Jeffries still confident Democrats will take back House after Virginia redistricting ruling

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: The Hill

05/09/26 1:48 PM ET


House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) expressed confidence on Saturday that Democrats can still win back the House of Representatives, despite a recent redistricting loss in Virginia.

“We’re going to take back control of the House of Representatives,” Jeffries told MS NOW’s Ali Velshi. “We’re going to continue to make clear to the American people that we will lower their high cost of living, fix a broken health care system and clean up the corruption that we’re seeing in the country, in the Congress, certainly with the Supreme Court and deal with the most corrupt administration in American history,” he continued.

Republicans currently have a slim majority in the lower chamber of Congress. There are 217 GOP members, 212 Democrats and one independent representative in the House who caucuses with Republicans. Additionally, there are five vacant seats that were previously held by three Democrats and two Republicans.

Jeffries called for “nationwide” reform to judicial, electoral and campaign finance systems. “Which is why we have to take the House back, take the Senate back, keep pressing forward, and then in 2028, take the presidency back as well,” the Democratic leader said.

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5871116-jeffries-confident-midterms-virginia-redistricting-ruling/

[Deuxcents]

1. Sounds good, now tell the voting public the platform that they should vote for in simple terms

Don’t need to predict the outcome..just need information on what and why the outcome is in the best interest for everyone. Don’t make promises..the opposition can and will try to derail any progress so make it clear that what’s needed is a House and Senate with like minded goals.

[Cha]

3. TY, maybe you could contact Leader Jeffies and

Let him know your suggestions?

[Cha]

2. And I support the Work that Leader Jeffries is Doing!

TY, BRDS & Hakeem Jrffires! 🍀 ☮️💙🌈 ❤️‍🩹🕯️🕊️💜

[Deuxcents]

4. I support him, too. I just wish he'd quit with the we're gonna win before people understand what they're to vote for

[Cha]

5. Yes, I agree.. I was serious about contacting

Jeffries and letting him know what you think.

DUers have more educated insight and perspective because we see what's happening every day. So much more than the average voter.

[BumRushDaShow]

6. Remember what the great Tip O'Neill always noted

We spend so much time attacking our "national" leadership and not enough promoting the "state/local". I.e., "50 State Strategy".

Every state is different with different governors and legislative bodies from both parties, different state Constitutions, different needs, and different priorities. So one size will not fit "all' dictated from the top by consultants who are narrowly focusing. It's gotta be bottom up and that will help to inform some of the most common issues nationally. We must also understand that in all of our states, there are "turf battles" that can thwart any "national" agenda, so navigating that will need to be managed.

We need to claw back our states election after election and that is slowly happening.

[Deminpenn]

7. This is going to be a wave election

Dems are extremely motivated, probably more than ever, to vote. If Rs stay home, motivated Dem voters are going to win in even the redistricted CDs.

[BumRushDaShow]

8. Regardless of the redistricting

the swing districts in purple states (a bunch that flipped to (R) in 2022 & 2024), are definitely in play. Here in our state, I'm hoping that Janelle will finally send Perry packing!

[LetMyPeopleVote]

9. Recommend A Private Call Reveals Democrats' Desperation Over Tossing of Map (NYT gift article)

I personally believe that given the ruling by Alito and other GOP gerrymandering, the steps outlined here are appropriate.

Link to tweet

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/10/us/politics/democrats-virginia-plans-gerrymandering.html?unlocked_article_code=1.hVA.KzAI.Wf17nRa9PSjl&smid=nytcore-ios-share

During a private discussion on Saturday that included Democratic House members from Virginia and Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the minority leader, the lawmakers vented anger at their defeat at the Virginia Supreme Court, spoke about a collective determination to flip two or three Republican-held seats under the existing map and discussed a bank-shot proposal to redraw the congressional lines anyway, according to three people who participated in the call and two others who were briefed on it.....

Any plans to enact a new congressional map for this year’s midterm elections would require action in the next few days. In a court filing last month, Steven Koski, the commissioner of the Virginia Department of Elections, said any changes to the maps after Tuesday, May 12, “will significantly increase the risk” of his agency being unable to properly prepare for the state’s scheduled Aug. 4 primary election......

One key to the plan would be having Democrats in Richmond lower the mandatory retirement age for state Supreme Court justices, an idea that began circulating among state lawmakers and members of Congress after a column proposing a version of the idea was published on Friday night in The Downballot, a progressive newsletter.

