The Florida legislature is sending its congressional plan to Gov. Ron DeSantis for approval after the House and Senate agreed upon a measure that contains a preferred map and a backup.
But DeSantis doubled down on his promise to veto the plan while speaking at a press conference in Jacksonville on Friday.
“Some people were saying, even though I had been I thought very clear, ‘Oh, he’s not, no, no, no. He’s not actually going to veto it.’ Yes, I am," DeSantis said. "What makes you think when I say I’m going to do something that I’m not going to follow through.”
DeSantis’ comments came after he sent a tweet this morning saying that the plan was dead on arrival as House lawmakers were getting ready to pass it.
Both maps contain a district in north Florida where African American voters can elect a candidate of their choice.
GOP lawmakers’ preferred plan would eliminate Congressman Al Lawson’s district and replace it with a Black voting district solely in Duval County.
The House approved the plan 67-47. After it passed the House, the Senate quickly took up the measure and voted 24-15 to approve it.
Democrats who had voted in January for the Senate plan — which would've kept Rep. Al Lawson's district largely intact — opposed the House's plan. Their opposition came because they weren't able to review the data used to draw a minority access district in Duval County. Data from recent election cycles shows the district has swung in favor of the Republican candidate, even though the majority African American voters in the district cast their ballot in favor of the Democratic candidate.
