State Watch

DeSantis on Jeffries ‘F around and find out’ remark: ‘I will pay for you to come down to Florida’

Comments:

by Sarah Davis - 04/23/26 7:54 AM ET

Comments:

Link copied

by Sarah Davis - 04/23/26 7:54 AM ET

Comments:

Link copied

NOW PLAYING

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) challenged House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) on Wednesday to campaign in his state after the Democrat issued a warning to Florida over redistricting.

“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.”

“There’s nothing that could be better for Republicans in Florida than to see Jeffries … everywhere around this state,” the governor continued. “Voters will not like what they see, they will not want that type of ideology and so the door is open, the invitation’s out there.”

DeSantis has called a special session in the Florida Legislature next week to propose new GOP-friendly congressional maps for the state ahead of the midterm elections. The move has been criticized by Democrats and Republicans alike.

Jeffries has dubbed the move a “dummymander,” arguing the redistricting effort would ultimately harm Republicans’ election chances in the state.

“Our message to Florida Republicans is, ‘F around and find out,’” Jeffries told reporters earlier Wednesday on Capitol Hill, in reference to the redistricting move.

In a statement shared by Punchbowl News on Tuesday, Jeffries specifically named eight sitting Florida House Republicans whose seats Democrats will target in the midterms if the Sunshine State proceeds with its redistricting efforts.

“We are prepared to take them all on, and we are prepared to win,” the New York Democrat wrote. “Maximum warfare, everywhere, all the time.”

President Trump has placed pressure on several GOP-led states to redraw their maps to favor Republican candidates. States like Texas, North Carolina, Missouri and Utah have all approved GOP-drawn maps as part of this rare, mid-century redistricting effort.

Democrats have responded in kind, with California voters approving new maps that could net the party up to five additional seats in the midterms.

The party also emerged victorious in Virginia’s Tuesday election, in which the state’s voters narrowly approved a redistricting referendum that could swing four seats in Democrats’ favor in November.

Add as preferred source on Google