DeSantis says last census 'flawed,' considering asking Assembly to redraw Florida congressional map

Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis says the most recent U.S. census was "flawed" and as a result he's considering asking the state legislature to redraw the congressional map.

The governor said Wednesday at a Tampa roundtable on education that the Trump administration was considering approving a new census before the end of the decade, and that he is "seriously" looking at asking the state legislature to redraw Florida's congressional map, POLITICO reported.

A new census could help the state add congressional seats, DeSantis said. Republicans have 20 congressional seats in Florida, compared to eight for Democrats.

States usually redraw their congressional and legislative maps once a decade after the decennial U.S. Census. The 2020 census was largely conducted during President Trump's first term, with the results announced by the Biden administration.

However, Republicans and Democrats are trying to redraw congressional maps now in a effort to control the House in the 2026 midterm elections. 

In Texas, Republicans have already proposed a new congressional map, which could give the state another five seats.

After the 2020 census, Florida gained a congressional seat. However, DeSantis said that the census under-counted Florida, which he believes cost them another House seat.

DeSantis explained that he was “told at the tail end of the [first] Trump administration that we were going to get at least two seats and so we were shocked when it came out.” While the governor considered suing, he said he ultimately decided against it.

He also said he had discussions with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and “they agree that Florida did not get the population that it should have gotten.”

DeSantis added, “I know they’ve considered doing another census,” and that if it does occur, then it would not include illegal immigrants.

The first administration attempted to exclude illegal immigrants from the census, but dropped it after losing a case before the U.S. Supreme Court and delays from the pandemic pushing the data release until after Trump's term ended.

“I hope that they do redo the census, I think Florida would benefit if they redid the census. But even short of that, I do think we are going to be looking at the pathways to be able do the redistricting here in Florida,” DeSantis said.