The next front in the nation’s pitched battle over mid-decade congressional redistricting is opening in Virginia, where Democrats are planning the first step toward redrawing congressional maps, a move that could give their party two or three more seats.
The surprise development, which is set to be announced by legislators on Thursday, would make Virginia the second state, after California, in which Democrats try to counter a wave of Republican moves demanded by President Trump to redistrict states to their advantage before the 2026 midterm elections. No other Democratic state has begun redistricting proceedings, while several Republican states have drawn new maps or are deliberating doing so.
Democrats now hold six of Virginia’s 11 congressional seats. Redistricting could deliver two or three additional seats for the party, depending on how aggressive cartographers choose to be in a redrawing effort.
“We are coming back to address actions by the Trump administration,” said Scott Surovell, the majority leader of the Virginia Senate, who confirmed the plans.
The Virginia Democrats’ moves are the latest in a monthslong tango that has resulted in Texas and Missouri enacting new maps that add more Republican seats, California asking voters to approve a new map to add Democratic seats and North Carolina Republican lawmakers on Tuesday approving a new map expected to transfer one congressional seat to Republicans from Democrats.
Mr. Trump has pressured Republican legislators in Indiana to enact a new map to eliminate the state’s two Democratic-held House seats, and Democrats expect Florida Republicans will attempt to redraw their state’s congressional districts in early 2026. Republicans in Kansas and Nebraska have also explored redistricting ahead of the midterms, though neither have yet taken formal steps to do so.
With congressional Republicans and a friendly Supreme Court acceding to nearly all of Mr. Trump’s demands, Democrats have viewed the midterm elections as their lone opportunity to reclaim some power in the federal government. Republicans now hold a five-seat majority in the House, which is seen as far more likely to change hands than the Senate, where Republicans have a 53-47 advantage and a favorable 2026 map.
Virginia is one of few options Democrats have to boost their chances of engineering more House seats for themselves next year.
Democrats control all facets of government in far fewer states than do Republicans, and many of those Democratic states — like Colorado, New York, Oregon and Washington State — have implemented redistricting reforms to prevent political gerrymandering.
In Illinois and Maryland, Democratic states where redistricting is logistically easier, the governors have been noncommittal.
Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland has said “all options are on the table.” Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois on Tuesday said he is philosophically opposed to mid-decade redistricting but added: “I’m not going to sit back and let” Republican states create what he described as an unfair advantage.
John Bisognano, the president of the National Democratic Redistributing Committee, predicted that redistricting activity would continue across the country. “The farther Donald Trump drags our country into a gerrymandering crisis, the more states will look for responsive options to protect the voting power of the American people,” he said.
Former Representative Abigail Spanberger, the Democratic nominee for Virginia governor, has not been involved in planning the redistricting effort. She said in August that she had “no plans” to commence a redistricting effort, though the state’s rules do not require the governor’s participation in the constitutional amendment process. Ms. Spanberger, through an aide, declined to comment.
Adam Kincaid, the executive director of the National Republican Redistricting Trust, said that, “This seems like a pretty desperate move from Democrats to change the conversation a week before the election.”
As in California, redrawing Virginia’s congressional districts mid-decade requires altering the state’s constitution. To do that, majorities in consecutive sessions of the legislature — once this year and again after Jan. 15 when newly-elected delegates are seated — must approve the amendment. Then, it would have to pass a statewide referendum, which could go before voters early next year.
Democrats hold 51 out of 100 seats in Virginia’s House of Delegates and have a 21-19 advantage in the State Senate. Virginia state senators do not face re-election until 2027.
All 100 seats in Virginia’s House of Delegates are up for election Nov. 4, and Democrats are expected to increase their margin. Democratic House candidates are collectively spending over six times more than their Republican counterparts on television advertising in the campaign’s final weeks, according to an analysis by AdImpact, a media tracking firm.
The redistricting discussion is likely to inject uncertainty into Virginia’s politics 12 days before an election that, in recent weeks, has been dominated by discussion of a texting scandal that has engulfed Democrats’ nominee for attorney general. Public and private polling indicates Ms. Spanberger has a wide lead over her Republican counterpart, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, though the contests for attorney general and lieutenant governor are believed to be tighter.
Under the existing map, Virginia was expected to have three competitive congressional races. Representatives Rob Wittman and Jen Kiggans, both Republicans, and Eugene Vindman, a Democrat, each face the prospect of well-funded challengers. No prospective maps have been drawn yet, two of the people involved in the plans said, and it is not clear which Republican seats would be targeted.
“I’m proud that Democrats in Virginia are leading the charge to fight back against Trump’s attempts to rig the midterms and are keeping their options open to ensure we have fair elections next year,” Mr. Vindman said.
The Virginia redistricting process is set to begin Thursday afternoon when Democratic leaders in the General Assembly convene legislators for a session to begin Monday.
Democrats can convene lawmakers to address the congressional maps now on an administrative technicality: Gov. Glenn Youngkin called a special session in May 2024, which Democratic legislators left open. That left the authority to reconvene the chambers to the speaker of the House of Delegates and the chair of the State Senate’s Rules committee.
An aide to Mr. Youngkin declined to comment. Ms. Earle-Sears’s spokeswoman, Brittany McGivern, said the Democratic redistricting effort is evidence that Ms. Spanberger cannot be trusted.
“Abigail Spanberger is on record saying she wouldn’t take up redistricting, yet her party — which she leads — is doing just that,” Ms. McGivern said.
The House speaker, Don Scott, declined to comment.
The Senate’s rules committee chairwoman, Mamie Locke, did not respond to messages.
Virginia voters, by a nearly two-to-one margin, approved an amendment to the state constitution in 2020 that created an independent redistricting commission.
Many of the same state legislators who voted to put the amendment before voters in 2020 are now expected to ask Virginia voters to suspend it next year.
Nick Corasaniti contributed reporting.
Reid J. Epstein covers campaigns and elections from Washington. Before joining The Times in 2019, he worked at The Wall Street Journal, Politico, Newsday and The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
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