POLITICS: Ron DeSantis just delivered one crushing blow that left Democrats scrambling for cover – USSA News

The Florida Supreme Court handed conservatives a massive victory that will reshape Congress for years to come.

Democrats thought they had found a way to overturn Ron DeSantis’ brilliant redistricting strategy.

And Ron DeSantis just delivered one crushing blow that left Democrats scrambling for cover.

Florida Supreme Court deals Democrats devastating redistricting defeat

The Florida Supreme Court dropped a political bombshell on Thursday when it upheld Governor Ron DeSantis’ 2022 congressional redistricting map in a decisive 5-1 ruling.

The decision represents a crushing defeat for left-wing groups who desperately tried to restore what amounted to an unconstitutional racial gerrymander that stretched 200 miles across Florida.

Chief Justice Carlos Muñiz wrote the majority opinion that demolished Democrat arguments and vindicated DeSantis’ constitutional approach to redistricting.

“We uphold our state’s congressional districting plan, because the federal Equal Protection Clause prohibits the racially gerrymandered district that the plaintiffs demand,” Muñiz declared.¹

The ruling means DeSantis’ map – which helped Republicans gain a decisive 20-8 advantage in Florida’s congressional delegation – will remain in place for the 2026 midterm elections and beyond.

This isn’t just a legal victory. It’s a strategic masterpiece that helped Republicans secure their narrow House majority in 2022 and will continue paying dividends for conservative representation.

Democrats’ racial gerrymandering scheme gets exposed

The case centered around the dismantling of Florida’s old Congressional District 5, a grotesquely shaped monstrosity that stretched from Jacksonville to Tallahassee for the sole purpose of creating a Democrat-controlled seat.

The district was previously held by former Representative Al Lawson, a Black Democrat who benefited from what amounted to textbook racial gerrymandering.

DeSantis saw right through this constitutional violation and took decisive action.

“Today, I vetoed a map that violates the U.S. Constitution, but that does not absolve the Legislature from doing its job,” DeSantis said when he rejected the Legislature’s initial redistricting attempt in 2022.²

The Governor correctly identified that Congressional District 5 “violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment” because it was drawn specifically to favor racial representation despite not being a black-majority district.

DeSantis understood what Democrat activists refused to acknowledge – you can’t draw district lines based primarily on race and call it constitutional.

The Supreme Court’s ruling vindicated this position completely.

See more

https://twitter.com/GovRonDeSantis/status/1945904446283632827

“There is no plausible, non-racial explanation for using a nearly two-hundred-mile-long land bridge to connect the Black populations of Jacksonville and Tallahassee,” Justice Muñiz wrote in the decision.³

Left-wing groups throw tantrum over constitutional ruling

The decision sent Democrat activists into full meltdown mode as they realized their racial gerrymandering scheme had been permanently dismantled.

Genesis Robinson, Executive Director of Equal Ground, called the ruling “another dark day in the history of Florida” and accused the Court of turning “its back on Black voters.”

“By allowing a map that clearly diminishes Black voting power to stand in a 5-1 decision, the Court has sent a chilling message: the constitutional rights of Black Floridians are negotiable,” Robinson complained.⁴

But Robinson and her fellow activists are missing the fundamental point – the Constitution doesn’t guarantee racial gerrymandering.

The Equal Protection Clause actually prohibits drawing district lines primarily based on race, which is exactly what the old District 5 did.

Former Representative Al Lawson, who lost his seat when forced to run in a legitimately drawn district, attacked the Court’s independence in a bitter statement.

“Let’s be honest – this was Ron DeSantis’s map, and every single justice who upheld it was appointed by him,” Lawson whined. “These partisan judges owe their jobs to Ron DeSantis, and they continue to rubber-stamp whatever he wants.”⁵

Lawson’s attack reveals the Democrat mindset – they believe judges should rule based on political preferences rather than constitutional law.

The fact that DeSantis appointed conservative justices who follow the Constitution rather than activist ideology is exactly why Florida voters elected him.

