DeSantis Map Reshapes Who Represents the Treasure Coast in Congress

A U.S. Supreme Court ruling that gutted a key provision of the Voting Rights Act handed Gov. Ron DeSantis the legal cover he needed this week to push through a new congressional map — one that promises to reshape which voices represent Martin, St. Lucie, and Indian River County residents on Capitol Hill.

The Florida Legislature approved HB 1D, a governor-designed redistricting plan, hours after the Supreme Court's 6-3 ruling in a Louisiana case that required plaintiffs challenging electoral maps to prove intentional racial discrimination — not merely discriminatory effect. DeSantis said he would sign the bill "as soon as I get it," and his office explicitly cited the Louisiana decision to justify the new map.

The plan is expected to net Republicans up to four additional U.S. House seats statewide.

For Treasure Coast residents, the most immediate consequence is in Florida's 21st Congressional District. Rep. Brian Mast, a Palm City Republican who has represented portions of Martin and St. Lucie counties, has launched his re-election campaign under the newly drawn CD 21 lines. The precise boundaries of the redrawn CD 21 as they affect Martin, St. Lucie, and Indian River counties were not fully detailed in available source material According to public records,, and the Sentinel is seeking the official district map from the Florida Division of Elections to confirm exactly which precincts fall under which new congressional boundaries.

The political reshuffling extends well beyond Mast. Former state Rep. George Moraitis, a Broward County Republican, abandoned his CD 23 campaign to run in the newly configured CD 25, which now stretches along the southeast coast from Delray Beach through Miami Beach. Republican David Burck is staying in the CD 22 race despite the new map pushing his home address into a neighboring district — a move that is legally permissible under the U.S. Constitution, which does not require candidates to live within their target district. Rep. Greg Steube confirmed he will seek a fifth term in the redrawn CD 17. Rep. Laurel Lee announced re-election plans in a reconfigured CD 15 that tilts more heavily Republican, with Trump carrying the new district by 20 points in 2024 compared to 11 under the old lines.

Critics of the map were swift. Election law expert Rick Hasen of UCLA called the SCOTUS ruling that enabled this moment "one of the most important and most pernicious decisions of the Supreme Court in the last century," telling NPR that what remains of the Voting Rights Act is "a hollow shell."

On-record comment from DeSantis's office, the Florida Division of Elections, and Mast's campaign was not obtained prior to this filing and is being sought. The Sentinel is pulling the enrolled version of HB 1D and the official precinct-level district maps as primary source documents to independently verify the boundary changes affecting all three Treasure Coast counties.

The primary is scheduled for Aug. 18, with the general election Nov. 3. How the new lines divide Martin, St. Lucie, and Indian River County precincts — and whether any county is split between two or more new congressional districts — will determine whose vote counts where when those ballots are cast.

This article was generated with AI assistance using publicly available information. It was reviewed and approved by a human editor before publication. TC Sentinel uses AI writing tools in accordance with FTC guidelines.