'Maximum warfare': Red state GOP threatened with scorched earth answer if it gerrymanders
Fresh off Democrats' victory in Tuesday night's referendum in Virginia to retaliate against Republican mid-decade gerrymanders by drawing out four Republicans, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) put out a statement warning Florida Republicans not to try following suit — or they would go all out to break them at the ballot box.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has pressed the legislature hard to redistrict, arguing that the Census did not properly capture the population of the state, and some GOP strategists hope they could squeeze at least three more Republican seats out of the current map, which is already an aggressive gerrymander. But others fear this would backfire, as the electorate shifts bluer than the 2024 voting patterns used to perform any redraws, and could flip several seats that are only slightly GOP-leaning.
Jeffries threatened that Democrats would make good on precisely this risk.
"Last July, Donald Trump demanded that Texas draw five new Republican seats in the middle of a decade, igniting a chain reaction of corrupt MAGA state legislators attempting to rig the midterm elections," wrote Jeffries in a statement published by Punchbowl News' Jake Sherman. "While many expected Democrats to roll over and play dead, we did the opposite. Democrats did not step back. We fought back. When they go low, we hit back hard. We won Prop 50 in California, reclaimed a seat in Utah, pushed back extremists in Ohio and halted toxic GOP efforts in Indiana, New Hampshire, Nebraska and Kansas."
"Tonight, thanks to the relentless work of Virginia Democrats, led by Governor Abigail Spanberger, Speaker Don Scott, State Majority Leader Scott Surovell and President Pro Tempore L. Louise Lucas, 'YES' won and Donald Trump lost," he continued. "Virginians spoke with a crystal-clear voice, voting to stop the MAGA power grab and protect the integrity of free and fair elections."
All eyes now move to Florida, he said — and what will happen if Republicans attempt a power grab there.
"Next week, Ron DeSantis is hauling the Florida legislature back into a special session to redraw maps because Republicans know they are on the verge of an epic defeat in November," said Jeffries. "DeSantis is clearly more interested in illegal gerrymandering than lowering the high cost of living or fixing our broken healthcare system."
"If Florida Republicans proceed with this illegal scheme, they will only create more prime pick- up opportunities for Democrats, just as they did with Trump's dummymander in Texas," vowed Jeffries. "We will aggressively target for defeat Mario Díaz- Balart, Maria Elvira Salazar, Carlos Giménez, Kat Cammack, Anna Paulina Luna, Laurel Lee, Cory Mills and Brian Mast. We are prepared to take them all on, and we are prepared to win. Maximum warfare, everywhere, all the time."