DeSantis’ strategic masterstroke pays long-term dividends

The redistricting victory represents far more than a single legal win – it’s a strategic triumph that will benefit conservatives for the rest of the decade.

DeSantis’ map resulted in Republicans gaining four total congressional seats while Democrats lost three, creating a net shift of seven seats for the GOP.

That swing proved decisive in Republicans’ narrow nine-seat House majority in 2022.

Without DeSantis’ constitutional redistricting, Republicans might not have won control of the House at all.

The Governor celebrated the Supreme Court’s vindication of his approach on social media.

“This was always the constitutionally correct map — and now both the federal courts and the FL Supreme Court have upheld it,” DeSantis posted on X.⁶

Attorney General James Uthmeier’s spokesperson Jeremy Redfern delivered the perfect response to Democrat complaints.

“We thank the Florida Supreme Court for upholding Florida’s 2022 Congressional map,” Redfern said. “The state’s decision to eliminate an unconstitutional district was the right decision, and the same party that tried to force racial gerrymandering 70 years ago will not be able to force racial gerrymandering today.”⁷

Legal challenges crumble under constitutional scrutiny

The Supreme Court’s decision resolves the most significant legal challenge to Florida’s congressional maps, though one federal lawsuit remains pending.

A panel of three federal judges previously upheld the current congressional districts, and Thursday’s state Supreme Court ruling provides additional constitutional backing.

The Court’s majority opinion emphasized that challengers needed to propose viable alternative maps rather than simply pointing out perceived problems.

“It is not enough in the redistricting context for challengers to identify a flaw in an enacted districting plan and demand that the court send the Legislature back to the drawing board,” the decision stated.⁸

This standard makes future challenges much more difficult for left-wing groups who prefer complaining about outcomes rather than proposing constitutional alternatives.

Justice Jorge Labarga was the lone dissenter, arguing the case should be sent back to a lower court for further proceedings.

But the overwhelming 5-1 majority demonstrates how solid the constitutional foundation is for DeSantis’ redistricting approach.

The bigger picture: Constitutional principles triumph over racial politics

The Florida Supreme Court’s decision represents a crucial victory for constitutional principles over racial politics.

For too long, Democrats have used racial gerrymandering as a tool to maintain power while accusing Republicans of discrimination when they draw constitutional districts.

DeSantis exposed this hypocrisy and created a redistricting map that treats all voters equally under the law rather than dividing them by race.

The old District 5 was a perfect example of everything wrong with racial gerrymandering – a bizarre 200-mile snake that connected communities with nothing in common except racial demographics.

No rational person could argue that Jacksonville and Tallahassee belong in the same congressional district based on shared interests or geographic logic.

The only justification was racial, which made it unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause.

DeSantis understood this constitutional reality and had the courage to act on it, despite knowing Democrats would attack him as racist.

The Supreme Court’s ruling vindicates that principled approach and ensures Florida’s congressional representation will be based on constitutional principles rather than racial politics.

This victory will continue paying dividends for conservative representation throughout the rest of the decade, helping maintain Republican control of Congress and advancing the America First agenda.

¹ Gray Rohrer, “Florida Supreme Court upholds DeSantis-backed congressional district maps,” USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida, July 17, 2025.

² Eric Daugherty, “Florida’s 2022 congressional map that added 4 Republican seats upheld by Florida Supreme Court,” Florida’s Voice, July 17, 2025.

³ Jacob Ogles, “Florida Supreme Court upholds Gov. DeSantis’ controversial congressional map,” Florida Politics, July 17, 2025.

⁴ Ibid.

⁵ Gray Rohrer, “Florida Supreme Court upholds DeSantis-backed congressional district maps,” USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida, July 17, 2025.

⁶ Jacob Ogles, “Florida Supreme Court upholds Gov. DeSantis’ controversial congressional map,” Florida Politics, July 17, 2025.

⁷ Eric Daugherty, “Florida’s 2022 congressional map that added 4 Republican seats upheld by Florida Supreme Court,” Florida’s Voice, July 17, 2025.

⁸ “Florida Supreme Court upholds congressional map that eliminates a majority-Black district,” Associated Press, July 17, 2025.