TALLAHASSEE — The Florida Supreme Court approved a sweeping overhaul of the state's congressional districts on Wednesday, a move that will upend the political landscape ahead of the pivotal 2016 elections.
The justices ruled 5-2 in favor of the new boundaries for many of Florida's 27 districts. The ruling endorses the map that Circuit Judge Terry Lewis approved this year, but it had immediately come under fire from both Republican legislators and Democratic members of Congress.
The map would likely force Representative Dan Webster, a central Florida Republican, to change districts to remain in office. It also could also short-circuit Democratic Representative Gwen Graham's rising career and would make it harder for Republican Representative Carlos Curbelo to get reelected in South Florida.
But the new map is also expected to make it easier for former governor Charlie Crist to win election as a Democrat in a reconfigured seat in the Tampa Bay area.
''Obviously this was a historic win for the people of Florida,'' said Peter Butzin, chairman of Common Cause Florida and one of the groups involved in the lawsuit that triggered the ruling.
Some hope the ruling will end nearly four years of lawsuits, hearings, and special sessions over the districts. The process has cost taxpayers millions of dollars.
But the new map could come under further legal attack.
US Representative Corinne Brown, whose district would be shifted from a north-south alignment to one that stretches from Jacksonville to Tallahassee, has already promised to resume a federal lawsuit against the proposal.