A high-stakes partisan battle is unfolding in Virginia that could reshape control of the U.S. House in the 2026 midterm elections. The state’s Democrat leaders were called out by the Washington Post for attempting to ram through a new congressional map “in the most brazenly dishonest way imaginable.”
In 2020, Virginians voted to amend their state constitution to establish a 16-member bipartisan redistricting commission responsible for drawing congressional and state legislative district boundaries.
‘Who opposes “fairness” in elections? It depends on how it’s defined.’
The state’s current congressional map was chosen by the Virginia Supreme Court after the Virginia Redistricting Commission reached a deadlock. This map resulted in Democrats securing six U.S. House seats while Republicans obtained five.
In January, the state’s Democrat lawmakers proposed a controversial constitutional amendment that would allow them to redraw the state’s congressional map in the middle of the 10-year redistricting cycle. They argued that the amendment was essential to combat Republican gerrymandering in other states that could shift control of Congress.
Virginians will vote on the proposed amendment in Tuesday’s special election. Under current law, the congressional districts will not be redrawn until 2031.
The Democrat-controlled General Assembly has already approved a map that could give Democrats a 10-1 advantage over Republicans, potentially giving them four additional U.S. House seats. If the proposed amendment passes on April 21, it would allow Democrats to move forward with implementing this new map and adopt new congressional districts for the 2026, 2028, and 2030 elections only. Authority reverts to the bipartisan commission for 2031 onward.
RELATED: Democrat tough talk fails in Maryland, where congressional redistricting plan dies on the vine
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An op-ed from the Washington Post’s editorial board accused Democrat politicians of presenting the amendment “in the most brazenly dishonest way imaginable,” citing the ballot language. Voters will be asked whether the Constitution of Virginia should “be amended to allow the General Assembly to temporarily adopt new congressional districts to restore fairness in the upcoming elections.”
“Who opposes ‘fairness’ in elections? It depends on how it’s defined,” the Post wrote. “In Richmond, apparently ‘fairness’ means maximizing partisan advantage for Democrats and drawing incumbents out of their seats.”
RELATED: Democrats’ gerrymandering campaign in Virginia hits a snag: Obama
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Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) issued a statement in March in support of the proposed amendment.
“It is temporary, directly responsive to what other states decide to do, and — most importantly — it preserves Virginia’s bipartisan redistricting process for the future,” Spanberger said. “I supported the formation of Virginia’s bipartisan redistricting commission in 2020, and that support has not changed. What has changed is what we’re seeing in states across the country — and a president who says he is ‘entitled’ to more Republican seats before this year’s midterm elections.”
Former Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) called the proposed map “the result of a process that’s unconstitutional and illegal.”
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