VA court ruling on redistricting not an insurmountable disaster.

[Fiendish Thingy]

Excellent summary of why the ruling should not have been a total surprise, and a mathematical analysis of why Dems could still flip at least 2, and up to 4 seats.

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/5/8/800035672/community/a-brief-explanation-on-the-va-supreme-court-ruling/

[SSJVegeta]

1. Not only could it be appealed but public opinion is such a way that any gerrymandering the GOP does

Will usually do more harm than good

[Fiendish Thingy]

4. The GOP isn't going to do any gerrymandering in VA

The link explains how Dems will flip seat without gerrymandering.

[SSJVegeta]

5. Im talking about outside of VA

Im just saying regardless of if dems gerrymander in VA -not only would they flip seats there as your article says, but the gop gerrymanders are also likely to work largely in dems favor by flipping normally safe seats.

[Ocelot II]

2. Thanks for turning a hose on some of the burning hair around here.

The decision was bad, yes; but things are seldom either as bad (or as good) as they seem. We carry on...

[mr715]

3. It is going to be a Democratic year

I expect many of the GOP redistricted seats to end up dummymandered. While VA is a setback it doesn't change the underlying reality that we're going to be taking back the House. With shifts like we've been seeing, it seems to me this is the dumbest possible election to experiment with redistricting on the GOP side.

We shall see... I predict a robust majority.

[EdmondDantes_]

6. But panic and despair is so much more useful

Definitely better than doing the hard work of getting out the vote and working to build the party so we don't have a bunch of states where the only way we can win a district is by packing our voters into one district.

[kentuck]

7. Will it go to the Supreme Court?

How could they rule against Virginia and not Louisiana, where at least 45,000 people had already voted when the Governor stopped the election entirely?

[Fiendish Thingy]

11. Not according to the VA resident who wrote the DK diary. Nt

[FBaggins]

13. No

It’s a state Supreme Court ruling on the state’s constitution. We could ask… but I doubt even one justice would vote to hear it. There is no federal constitutional issue

[bluestarone]

8. I'm confused. Didn't this state supreme court already rule in favor of the Virginia voters?

Did they then rule a second time?

[kentuck]

9. Was it an appeals court?

And the people voted for it.

[bluestarone]

10. Oh, maybe that is what i heard.

That could be.

[Innocent Smith]

12. Earlier ruling was to let the vote happen

The earlier decision by the VA Supreme Court was to let the vote on redistricting happen. They said they would rule on whether it was constitutional if the measure passed.

[FBaggins]

14. No... they stayed a lower court's ruling against us

But that was temporary while they considered this ruling