SARASOTA — U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney visited Sarasota County on Thursday for the first time since state courts revised Florida’s congressional district boundaries, including much of this area in the territory the Okeechobee Republican currently represents.

The redistricting plan, approved by the Florida Supreme Court in December, splits Sarasota County into two districts. Rooney will seek in this year’s election to represent southern Sarasota County as well as all or parts of eight other counties stretching east to his home county of Okeechobee in the newly drawn 17th congressional district. Rep. Vern Buchanan currently represents all of Sarasota and Manatee counties in the 16th district, which has been revised to include the northern portion of Sarasota County, along with all of Manatee County and a portion of Hillsborough County.