Newly-approved map stretches District 9 from Osceola to Okeechobee
This story is part of the News Collaborative of Central Florida, an initiative of independent local news outlets working towards a more informed and engaged Central Florida.
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed off on a new map of 28 Congressional districts—the same map his staff drew up and presented to the Florida Legislature, which gave a vote of approval—into law on Monday.
While adding two more districts based on population growth, it made significant changes to about two-thirds of them, including District 9, which includes Osceola County.
The District has included all of Osceola and small parts of Orange and Polk counties since 2013, when Democrats Allen Grayson and Darren Soto have held the seat in Democratic-leaning Osceola County.
But the new map approved Monday creates a much longer District 9, stretching from Lake Nona in the north to the north shore of Lake Okeechobee to the south, as well as Indian River County on the Atlantic Coast. The new one pulls far more areas that have voted for Republicans in past races, like President Donald Trump and then-Senator Marco Rubio.
According to the News Service of Florida, District 9 shifts from a Democratic-leaning seat to one that voted 58-41 for Donald Trump over Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election. In the 2020 election, it voted for Trump 53-46 over Joe Biden.
The map also pulls the far northwestern portion of Osceola, which includes Celebration and a portion of Poinciana, into District 18 with the bulk of north and central Polk County. Two legal challenges have already been filed (click link).
DeSantis maintains that redistricting the state now, rather than after the 2030 Census—this is a process that has historically occurred every 10 years— accounts for a lower count of Florida’s population in the 2020 count which was heavily affected and inhibited by the COVID-19 pandemic. But that call was enhanced by Trump calling for states to redraw lines that would help the Republican Party maintain its House of Representatives through the midterm elections. States like Texas, Virginia and California have done similar exercises this year, with varying results—results that Democratic leaders think is illegal.
“The map that was passed today is a direct response to the President’s call to gerrymander maps to help Republicans and that is illegal under our state’s Constitution,” Florida House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell (D—Tampa) said in a statement.
The Florida House voted 83-28 and the Senate 21-17 to pass the new map, with the vote primarily along party lines. Representatives from Osceola County Jose Alvarez and Leonard Spencer (both Democrats) voting against, along with Sen. Kristen Arrington.
“I voted no because this process was wrong and violates the will of our constituents,” Alvarez said. The redistricting process should be done in the light, take months of bipartisan effort, and give ample time for the public to review the maps and have
Newly drawn District 9 now spans from Lake Nona through Osceola County to Lake Okeechobee.
their voices heard in committee.
“Instead, this body chose to reject that tradition to hastily pass this partisan map that clearly violates the Fair District Amendment that was passed by the will of the people. The legislature is, at best. This vote is a sad reflection on the current state of politics, and I will personally not stand for it.”
In House floor debate, Arrington said the vote decided if lawmakers would honor the state constitution, which includes the Fair Districts Amendment of 2010, voted in by voters statewide to, in short, avoid this sort of thing.
“If you’ve been to Osceola or Orange County, where high growth continues to be, why would you add Indian River County, Highlands County, Glades County and Okeechobee County?” she asked. “Do you think constituents in these rural counties want to be represented by someone from Orange or Osceola, or be included in their priorities? How long will it take for their representative to talk to their constituents? These people are not going to get representation.
“This map is being advanced in a mid-decade special session because of politics and power … The map was sent to Fox News before it was sent to us. This map is illegal, expected to increase one party’s representation by multiple seats. That outcome is not incidental, it’s intentional. If we pass this illegal map we are telling Floridians that their vote, voice and constitution can be set aside for political gain. I will not do that.”
Egan Carter, interim chair of the Osceola County Democrats, called District 9 on the new map "a direct hit on Osceola’s majority-Hispanic population."
"The new district lines dilute Hispanic voting power and weaken their ability to choose who represents them in Congress. Republicans know exactly what they’re doing and why," she said. "And they’re doing it in violation of what Florida voters overwhelmingly approved in 2010 through the Fair Districts Amendments, which banned political gerrymandering."
At the same time, Carter noted that state House and Senate lines remain unchanged.
"Democrats will be putting serious focus on those races in Osceola to replace the Republicans who voted for this politically motivated map. Those who undermine the right to fair representation will be held to account when voters show up to the polls in November."
Osceola County Republican Committee Member Mark Cross called the process to pull Osceola County back into a red-leaning district “a victory.”
“Years ago, the state decided to make Osceola its own Hispanic-majority district, which is also racial gerrymandering,” he said Monday. “We haven’t gotten as many federal resources into our area as a result, so we’re excited about what this holds for the party.”
House Republicans Paula Stark and Erika Booth of St. Cloud voted for it. Stark said in a social media post that she’s a product of a district that leaned toward Democrats when she first ran in 2022.
“Regardless how we believe a district is established, it doesn’t always mean that that’s how the outcome ends up,” the post said. “I am proof that it’s about the person and the people getting out to vote and doing their homework, and I believe in our citizens and their thoughtfulness and that’s what needs to continue.”
Current Osceola County Commissioner Ricky Booth, Erika’s husband, confirmed this week a report in Florida Politics that he “would be interested” in running.
“So many of our cattle ranching community in Central Florida would be a part of this version of District 9,” he said.
While Soto has not returned a News-Gazette request for comment, he has told other outlets that he intends to run for the seat this year, and per the Florida Department of State database, he is the lone Democrat thus far filed to run against a deep pool of Republicans who have filed: Thomas Chalifoux and Marcus Carter, who ran in 2024 (Carter as an independent), Jorge Malavet, Ingrid Nair Morales Vazquez, Steven Rance and Justin Story.
