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Virginia Voters Just Gave Democrats A Clearer Path To Winning The Midterms

Former Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) and Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) campaign ahead of the heavily contested redistricting referendum in Virginia.

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Virginia voters gave their state Legislature the power to draw new congressional maps in a referendum on Tuesday, a move likely to dramatically shift the balance of power in the state’s delegation.

The new maps would gerrymander the state to create 10 districts likely to elect a Democrat to the U.S. House and just one, located in the state’s conservative southwest, likely to back a Republican. The existing delegation consists of six Democrats and five Republicans.

With Democrats already favored to win control of the House in November, the victory in Virginia smooths their path and could enable the party to go after deeper-red territory elsewhere in the country.

The referendum vote was heavily contested and drew huge spending — roughly $60 million from Democrats and $30 million from the GOP. It was the latest round of mid-decade redistricting provoked by President Donald Trump’s push to have Republicans redraw lines to eliminate Democratic-held seats in red states, including Texas, Ohio, North Carolina, Missouri and potentially Florida. Democrats have responded by drawing new maps in California and, now, Virginia.

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The successful vote shows Democratic voters, for the most part, are willing to put aside some “good government” concerns in order to counter Trump. Virginians approved a nonpartisan redistricting commission, which drew the existing map, in 2020. The new referendum sidelines the commission until 2030.

The four new seats likely to elect Democrats already have crowded fields of candidates running in primaries: former Rep. Tom Perriello, state Del. Sam Rasoul and journalist Beth Macy could all run for seats, and the new 7th District is likely to see a battle between Never-Trump Republican-turned-Democrat Olivia Troye, former Virginia first lady Dorothy McAuliffe and state Del. Dan Helmer.