TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday released a redistricting proposal that could give the Republican Party four more seats in Congress.

His plan, released to Fox News before it was sent to lawmakers, would leave Tampa Bay without any Democratic seats.

Only four seats out of Florida’s 28 — District 10, in Central Florida, and Districts 23, 20 and 24 in South Florida — would lean in favor of Democrats, according to the proposal from the governor’s office. The map his office released is colored according to political party.

The governor’s proposal comes amid a national redistricting battle initiated by President Donald Trump, who last summer started pushing red states to redraw their maps and keep GOP control of Congress.

Some left-leaning states retaliated, and both parties are at about where they started before about half a dozen states created new maps.

Florida’s proposal, if passed, could tip those scales. But it also could risk making what are now some safely Republican seats more competitive for Democrats.

Florida lawmakers are set to vote this week on the proposal during a special session called by DeSantis.

Opponents of the map say DeSantis’ plan flies in the face of Florida’s ban on partisan gerrymandering, which more than 60% of Florida voters supported and the state adopted into its constitution in 2010.

“It is illegal, plain and simple,” Florida House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell said.

But the governor’s office implied that it doesn’t need to follow the Fair Districts Amendment.

The Fair Districts language says that redistricting can’t be done to favor a political party or an incumbent and can’t be done to deny equal opportunity to racial and language minorities.

The governor’s office, in drawing the map, made “no attempt to adhere to the race-based requirements,” according to a memo sent to lawmakers from DeSantis’ general counsel, David Axelman.

Axelman argued that those requirements are unconstitutional. He said that the U.S. Supreme Court is poised to say the same in a pending Voting Rights Act case.

If one part of the Fair Districts Amendment is unconstitutional, Axelman argued the whole thing has to come down — including the prohibition on political gerrymandering.

“The (Fair Districts Amendment) was sold to voters as a package,” Axelman said. “And because one part is unconstitutional, there’s little reason to think that voters would have approved the remaining parts by themselves.”

Genesis Robinson, the executive director of the left-aligned group Equal Ground, said the governor’s plan is a “violation of the Fair Districts Amendment, which still exists.”

Robinson said DeSantis can’t unilaterally decide to disregard part of the constitution.

“I think it should unnerve every Floridian that their governor is refusing to follow the law of the land, of this state,” Robinson said.

In discussing redistricting, DeSantis has avoided citing politics as a motivating factor.

But DeSantis first started floating his plan as Trump pushed for redistricting last year. And the governor’s office released its proposal to Fox News before it sent any proposal to the state House or Senate.

In the Fox News article, DeSantis also cites the state’s 1.5 million Republican voter advantage and says his proposal “more fairly represents the makeup of Florida today.”

Florida’s current map was created by DeSantis’ office in 2022, and was defended by the state over years of litigation. That map gives Republicans an advantage in 20 out of Florida’s 28 seats.

The governor’s proposal for midcycle redistricting would slice up Tampa Bay.

Florida’s 13th Congressional District — which now includes most of Pinellas County — would include a portion of western Pasco County starting around Holiday and running south through Pinellas Park, including the north part of St. Petersburg.

Much of St. Petersburg, including the city’s downtown and neighborhoods to the south, would become part of Florida’s 16th Congressional District, which would include parts of Manatee and Polk counties and rural DeSoto and Hardee counties.

Florida’s 14th Congressional District would include South Tampa and parts of eastern Hillsborough County, along with Brandon and Plant City.

Temple Terrace and parts of east Tampa would be part of Florida’s 15th District, which would include chunks of Pasco, Hernando and Citrus County.

Florida’s 12th Congressional District would include parts of West Tampa, including Seminole Heights, and expand north to include Carrollwood, Lutz and New Port Richey.

Other districts in Florida also would take on long stretches, including Congressional District 22. Under the governor’s proposal, both Weston and Parkland in Broward County would be combined with southern Collier County.

Some residents of Coral Springs, the neighboring city of Parkland, would be included in that district. Others would have a different representative.

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(Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald reporter Lawrence Mower contributed to this report.)

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