In one of the nation’s last holdouts, the Florida Congressional maps became clearer this week. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Wednesday proposed a partisan redrawing of the state’s Congressional boundaries that could help his party pick up a record four seats in the U.S. House of Representatives this November.

Steve Contorno, a reporter for CNN Florida, notes in a recent article that the latest offering would likely reduce the number of districts where black voters are a plurality and would make it difficult for Democrats to win anywhere north of Orlando or outside major cities: “DeSantis had demanded lawmakers dismantle Florida’s 5th Congressional District, currently represented by Democrat Al Lawson, which connects black communities from Tallahassee to Jacksonville. He has contended that it was racially gerrymandered and on Tuesday he vowed to replace it with a race-neutral district.”

In a highly unusual move, Republican legislative leaders deferred to Gov.  DeSantis to draft a new Congressional map. Ana Ceballos, a politics and policy reporter for the Miami Herald, argues in a recent article that this was an apparent attempt to appease the governor and dissolve tensions over the redistricting process in Florida, stating: “The decision, announced jointly by Senate President Wilton Simpson and House Speaker Chris Sprowls, comes two weeks after DeSantis vetoed a Congressional map approved by the Legislature and called state lawmakers back into a special session to craft a new plan that would be to his liking.”

Matt Isbell, founder of MCI Maps and a Florida redistricting expert who works with Democrats, said Monday’s announcement was rare in the context of Florida’s redistricting history but not unexpected, stating: “It’s super unusual in a historic context. It doesn’t really surprise me with what’s been happening the last couple of weeks.”

Jim Turner, a reporter at News4Jax, says in a recent article that with DeSantis’ proposal, the number of Republican-held Congressional seats would be expected to grow from the current 16 to 20:“Democrats would have advantages in one district in the Tampa region, two in the Orlando area and five in South Florida. The state’s overall number of Congressional seats is increasing this year from 27 to 28 because of population growth.”

Florida is one of just three states with more than one Congressional district that hasn't yet finalized its new map. The state could prove crucial to determining control of the U.S. House. All parties acknowledge whatever map is ultimately picked will be challenged in court. Unlike state legislative maps, which require the approval of the state Supreme Court, Florida's Congressional map only needs the governor's signature to become law, WFSU reported.