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Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries ripped Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in a Fox News Digital interview on Thursday, calling him a “lame duck” after the governor offered to pay for his trip to Florida amid a redistricting push.
Jeffries warned DeSantis he could put Republican seats at risk as the Sunshine State remains in the spotlight of a nationwide gerrymandering battle, with parties reshuffling congressional districts for partisan advantages.
“Ron DeSantis is putting his own congressional delegation in jeopardy, which probably shouldn’t be surprising because all of them, as I understand it, can’t stand the charismatically challenged lame duck governor of Florida,” Jeffries said.
CALIFORNIA REPUBLICANS SUE TO STOP NEWSOM, DEMOCRATS FROM PUSHING REDISTRICTING PLAN
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., speaks before a House vote on funding for the Department of Homeland Security on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on March 5, 2026. (Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images)
DeSantis extended the invitation to Jeffries at a press conference in Kissimmee, Florida, on Wednesday following Jeffries’ “F around and find out” warning on redistricting.
“Please. Be my guest. I will pay for you to come down to Florida to campaign,” DeSantis told the crowd. “I’ll put you up in the Florida governor’s mansion. We will take you fishing. We’ll do all this stuff. There’s nothing that could be better for Republicans in Florida than to see Jeffries, Hakeem Jeffries, everywhere around this state.”
Jeffries warned DeSantis earlier this week not to follow Texas’s lead, where Republicans pushed a redistricting map to flip up to five Democratic-held seats.
“Our message to Florida Republicans is F around and find out,” Jeffries said. “If they go down the road of a DeSantis dummymander, the Florida Republicans are gonna find themselves in the same situation as Texas Republicans, who are on the run right now. Under no circumstances are Texas Republicans picking up five seats. They’ll be fortunate if they get two or three. While in California, we are going to get all five.”
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis delivers his State of the State address during the first day of the legislative session at the Florida State Capitol in Tallahassee on Jan. 13, 2026. (Matias J. Ocner/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service)
Multiple states have moved forward with similar redistricting efforts following a push initiated by President Donald Trump.
Jeffries added that the redistricting war is not over yet.
“The Republicans are dummymandering their way into the minority before a single voter casts a ballot because they started this war and we’re going to finish it.”
With the 2026 midterms approaching, both parties hope to win the House by leveraging gerrymandering.
President Trump urged Virginia voters this week to reject the “blatant partisan power grab” in Virginia before voters headed to the polls to vote on the congressional redistricting referendum, led by Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger.
The referendum was passed on Tuesday night, securing Virginia Democrats a major win and increasing the party’s chances in the midterms.
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The U.S. Capitol building is seen at sunrise in Washington, D.C., on Mon. March 9, 2026. (Jose Luis Magana/AP)
DeSantis called a special session this week to focus on congressional maps that he says will “accurately reflect the population of our state.” Florida’s state constitution bans favoring parties in redistricting.
Eight Democratic-held districts are up for redrawing. Currently, Republicans hold 20 of Florida’s seats, while Democrats hold eight.
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A redistricting plan has not been revealed.
Fox News Digital’s Leo Briceno contributed to this report.
