NEWNow you can hearken to Fox Information articles!
The Virginia state Senate on Friday greenlit a constitutional modification that may clear the best way for the Democrat-controlled legislature to redraw the state’s U.S. Home maps forward of this 12 months’s midterm elections.
The transfer by state senators, following the same vote on Wednesday within the state Home, was the ultimate step wanted to ship the modification to Virginia voters. If the poll measure is authorised this spring, the legislature, quite than the present non-partisan fee, would redraw the state’s congressional maps via 2030.
Virginia is the newest battleground within the ongoing high-stakes battle between President Donald Trump and Republicans versus Democrats to change congressional maps forward of November’s elections. And Virginia Democrats, who at present management six of the state’s 11 U.S. Home districts, are aiming to attract as much as 4 extra left-leaning seats.
Republicans are defending their razor-thin Home majority within the midterms and Democrats want a web achieve of simply three seats to win again management of the chamber.
The Democratic Congressional Marketing campaign Committee (DCCC) known as Friday’s improvement “a essential step in giving Virginia voters the chance to make sure they’ve honest and equal illustration in Congress.”
THE NEXT BATTLEGROUNDS IN THE HIGH-STAKES MAP FIGHT
Virginia lawmakers on Friday gave closing approval to a constitutional modification that may clear the best way for the Democrat-controlled legislature to redraw the state’s U.S. Home maps forward of the 2026 midterm elections. (AP Photograph/Steve Helber, file)
And charging that “Donald Trump and Republicans are doing the whole lot they’ll to rig the midterms of their favor via unprecedented mid-decade gerrymandering,” DCCC Chair Rep. Suzan DelBene argued that “Virginians — not politicians — will now have the possibility to vote for a brief, emergency exception that may restore equity, degree the taking part in discipline, and stand as much as extremists looking for to silence their voices.”
However the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus accused the state Senate Democrats of passing “a partisan gerrymandering modification to entrench their get together in energy.”
And the Republican Nationwide Committee (RNC) known as it a “energy seize.”
“That is simply the newest instance of Democrats’ multi-decade marketing campaign to gerrymander in each state the place they achieve energy,” RNC nationwide press secretary Kiersten Pels argued in an announcement to Fox Information Digital. “That is precisely why crimson states are preventing again to degree the taking part in discipline after years of states like Illinois, New York, and California drawing their districts to disenfranchise Republicans.”
STUNNING SETBACK FOR TRUMP IN REDISTRICTING WARS
Virginia Democratic lawmakers have indicated they’ll launch a proposed map later this month.
And on Thursday, a Democratic-aligned nonprofit titled “Virginians for Truthful Elections” launched, to induce voters to vote in favor of the redistricting poll measure.
Aiming to forestall what occurred throughout his first time period within the White Home when Democrats reclaimed the Home majority within the 2018 midterms, Trump final spring first floated the concept of uncommon however not unprecedented mid-decade congressional redistricting.
President Donald Trump has urged Republican-controlled states to enact congressional redistricting forward of November’s midterm elections. (AP Photograph/Alex Brandon)
The mission was easy: redraw congressional district maps in crimson states to pad the GOP’s razor-thin Home majority to maintain management of the chamber within the midterms, when the get together in energy historically faces political headwinds and loses seats.
Trump’s first goal was Texas.
BIG WIN FOR TRUMP AS SUPREME COURT GREENLIGHTS TEXAS’ NEW CONGRESSIONAL MAP
When requested by reporters final summer time about his plan so as to add Republican-leaning Home seats throughout the nation, the president stated, “Texas would be the largest one. And that’ll be 5.”
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas known as a particular session of the GOP-dominated state legislature to cross the brand new map.
However Democratic state lawmakers, who broke quorum for 2 weeks as they fled Texas in a bid to delay the passage of the redistricting invoice, energized Democrats throughout the nation.
Amongst these main the combat in opposition to Trump’s redistricting was Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom of California.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks throughout an election evening press convention at a California Democratic Social gathering workplace Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, in Sacramento, after passage of a congressional redistricting referendum. (Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP Photograph)
California voters in November overwhelmingly handed Proposition 50, a poll initiative that briefly sidetracked the left-leaning state’s nonpartisan redistricting fee and returned the ability to attract the congressional maps to the Democratic-dominated legislature.
That’s anticipated to lead to 5 extra Democratic-leaning congressional districts in California, which aimed to counter the transfer by Texas to redraw their maps.
The combat rapidly unfold past Texas and California.
Republican-controlled Missouri and Ohio, and swing state North Carolina, the place the GOP dominates the legislature, have drawn new maps as a part of the president’s push.
And Florida Republicans, in a transfer pushed by GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis and state lawmakers are additionally hoping to choose up a further three to 5 seats via a redistricting push throughout a particular legislative session in April.
In blows to Republicans, a Utah district choose late final 12 months rejected a congressional district map drawn up by the state’s GOP-dominated legislature and as an alternative authorised an alternate that may create a Democratic-leaning district forward of the midterms.
And Republicans in Indiana’s Senate in December defied Trump, taking pictures down a redistricting invoice that had handed the state Home.
Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith pronounces the outcomes of a vote to redistrict the state’s congressional map, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, on the Statehouse in Indianapolis. (Michael Conroy/AP Photograph)
However Trump scored an enormous victory when the conservative majority on the Supreme Courtroom greenlit Texas’ new map.
Different states that may step into the redistricting conflict are Democratic-dominated Illinois and Maryland and two crimson states with Democratic governors, Kentucky and Kansas.
Hovering over the redistricting wars is the Supreme Courtroom, which is predicted to rule in Louisiana v. Callais, a vital case which can result in the overturning of a key provision within the Voting Rights Act.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
If the ruling goes the best way of the conservatives on the excessive courtroom, it may result in the redrawing of a slew of majority-minority districts throughout the county, which might tremendously favor Republicans.
However it is rather a lot up within the air — when the courtroom will rule, and what it’s going to truly do.
