Politics | Fri Oct 9, 2015 7:09pm EDT

Judge tears up district of Republican vying to be House speaker

TALLAHASSEE, FLA. | BY BILL COTTERELL

A Florida judge seeking to resolve a long-running legal dispute over the state's congressional districts on Friday sent the state Supreme Court a new map that breaks up the constituency of U.S. Representative Daniel Webster, a Republican vying to become speaker of the House.

Circuit Judge Terry Lewis rejected the state legislature’s third attempt at drawing 27 realigned congressional districts under new requirements in the Florida Constitution forbidding partisan gerrymandering, such as consideration of incumbency or party affiliation.

The maps were redrawn after Lewis ruled last year that Republican leaders had conspired to rig the boundaries to protect the party's majority in Washington. Their 2012 maps "made a mockery" of anti-gerrymandering provisions in the state's constitution, he said.

Webster, who is running to replace retiring U.S. House Speaker John Boehner, has strongly opposed portions of the Central Florida redistricting that would make his Orlando-area district more Hispanic and increase its Democratic registration.

Lewis' map could also spell trouble for U.S. Representative Carlos Curbelo, a Miami Republican, while opening the door in Tampa Bay to former Republican Governor Charlie Crist, who is now a Democrat and has said he will run for a House seat if the judge's layout for the district is adopted.

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