Court Rejects Miami Lawyer’s Bid for State Senate Ballot

Francisco Amador’s legal challenge to secure a spot on the ballot for a Florida state Senate race was rejected after the state high court dismissed a lawsuit filed directly in July, according to court records.

The dismissal comes alongside a broader legal battle over Florida’s political boundaries. According to reporting by NBC News, the Florida Supreme Court also rejected a separate challenge to new Republican-drawn congressional maps, ensuring the revised lines will govern the 2026 midterm elections.

Florida Supreme Court Affirms Mid-Decade Redistricting Plan

The state Supreme Court’s majority ruled that it lacked jurisdiction to block the congressional map while an underlying legal challenge proceeds. According to NBC News, six members of the court appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis supported the jurisdictional finding. Justice Jorge Labarga, appointed by former Gov. Charlie Crist, provided the lone dissent.

Labarga criticized the timeline of the decision. For a second time in fewer than three years in a substantively similar context, the district court has elected a path of delayed appellate review, Labarga wrote, according to NBC News, adding that the votes of even more Floridians are at stake.

Governor DeSantis praised the outcome on the social media platform X. The Florida Supreme Court has REJECTED the challenge to the state’s redistricting plan and new map, DeSantis wrote, according to NBC News, noting that the ruling assures the recently enacted map will be in place for the 2026 election.

Underlying Legal Challenges and Partisan Impact

While the maps will dictate the upcoming contests, the core legal challenge remains active. Common Cause, the Campaigns Legal Center, and Equal Ground Florida are leading the litigation, arguing that the maps violate the state’s Fair Districts amendments, which prohibit partisan gerrymandering and protect minority access districts, according to NBC News.

DeSantis has argued that the new maps do not need to comply with those state constitutional provisions because the minority protection language conflicts with federal law. The governor aims to use the litigation to prompt the state high court to dismiss or weaken the Fair Districts amendments, NBC News reported.

The redrawn lines create 24 Republican-leaning seats out of Florida’s 28 congressional districts, providing a net gain for the GOP as both parties maneuver for control of the U.S. House of Representatives. Several prominent congressional Democrats face new district compositions as a result.

Representative Jared Moskowitz is running in the 25th District after his previous 23rd District was reconfigured. Representative Darren Soto faces a significantly more conservative 9th District in the Orlando area, and Representative Kathy Castor’s Tampa-area 14th District now leans more heavily Republican. Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz opted to run in the 20th District, a Democratic-leaning Black access seat, after her South Florida district underwent major changes, according to NBC News.