With Republicans in control of Florida’s legislature and governor’s office, there was never any real doubt that the state’s post-census district map would benefit GOP candidates. The question was how much of a partisan advantage Republican policymakers in the Sunshine State would create.

Initially, GOP state lawmakers expressed relative comfort with the map that already existed, which gave Republicans a sizable majority of the state’s congressional delegation. Gov. Ron DeSantis said that wasn’t good enough: The Republican governor rejected the map drawn by his own partisan allies and demanded new lines that carved up a district in the northern part of the state with a large population of Black voters.

Under DeSantis’ vision, his party’s 16-to-11 advantage in Florida’s congressional delegation needed to be even more lopsided, leaving Democrats with only eight U.S. House seats from the state. He called a special session, presented the legislature with his preferred map, and told lawmakers to approve it.

Legislators complied with the governor’s demands. As the Associated Press reported, a judge has ruled that they shouldn’t have.

A Florida redistricting plan pushed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis violates the state constitution and is prohibited from being used for any future U.S. congressional elections since it diminishes the ability of Black voters in north Florida to pick a representative of their choice, a state judge ruled Saturday. Circuit Judge J. Lee Marsh sent the plan back to the Florida Legislature with instructions that lawmakers should draw a new congressional map that complies with the Florida Constitution.

If the ruling withstands inevitable appeals, GOP officials will have to redraw the state’s district lines ahead of the 2024 elections. (The judge in this case, for what it’s worth, was appointed to the state bench by then-Gov. Rick Scott in 2018, before the Republican was elected to the Senate.)

Stepping back, it’s also worth pausing to appreciate the fact that DeSantis, while on the presidential campaign trail, likes to boast about his partisan successes in Florida, but what he doesn’t emphasize is the fact that many of his accomplishments were short-lived — and have struggled in the face of judicial scrutiny.

In fact, circling back to our earlier coverage, the ruling against Florida’s district map comes on the heels of a federal judge blocking DeSantis’ restrictions on drag shows.

Two days earlier, another judge struck down Florida’s ban on using state Medicaid payments for transgender health care.

DeSantis also lost when a court blocked Florida’s “Stop WOKE Act”; his anti-protest measure was also blocked by a federal judge; the Republican’s law to regulate social media companies was blocked by a different federal judge; and the cases brought by his elections police unit have largely fallen short.

This list might yet grow, with a variety of other high-profile cases — including litigation stemming from the governor’s Martha’s Vineyard fiasco and his weird crusade against Disney — still pending.

None of this is cheap, and Florida taxpayers are footing a hefty bill to cover the legal expenses surrounding DeSantis’ agenda.

As for the governor’s intended audience — GOP presidential primary voters — it’s easy to imagine rank-and-file Republicans applauding the far-right governor for “fighting” to advance an agenda they agree with. On the other hand, these same voters might notice that DeSantis’ accomplishments start to look like failures as he loses, over and over again, in the courts.

“Vote for me because judges rejected many of my favorite achievements” might not be as persuasive as DeSantis hopes.

This post updates our related earlier coverage.