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How Florida's new congressional map is shaking up the 2026 election

Florida's new congressional map is shaking up the competition across the state this campaign season.

The map leaves Districts 1 to 7 unchanged, but others are significantly altered. News Service of Florida reported 21 out of Florida's 28 U.S. House districts were reworked, with four more Republican-leaning districts.

The deadline for candidates to file paperwork to appear on the ballot was Friday at noon. The Florida Supreme Court also declined an emergency request last week to block the newly drawn map. WUSF's Douglas Soule reported the case has to first be heard by a lower court, which already declined to fast-track it.

This means the new districts will be in place for the midterm elections this year. The primaries are on Aug. 18, with the general election on Nov. 3.

Amid the political shuffle changing boundaries, some candidates are facing new challengers, while voters are facing new choices.

"The Florida Roundup" checked in with Florida Public Radio reporters for a better sense of the political landscape.

Spectrum News rediscovers the American spirit in ‘Across America at 250’

A cross-country road trip built around the nation’s 250th birthday reaches Florida screens this week, with two of its stops filmed in the state.

Tim Boyum, the Spectrum News political anchor, hosts “Across America at 250,” a 90-minute special that follows him more than 6,000 miles across the country as he sets out to rediscover what it means to be an American. It airs June 17 at 8 p.m. local time on Spectrum Bay News 9 on channel 9 in Tampa Bay and Spectrum News 13 on channel 13 in Central Florida, and on the Spectrum News App.

With stops in more than 24 states, Boyum trains the camera less on the landmarks than on the people around them — everyday Americans sharing stories about their communities and the American spirit. The itinerary runs from a mule ride into the Grand Canyon to a cheese curd factory in Ellsworth, Wisconsin, where he weighs the pull of farming and manufacturing on a small town. In Orlando, an airboat ride among the gators doubles as a look at the tourism economy that drives so much of Florida. In Shanksville, Pennsylvania, he sits down with a first responder to the Flight 93 crash on Sept. 11, 2001.

Suncoast leaders see property tax cuts as a Tallahassee power grab

First, in 2023, the state passed legislation limiting the ability of cities and counties to regulate new development in the wake of hurricanes.

Also that year, Florida lawmakers passed the Live Local Act, sidelining local officials from voting on massive real estate projects in their own backyards.

Then last year, state leaders took aim at local government budgets in areas like Manatee County by auditing their books to target spending that did not fit into the governor’s agenda.

Now, by advancing a plan to slash property taxes on main residences, the state would strip away the primary funding source for local governments – forcing them to compete for earmarks in the state capital– and end decades of local decision-making on issues ranging from parks to new jails.

Suncoast Searchlight spoke with eight mayors, county commissioners, and policy experts across Sarasota, Manatee and DeSoto counties; nearly all said the showdown over property taxes is the clearest example yet of the state asserting power over local governments. They worry the ramifications will be devastating for years to come.

As Miami's World Cup games kick off, drone attacks are top concern

Security precautions for the World Cup soccer matches and festivities in South Florida are heavily focused on the potential for an attack or disruption by unmanned drones that can carry explosives.

The FBI and Federal Aviation Administration are enforcing “no drone zones” around venues such as Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, which is hosting seven games. The first match there is scheduled for Monday between Saudi Arabia and Uruguay and the games continue in Florida until July 18, and include teams from Brazil, Colombia, Portugal and Scotland.

“Public safety is our highest priority. Our agents and selected law enforcement partners have authority from the Department of Justice to use specialized mitigation tools to intercept and seize drones that violate these Temporary Flight Restrictions,” said Brett Skiles, special agent in charge of the FBI in Miami.

The heightened concern about cheap, commercially available drones comes as they are increasingly used in attacks in the Middle East, Ukraine and elsewhere. A global sporting event like the World Cup could provide an inviting target.