Virginia inches closer to gutting GOP seats through redistricting [View all]
Source: Politico
01/16/2026 01:40 PM ESTUpdated: 01/16/2026 01:59 PM EST
Virginia Democrats on Friday paved the way to aggressively gerrymander in the state — the latest step in a process they hope will hand them as many as four more congressional seats in this fall’s midterm elections.
The Democrat-dominated Virginia Senate passed a constitutional amendment along party lines that allows state lawmakers to begin redrawing congressional maps. The final decision will eventually go before voters in a spring special election. Earlier this week, the House of Delegates approved the measure by 62-33.
Virginia is the last opportunity for national Democrats in the pre-midterm redistricting wars. The party is seeking to keep pace with Republican-led states including Texas, Missouri, and North Carolina, which have all gerrymandered at the urging of President Donald Trump, to give Republicans an advantage this fall and help maintain GOP control of the House. California Democrats previously pushed through a major redistricting effort.
Democrats argue it’s crucial for lawmakers in Virginia to alter maps, arguing it helps the party keep pace with GOP-led states that have already enacted mid-decade changes to their congressional lines. Democrats won unified control of the state in last November’s elections; Democratic-Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger will be sworn in on Saturday. Ahead of the amendment’s passage, Republican state Sen. Mark Peake accused Democratic of initiating a push to redraw maps to punish Trump.
Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/16/virginia-redistricting-legislature-00733644
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