Virginia Democrats Launch Plan to Redraw Congressional Map, Counter GOP Efforts

Strategic Insights -

Virginia Democrats are convening a special session to consider redistricting the state's congressional map in their favor, a move that aims to counter the efforts of President Donald Trump and Republicans in other states to boost their prospects in the U.S. House. The plan involves clearing several hurdles, including passing a measure to advance the plan before upcoming statewide elections on Nov. 4 and eventually winning the support of voters in a ballot referendum. This effort is part of a larger multistate redistricting arms race, with Republican-led states like North Carolina, Texas, and Missouri also redrawing their maps at the behest of Trump.

Key Takeaways:

  • Virginia Democrats' push to include redistricting in a special session comes less than two weeks before the state holds elections that have come under a national spotlight.
  • To succeed in their plan, Democrats must maintain their narrow control of the House of Delegates, where all 100 seats will be on the ballot this fall.
  • The redistricting effort raises questions about how the process would - or would not - involve the bipartisan redistricting commission established in 2020, which could not agree on how new maps should be drawn.
  • Two straightforward routes for Democratic state lawmakers to regain control of the process are striking the constitutional amendment that created the commission or temporarily suspending the role of the state's nonpartisan commission.
  • Republicans in Virginia have criticized Democrats' move, with Governor Glenn Youngkin calling it a "shameless, reprehensible political power grab."
  • The redistricting efforts in Virginia and other states are part of a larger multistate push by Republicans to hold on to their narrow 219-213 majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Statistics:

  • 100 seats in the House of Delegates will be on the ballot in the upcoming statewide elections.
  • 6 of 11 congressional seats in Virginia are held by Democrats, with the remaining 5 seats held by Republicans.
  • The bipartisan redistricting commission established in 2020 was unable to agree on new maps, prompting a fail-safe measure that left the task up to the Supreme Court of Virginia and two court-appointed "special matters."
  • 2/3 of Virginians approved a state constitutional amendment codifying nonpartisan redistricting in 2019.

Sources:

  • The New York Times
  • The Washington Post
  • Democrats generally cited in the article