Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis is now directing an effort to counteract Virginia’s gerrymander, calling for a special session this week to explore whether the Sunshine State could redraw its own congressional districts. “Today, I announced that I will be convening a special session of the Legislature focused on redistricting to ensure that Florida’s congressional maps accurately reflect the population of our state,” DeSantis said in a January announcement, emphasizing changing demographics in Florida. If passed, Florida would have the opportunity to redraw at least three or four new Republican seats. Democrat Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York believes Republican redistricting is turning voters off, and it could turn Florida and Texas blue. “Our message to Florida Republicans is, ‘F around and find out,’” Jeffries told reporters on Wednesday. “Under no circumstances are Texas Republicans picking up five seats,” he added. “They’ll be fortunate if they get two or three, while in California, we are going to get all five.” DeSantis blasted the leader’s remarks, stating that Jeffries’ involvement would surely tip the scales in Republicans’ favor. “Please. Be my guest. I will pay for you to come down to Florida to campaign,” he countered. “I’ll put you up in the Florida governor’s mansion. We will take you fishing.” DeSantis added, “There’s nothing that could be better for Republicans in Florida than to see Jeffries everywhere around this state.” Some Republicans warn that redistricting is fraught with problems. “No matter what else happens, that is going to have to be addressed,” DeSantis said last December, referring to a pending decision from the Supreme Court that could change the landmark Voting Rights Act. He’s argued that Florida should act before the high court weighs in on the case. Proposed lines haven’t been made public yet. The lawsuit, involving Louisiana’s congressional maps, regards how much race can factor into redistricting plans, and the court appeared inclined to limit the practice during October oral arguments Florida’s potential adoption would undo Virginia’s vote. The commonwealth currently consists of six Democratic seats and five Republican seats. The new measure will likely give them four more. Democrats would win 10 of the 11 House seats, while Republicans would receive one. However, the Virginia redistricting is in trouble. They didn’t follow the Constitution. A Virginia court found the redistricting unconstitutional, so we will have to see how that goes. The post Hakeem Threatens De Santis Over Redistricting; De Santis Invites Him on Down appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.