JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – One day after a federal court denied a challenge to Florida's new congressional districts, Rep. Corrine Brown called the ruling extremely disappointing and she will consult with her lawyers about whether to appeal the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Brown, a veteran Democratic member of Congress from Jacksonville, argued that the current map, which dramatically altered her Jacksonville district, violates federal voting laws because it diluted the voting rights of minorities. But the panel of three judges disagreed sharply, saying that Brown and her attorneys had not produced evidence to prove her case.
"I have not read the ruling. I have talked to my attorneys who they are reading it, and I have not gotten a response," Brown told News4Jax on Tuesday. "I must say I am extremely disappointed."
On Wednesday, Brown issued a statement saying she intends to run for re-election in the redrawn congressional district, but is still mulling options with her attorney and the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee.
(Editor's note: Brown's complete statement )
The decision could have immediate reverberations because the new map upends the state's political landscape and could lead to the defeat of several incumbents. The current map changes Brown's 5th Congressional District from a north-south configuration from Jacksonville to Orlando to one that stretches west from Jacksonville along the Florida-Georgia border past Tallahassee. After a lengthy battle, the new map was approved by the state Supreme Court in December.
Jennifer Carroll, News4Jax political analyst, said there are more blacks in the newly drawn district.
"It’s yet to be seen how things fare out in this new district, because most of the district that would have known her, is in Baker County to Duval County. Much of the district out west in Gadsden and Leon County may not know her as well," Carroll said.
Brown, who has served in Congress since 1993, has already drawn challengers to her re-election: Democrats L.J. LaShonda and Alfred Lawson Jr. and Republicans Thuy Lowe and Glo Smith.
The new map also puts U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham, who has been viewed as a rising star for Democrats, in a redrawn north Florida district that leans Republican and splits her home of Tallahassee. She has refused to make a decision on her political future because of the ongoing lawsuit.
"I'm disappointed the second congressional District will be transformed from a fair, moderate district into two extreme partisan districts. Dividing Tallahassee hurts north Florida and our community," Graham said in a statement. "Now that the lengthy legal challenges to the maps have been completed, I will make a decision as to what's next as soon as possible. Though the maps may have changed, my commitment to public service has not."
Nearly six years ago, Florida voters approved the "Fair Districts" amendments, which mandated that state legislators cannot draw districts intended to help incumbents or a member of a political party. A coalition of groups, including the League of Women Voters of Florida, challenged the congressional map first approved by the Florida Legislature in 2012, saying it violated the new standards. In a stinging ruling last July, the state Supreme Court said GOP operatives had "tainted" previous efforts to draw up maps and ordered that eight districts be redrawn.
GOP leaders returned during an August special session to adopt a new map, but they deadlocked over which map to pass. In the end, the Florida Supreme Court adopted a map that incorporated changes pushed by the groups that sued the Legislature.
Some Republicans have opted to either change districts or not run for re-election for their House seats based on the proposed changes. The new map has also prompted former Gov. Charlie Crist, who switched to the Democratic Party in 2013, to run for a seat in Pinellas County. Currently the GOP holds a 17-10 edge in Florida's congressional delegation, but that could narrow this fall under the new boundaries.
In her lawsuit, Brown had argued that the new configuration of her district could make it harder for black voters to elect a candidate of their choice. She had also contended that the new map included dozens of prisons, which masked the true number of eligible voters. But the judges pointed out that an analysis of voting data showed that black candidates including President Barack Obama still won in the new district.
"The evidence demonstrates that black preferred candidates should generally continue to win east-west District 5 with about sixty percent of the vote," stated the ruling. "And a win is a win, regardless of the margin of victory."