sjoylm6k-1777675884177-e1777743245551.jpg?1777728847&amp;w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[71861,3685,4980],"class_list":["post-2598249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-congressional-redistricting","tag-democrats","tag-desantis"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-collage-0sjoylm6k-1777675884177-e1777743245551.jpg?1777728847&amp;w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2598249","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2912"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2598249"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2598249\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2598253,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2598249\/revisions\/2598253"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2598250"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2598249"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2598249"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2598249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}