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Rove warns of proposed Florida Republican gerrymander ‘risk’

Republican strategist Karl Rove warned Friday that the proposed Florida Republican gerrymander could be a “risk” to the GOP’s control of the state’s House delegation.

“Fox & Friends” co-host Brian Kilmeade asked Rove about a similar measure Virginia voters passed during a special election Tuesday that would increase Democrats’ chances of winning seats in the Old Dominion in the November midterm elections.

Kilmeade asked whether Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) should “go for it” and push for a redistricting session that would benefit Republicans. Rove said “it’s up to the people of Florida” but cautioned that Democrats are “ahead” in multi-state efforts to redraw maps.

“If Florida acts as best it can, Republicans will at least be equal,” he continued. “But there’s a risk here, because what they’re going to do is they’re going to have to take Republican votes away from Republican areas and put them in Democratic areas.”

Rove said that would “deplete the numbers of some incumbent Republicans, and they could lose a seat or two.”

Sunshine State lawmakers are scheduled to meet next week for a meeting that could be the GOP’s last attempt to redraw the maps of a red state ahead of the midterms. But some Republicans have warned DeSantis against pursuing any redistricting measures, pointing to Democrats’ recent victories nationwide and the Florida Constitution’s clear anti-gerrymandering language.

DeSantis said in December that redrawing Florida’s congressional maps “must be addressed.” But Florida lawmakers meeting next week will use only 2020 population data to redraw the map.

Texas began its nationwide redistricting fight last year. Only a few blue states struggled to give Democrats a chance; California passed a measure during a special election last November, followed by Virginia this week. A court-ordered blockade of Utah Republicans’ attempt to redistrict their state has offered Democrats a chance to win a seat in that state.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (DY) warned Florida Republicans not to change their maps, telling them to “stick around and find out” when speaking to reporters Wednesday. He called the remapping effort a “dummy” that could inadvertently benefit Democratic candidates. Jeffries told Punchbowl News that if the redistricting effort goes ahead, Democrats will target the eight Republican seats in the Florida House of Representatives.

DeSantis urged Jeffries to come to Florida and said he would “pay you to come to Florida and campaign.”

“There is nothing better for Republicans in Florida than to see Jeffries all over this state,” he said at a news conference. “Voters are not going to like what they see, they are not going to want this type of ideology, so the door is open, the invitation is out.”

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