Coral Springs moved to new congressional district. How politicians are responding
Joining a growing number of states across America, Florida’s legislature has enacted new voting districts, impacting Coral Springs voters and paving the way for greater Republican representation in Congress.
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the redistricting legislation into law Monday, following President Donald Trump’s urging to grow the number of Republican-held seats in the House of Representatives.
DeSantis said the new map corrects what he described as race-based gerrymandering; others, like Florida Democratic Party chairwoman Nikki Fried, said the map attempts to weaken minority voting influence.
“Ron DeSantis attempted to disenfranchise millions of Black, brown and Jewish Floridians by stripping them of representation by signing illegal Congressional maps into law,” Fried said in a statement Monday.
In South Florida, the plan would consolidate districts currently secured by Democratic officials and shrink representation in cities like Tampa and Orlando.
While the map has received court challenges, some candidates have already announced plans to run in their new constituencies.
Coral Springs residents will be part of District 20 rather than District 23, currently represented by Jared Moskowitz. Congress members don’t have to live in the district they represent, freeing up opportunities to switch.
Candidates react to shift
On Monday, Oliver Larkin, a Democrat challenging Moskowitz, hosted a town hall at Mullins Park in Coral Springs to discuss the redistricting effort. Larkin has not declared which of the new districts he plans to campaign in.
“I do not want to legitimize this Republican power grab by consenting and saying, ‘OK, I’m going to run here,’” Larkin said.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for Moskowitz’s campaign told the South Florida Sun Sentinel that he “intends to run where the majority of his constituents reside, which under the new configuration would be Congressional District 25.”
The new district would include Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale and Miami Beach — but not Coral Springs.
“Congressman Moskowitz strongly supports the Fair Districts provisions in the Florida Constitution and believes the maps approved by the Legislature and Governor violate those standards,” a spokesperson told the Sun Sentinel. “If the courts strike them down, he will run in the district he currently represents.”
The race’s main GOP contenders have also made comments about the district changes.
Boca Raton mayor Scott Singer, describing himself as an “America First conversative,” said he plans to moved his campaign from District 23 to 25.
“I’m comfortable that the governor and the Florida legislature knew what they were doing both under the federal constitution and our state constitution in redrawing lines,” he told Fox News Monday.
Former state representative George Moraitis, who was running on the GOP ticket for Moskowitz’s seat in District 23, will now run in District 25 as well.
Voter advocates sue to stop redistricting
Voter education group Equal Ground Education Fund and residents from several impacted districts are suing to stop the map from going into effect, calling it “one of the most extreme gerrymanders in American history.”
“Statistics like these this do not occur by accident,” the complaint states. “They are the product of deliberate choices, made by professionals with sophisticated tools and a clear partisan goal: to pack and crack Democratic voters with surgical precision and deprive Florida voters of a fair map guaranteed to them by the Florida Constitution.”
The plaintiffs cite Florida’s Fair Districts Amendment, which was approved by voters in 2010 to prevent officials from favoring or disfavoring an incumbent or political party.
Fried said in her statement that Florida Democrats wouldn’t back down, and that DeSantis would “pay for breaking the law and defying the will of Florida voters.”
A judge has not yet ruled on plaintiffs’ request to freeze the redistricting as candidates turn up the heat on midterm campaigns.
