Rep. Bean awaits court decision on redistricting

Development in a redistricting case could leave U.S. Rep. Aaron Bean without his congressional district. But for now, the Fernandina Beach Republican is patiently awaiting developments in court.

Following news an upcoming legal challenge will focus on North Florida’s configuration, Bean’s campaign provided a statement to Florida Politics.

“We will not comment on pending litigation and Congressman Bean is very proud to represent and serve his constituents and community in Congress,” the statement from Bean spokesperson Sarah Bascom reads.

Meanwhile, a challenge by minority advocacy groups of Florida’s congressional map, signed into law last year, continues to play out. On Friday, the state and plaintiffs reached a joint stipulation, effectively agreeing the map diminished Black voting power in North Florida.

The map, drawn by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office, eliminated a prior configuration of Florida’s 5th Congressional District, which spanned from Tallahassee to Jacksonville and covered a number of heavily Black communities.

“Defendants concede that if the non-diminishment standard applies to North Florida (Question No. 1), then there is no Black-performing district in North Florida under the Enacted Map,” the stipulation agreement reads. “The parties agree that the former congressional district 5 used for the 2016, 2018, and 2020 congressional elections was a Black-performing district.”

The prior district had been represented since 2017 by former U.S. Rep. Al Lawson, a Tallahassee Democrat. Lawson under the new lines, ran in a new version of Florida’s 2nd Congressional District covering all of Tallahassee, but U.S. Rep. Neal Dunn, a Panama City Republican, successfully defended the seat in November.

The dismantling of Lawson’s district resulted in a new configuration of Florida’s 4th Congressional District and created an opportunity for Bean. As a state senator, Bean voted to approve the new map in a Special Session. In November, he handily won election to the open seat, winning more than 60% of the vote against Democrat L.J. Holloway. Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. John Rutherford, a Jacksonville Republican, ran in the new version of Florida’s 5th Congressional District.

But of note, Bean in the Florida Legislature also voted for a prior congressional map that preserved a version of Lawson’s district but was ultimately vetoed by DeSantis. Indeed, he also voted for a map that only passed in the Florida Senate.

DeSantis rejected those maps, specifically deriding Lawson’s wide and shallow district as an “unconstitutional gerrymander.” In the current lawsuit, the state has held that the Florida Supreme Court, when it enacted the district in 2015, erred by creating a district motivated primarily by race. That ultimately led to the Legislature taking up a map drafted and submitted by Alex Kelly, now Commerce Secretary and DeSantis’ acting chief of staff, that was put in effect for the 2022 elections.

Should courts restore a district similar to Lawson’s prior constituency, Bean would likely face a treacherous road to re-election. He would either have to run in a heavily Democratic district, possibly against Lawson, or find another seat.

There are no residency requirements for members of Congress to live in their district, only their state. But all incumbents in nearby Republican districts, including .S. U.S. Reps. Kat Cammack, Rutherford and Michael Waltz, are expected to seek re-election.

Jacob Ogles has covered politics in Florida since 2000 for regional outlets including SRQ Magazine in Sarasota, The News-Press in Fort Myers and The Daily Commercial in Leesburg. His work has appeared nationally in The Advocate, Wired and other publications. Events like SRQ’s Where The Votes Are workshops made Ogles one of Southwest Florida’s most respected political analysts, and outlets like WWSB ABC 7 and WSRQ Sarasota have featured his insights. He can be reached at jacobogles@hotmail.com.