Supreme Court boosts DeSantis' GOP congressional map

Callais neutered a key provision of the Voting Rights Act and made it harder to defend race-based districts.It applied new, stricter requirements to win lawsuits under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Florida mirrored Section 2's language in its state constitution to protect Black and Hispanic voting power.The ruling didn't fully strike down Section 2, and it doesn't address the other section of Florida's law that forbids maps drawn to favor or disfavor a political party or an incumbent.Between the lines: DeSantis, however, argues the entire amendment is invalid because it was sold as a package that both banned partisan gerrymandering and, in his words, called for racial gerrymandering.DeSantis staffer Jason Poreda said he drew the map without considering race but acknowledged partisan or electoral performance data was a consideration.The Florida Supreme Court will likely make the final call.DeSantis has a three-layered plan to stall opponents in court before the midterms.The intrigue: DeSantis' map does not completely eliminate two seats drawn to represent Black voters.That may help Republicans politically by concentrating Democratic-leaning Black voters in fewer districts to make surrounding seats more favorable to Republicans.What they're saying: State Sen. Jen Bradley, a Republican who voted against the bill, said the map rested on a legal theory that the Supreme Court has not even opined on or heard.I just can't do it, Bradley said in a committee Tuesday. It's unconstitutional.Bottom line: The Supreme Court gave DeSantis cover to attack race-conscious districts, but it did not automatically bless a partisan gerrymander in Florida.