Ms. Spanberger would have to sign off on any legislation that lowered the judicial retirement age. She has not been briefed on the proposal, the people involved in the discussion or briefed on it said. Her spokeswoman, Libby Wiet, declined to comment.

The first step in the process, as discussed on the delegation’s call, would be to invoke a January ruling by a circuit court judge in Tazewell County, Va., that said the 2026 constitutional amendment effort to redraw the maps was invalid because county officials did not post notice of it at courthouses and other public locations three months before a general election.

Representative Suhas Subramanyam, a Democrat who represents Loudoun County, Va., said in an interview that he supported doing whatever was necessary to preserve the map voters approved in last month’s referendum — including replacing the state’s Supreme Court justices.

“Everyone has got to have a strong stomach right now; this is a complete disaster waiting to happen if people are timid,” said Mr. Subramanyam, who was on the Saturday call. “We have Republican states ignoring their constitutions and interrupting early voting and ignoring their Supreme Courts all together. We know based on that, Republicans would explore every single option possible to move this forward.”....

In an interview on Friday night, before his Saturday meeting with Virginia lawmakers, Mr. Jeffries said he was “exploring how to unravel this decision.”

“It’s an all-hands-on-deck moment, and it’s unprecedented in American history as far as we can tell that an actual election has been overturned by a handful of unelected judges,” Mr. Jeffries said. “We’re not going to step back, we will continue to fight back.”

This is a very aggressive plan which could backfire. However, this plan may be necessary to stop trump's gerrymandering.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

10. A Private Call Reveals Democrats' Desperation Over Tossing of Map (NYT gift article)

I personally believe that given the ruling by Alito and other GOP gerrymandering, the steps outlined here are appropriate.

Link to tweet

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/10/us/politics/democrats-virginia-plans-gerrymandering.html?unlocked_article_code=1.hVA.KzAI.Wf17nRa9PSjl&smid=nytcore-ios-share

During a private discussion on Saturday that included Democratic House members from Virginia and Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the minority leader, the lawmakers vented anger at their defeat at the Virginia Supreme Court, spoke about a collective determination to flip two or three Republican-held seats under the existing map and discussed a bank-shot proposal to redraw the congressional lines anyway, according to three people who participated in the call and two others who were briefed on it.....

Any plans to enact a new congressional map for this year’s midterm elections would require action in the next few days. In a court filing last month, Steven Koski, the commissioner of the Virginia Department of Elections, said any changes to the maps after Tuesday, May 12, “will significantly increase the risk” of his agency being unable to properly prepare for the state’s scheduled Aug. 4 primary election......

One key to the plan would be having Democrats in Richmond lower the mandatory retirement age for state Supreme Court justices, an idea that began circulating among state lawmakers and members of Congress after a column proposing a version of the idea was published on Friday night in The Downballot, a progressive newsletter.

Ms. Spanberger would have to sign off on any legislation that lowered the judicial retirement age. She has not been briefed on the proposal, the people involved in the discussion or briefed on it said. Her spokeswoman, Libby Wiet, declined to comment.

The first step in the process, as discussed on the delegation’s call, would be to invoke a January ruling by a circuit court judge in Tazewell County, Va., that said the 2026 constitutional amendment effort to redraw the maps was invalid because county officials did not post notice of it at courthouses and other public locations three months before a general election.

Representative Suhas Subramanyam, a Democrat who represents Loudoun County, Va., said in an interview that he supported doing whatever was necessary to preserve the map voters approved in last month’s referendum — including replacing the state’s Supreme Court justices.

“Everyone has got to have a strong stomach right now; this is a complete disaster waiting to happen if people are timid,” said Mr. Subramanyam, who was on the Saturday call. “We have Republican states ignoring their constitutions and interrupting early voting and ignoring their Supreme Courts all together. We know based on that, Republicans would explore every single option possible to move this forward.”....

In an interview on Friday night, before his Saturday meeting with Virginia lawmakers, Mr. Jeffries said he was “exploring how to unravel this decision.”

“It’s an all-hands-on-deck moment, and it’s unprecedented in American history as far as we can tell that an actual election has been overturned by a handful of unelected judges,” Mr. Jeffries said. “We’re not going to step back, we will continue to fight back.”

This is a very aggressive plan which could backfire. However, this plan may be necessary to stop trump's gerrymandering.