Democrats launched a campaign Thursday aimed at persuading Virginia voters to back a plan to redraw the state’s congressional map in their favor, the latest salvo in a nationwide battle over redistricting ahead of the midterm elections.
Virginians for Fair Elections, a Democratic-aligned nonprofit, kicked off its public-facing efforts. The organization will urge voters in Virginia to vote “yes” on a proposed redistricting amendment to the state constitution that would give lawmakers in Richmond, not the state’s bipartisan redistricting commission, the authority to redraw the congressional map through 2030. The Democratic-controlled House of Delegates passed the amendment on Wednesday, and the Democratic-controlled Senate is expected to approve it by the end of the week.
The push in Virginia is the latest move in an unusual mid-decade battle over redrawing U.S. House district lines, which began when Texas approved new maps favored by President Donald Trump. Officials in a handful of other states have since redrawn their maps as both sides fight for an edge in the battle for control of the House in 2027.
The Virginia campaign, which plans to emphasize that the commission approved by voters in 2020 will return after 2030, will argue that the effort is being undertaken “with reluctance” as a response to other states diminishing Virginia’s voice in Congress through redistricting, according to a news release. The group plans to immediately begin raising money to air ads and hold events aimed at persuading and mobilizing voters. Campaign officials and state lawmakers have said they expect that any special election related to redistricting would occur in April.
“We wish we didn’t have to take this step. But with Donald Trump pressuring MAGA-controlled legislatures to rig their maps, this temporary, emergency exception will keep Virginia’s elections fair until every state plays by the same rules — and make sure the people, not politicians, decide how Virginia’s voice is heard in Congress,” said Kéren Charles Dongo, the campaign’s top operative. A video released Thursday makes a similar argument.
The effort echoes a campaign in California, led by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and his allies, which successfully persuaded voters to redistrict ahead of the midterms by arguing that it was necessary as a direct response to Texas and other Republican-controlled states.
Trump has stridently defended his party’s work to redistrict in Republican-dominated states. He said last year that he was “entitled” to five additional seats in Texas before the state approved new maps, and when Republicans in Indiana refused to go along with his push to redistrict, he lambasted the lawmakers and threatened to support primary challenges against them.
Potential redistricting in Virginia is widely seen as the last significant opportunity for Democrats to redraw maps ahead of the this year’s midterms. Voters elected Democrat Abigail Spanberger in the fall to be the next governor and put Democrats in control of both chambers of the state’s legislature, giving the party significant power to redraw the maps.
There is disagreement, however, inside the commonwealth’s Democratic congressional delegation and legislature about how dramatically the party should cut out Republicans in the state. Virginia’s congressional delegation is divided between six Democrats and five Republicans, but conversations in Washington and Richmond have centered on two proposals: One that packs Republicans into two districts, one in the Shenandoah Valley and another in the southwest, and another that would give Democrats the advantage in 10 districts but could lead to more competitive races in November.
There are still hurdles before a special election can be held. Virginia’s 60-day General Assembly session began Wednesday, and Democrats have indicated they expect the proposed maps to be public by mid-February. But Republicans have responded by attempting to challenge the proposal in court, accusing Democrats of subverting voters who approved the bipartisan redistricting committee just six years ago.
“All I’m asking is, is it worth it to throw out the Virginia way here just because of what’s going on in other states, what’s going on in D.C.?” House Minority Leader Terry Kilgore (R) asked Wednesday during debate over the amendment.
Virginia’s primaries are scheduled for June 16, putting Democrats into a sprint to approve a new map in hopes of using it.
There are also questions about where Spanberger, a former member of Congress from a moderate district, stands on the question of maps. The governor has no formal role in the process because approval rests with voters, not her signature. But her advocacy for new maps could be central to the campaign’s success or failure.
Spanberger said during a Politico event in December that while she is not opposed to redistricting and sees value in the process, there is also a chance for Democrats to pick up House seats in Virginia without redrawing maps.
“To be very clear: I want to flip seats in the House of Representatives, and I know that we can because we just — I just won those districts,” said Spanberger, who did not respond to a request for comment.
Gregory S. Schneider, Erin Cox, Teo Armus and Katie Shepherd contributed to this report.
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