TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Senate Reapportion Committee approved a new Florida congressional map with no discussion or debate.
Only one committee member, Democratic Sen. Audrey Gibson, voted against the plan, which adds a new 28th district in central Florida that should favor Republicans.
With nearly all Democrats on the committee voting for the map, it’s a sign that the plan meets that state’s constitutional requirement that districts be contiguous and drawn without benefitting a political party or candidate.
The plan will now go to the full Senate. The House Redistricting Committee still needs to approve its version of the congressional map.
Florida's growing population between 2010 and 2020 led to the new seat in the "once-every-decade redistricting process," The Associated Press reports.
The Senate reportedly promised to follow the constitution after a three-year court battle the last time Florida drew political maps. AP explains the state Supreme Court tossed the Republican-led Legislature's maps drawn with help from state Republican Party consultants.
10 Tampa Bay's Courtney Holland contributed to this report.