Florida, Hillsborough Republicans Pursue Redistricting Power Grabs
TAMPA — Hillsborough Republicans are again pushing their plan of new County Commission districts to lock Democrats out of power indefinitely, no matter which party voters choose in future elections. This time, they are quietly raising the idea in meetings about amending the county charter.
Currently the Hillsborough County Commission is 7 members, 3 of whom serve in countywide “at large” districts. That means each county resident can vote in 4 of the 7 races — a majority of the board. But the Republican majority would like to change that. They propose 9 districts, with zero countywide “at large” districts.
This plan was first proposed in 2023, when pushback caused Commissioners to back off. Then former Commissioner Michael Owen pushed the same idea at the state level, proposing a bill that would quietly target Hillsborough and force the county to make the exact changes local Republicans desired. That bill failed to pass in committee. The current plan is to amend the county charter to allow redistricting to be pushed through mid-decade instead of taking place after the census every 10 years.
Why is the current Republican majority so eager to redraw districts? Republican consultants have already drawn a 7R-2D map that would lock Democrats out of power indefinitely in a county that voted for Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama.
But Hillsborough County is only a microcosm of the larger Republican push for mid-decade gerrymanders. Governor Ron Desantis, who has already gerrymandered Florida’s Congressional districts, is also proposing a mid-decade redistrict.
“Redistricting is intended to occur once every 10 years — following the census — to reflect population changes,” said Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell, “not to serve as a political weapon whenever those in power fear losing their grip.”
St. Petersburg Representative Lindsay Cross expressed strong disapproval of the governor’s suggestion. “This push for mid-decade redistricting is a blatant abuse of power,” she said. “It’s not intended to improve governance, but to undermine political opponents and disenfranchise voters.”
Even the statewide events in Florida are only one part of a larger gerrymandering phenomenon nationally. Texas Democrats are currently taking dramatic action and risking arrest to stop a similar Republican redistricting scheme in their state. And California governor Gavin Newsom has suggested that his state could gerrymander in favor of Democrats if Republicans go through with their partisan redistricting in Florida or Texas.