Florida, Pump the Brakes

The lead political story in the Wall Street Journal this morning appears under the headline, “Republicans Are Worried the Redistricting Fight Is Backfiring.”

Ya think?

Democrats, true to form, have beaten Republicans at their own inside-politics game, and spectacularly so in California and Virginia. Gerrymandered D votes in the new Congress could supply the margin to impeach the prime mover of this “backfiring” initiative.

The focus now turns to Florida, where one of the few enthusiasts for an aggressive GOP redistricting is the best-known part-time resident of Palm Beach.

Bad idea, sir, really bad idea.

Florida’s current congressional delegation is split 20–7 in favor of Republicans (with one vacancy). That’s in a purple state that, at this point in the cycle, is swinging slightly but noticeably to the left. Which is another way of saying that Florida has already been gerrymandered egregiously and will have difficulty reelecting at least four of its incumbents: Representative Cory Mills, who, thanks to “domestic disputes,” appears to be terminally controversial; Representative Anna Paulina Luna, who is up against a formidable and well-funded opponent in a tough district; Representative Randy Fine, who for some reason insists on running as the self-described “Hebrew Hammer” for the plain-vanilla GOP seat once held by Ron DeSantis and Mike Waltz; and Representative Maria Elvira Salazar, who always struggles to hold the old Donna Shalala seat in south Florida.

Bad idea, sir.