Florida’s senate borders are finalized but Tuesday legislative attorneys met to randomly assign them district numbers. Those numbers—even or odd—will determine how long the next batch of senators can hold their seats.
For some incumbents, district numbering will mean an early end to their time in the chamber. Senators from even districts will serve for two* years and those in an odd seat serve for four*. District maps get new numbers after revisions in the interest of continuity—the offset means half the incumbents face election at a time. Florida’s term limits cut Senators off after eight years, but if they head into an election having served for six, they can run again potentially serving for ten years. This may be the case for Sen. Wilton Simpson (R-Trilby). An odd district could have thrown off Simpson’s bid to be the next Senate president because he would've finished out his term in 2020. With his home district receiving an even designation he may be able to serve through 2022. But with the partisan breakdown in the Senate coming closer to an even split that race could be tight.
Correction: an earlier version of this story reversed which districts serve two and four year terms, and incorrectly reported Senators could be held to six years in office.
