President Donald Trump’s push to secure and increase the Republican majority in Congress has Bill Helmich thinking of ways to claim all of Florida’s 28 congressional seats for the Grand Old Party.
Helmich, executive director of the Republican Party of Florida, told the Capital Tiger Bay Club on Oct. 29 that if the Florida Legislature were to call on him to help with redistricting, he could “sit down over a weekend and draw a map where there’s not a single Democratic member of Congress from Florida.”
Gov. Ron DeSantis supports redrawing congressional maps. And House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, formed a select committee to create new congressional lines.
Party chair Evan Power and Helmich said if Florida were to apply the same redistricting rules used by California, Illinois, or Virginia, he could draw “Democrats out of existence over a weekend, easy as pie.”
Power said a more realistic result of any redistricting would be for the GOP to pick up three to five seats. The delegation is currently divided 20 Republicans to eight Democrats.
Their comments come as Florida Republicans celebrate passing their latest milestone, achieving a 1.4 million voter registration advantage over Democrats, and Power reaching out to states led by Democrats to share Florida Republicans’ successful strategy.
Trump, DeSantis, Power and Helmich all say Democrats have weaponized the system against Republicans in other states.
State Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando, said the push for mid-decade congressional redistricting is an exercise in “partisan gerrymandering” and an attempt to “silence our diverse communities” in the pursuit of power.
Power counters Republicans just want to draw districts that are geographically compact and fair to all voters.
“When you draw compact and fair districts, people elect Republicans. That’s just where the people are. And when you have free and fair elections, it will be a 20 or 30 seat (GOP) majority … in Congress,” Power said.
The GOP’s list of successes in Florida keeps growing
Power and Helmich are the back-office administrators for a remarkably efficient political operation. In the past seven years, Republicans turned what was a 2-point voter registration disadvantage into a 10-point advantage over Democrats, a swing of 12 points.
There are just 55,383 more registered voters today than there were in 2018 when Gov. Ron DeSantis was first elected, but the makeup of the electorate is vastly different.
Data from a variety of sources show Florida had an influx of a million new voters during the COVID pandemic. Power said a majority of those who registered to vote did so as Republicans.
In the past decade Republican have increased their voter registration total by 1.3 million voters, while Democrats’ numbers have declined by 402,394, mostly due to new voter roll maintenance rules.
How this plays out on election day is just as dramatic. Three statewide races in 2018 were recounted and decided by less than 1%, including then-Gov. Rick Scott’s challenge of incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson. Scott was declared the winner by 10,000 votes.
In 2024, Scott easily won reelection by 13 points, or 1.3 million votes, and the GOP elected a supermajority in the Florida Legislature and congressional delegation.
Power attributes Florida Republican success to a comprehensive voter registration and turnout program – and candidates who deliver on promises. He said he’s sharing the Florida GOP’s playbook with the state parties in Pennsylvania, Illinois, New Jersey, Georgia and elsewhere.
“We’ve sent Florida talent to their events, shown them what works, shared fundraising letters. Our success proves that if you lean in on policy and deliver, voters will reward you,” Power said.
James Call is a member of the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jcall@tallahassee.com. Follow on him Twitter: @CallTallahassee.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida GOP eyes total control of state’s 28 U.S. House seats
Reporting by James Call, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Tallahassee Democrat
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
