Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) on Wednesday invited House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) to personally hash out their dispute over redistricting.
DeSantis said Jeffries should come to Florida to talk after the House Democrat criticized the Republican governor for calling a special legislative session to discuss redistricting, among other topics.
“I will pay for you to come down to Florida and campaign,” DeSantis said during a press conference. “I’ll put you up in the Florida governor’s mansion. We’ll take you fishing. We’ll do all this stuff.”
Jeffries has praised Virginia for advancing efforts this week that would likely hand Democrats control over 10 of 11 House seats in the state.
But he issued a harsh message to DeSantis, as Florida eyes similar plans to boost Republican dominance in the state. Republicans hold a 20-8 edge in the Florida congressional delegation.
“If they go down the road of a DeSantis dummymander, the Florida Republicans are going to find themselves in the same situation as Texas Republicans, who are on the run right now,” Jeffries told reporters in Washington, D.C.
Democrats and Republicans have been engaged in a nationwide mid-decade redistricting competition to determine which party can pick up the most seats in the House by redrawing the political boundaries and flipping districts.
The campaign started in Texas last year, when President Donald Trump pushed the state to redraw its lines to help Republicans pick up five seats. But the move prompted blue states to respond by passing their own redistricting referendums, with California passing a map in November that could result in Democrats picking up five seats.
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“Our message to Florida Republicans is, ‘F around and find out,’” Jeffries added on Wednesday.
Democrats are on track to gain 10 seats nationally through redistricting compared with Republicans’ nine — though the final outcome of a court battle in Virginia over the referendum’s validity could move Democrats back to six.