By Joseph Ax
April 21 (Reuters) – Virginia voters on Tuesday approved a new Democratic-drawn congressional map that could flip four Republican U.S. House seats in November’s midterm elections, U.S. media projected, dealing a fresh blow to Republicans’ tenuous chances of holding their narrow majority.
The special election was the latest battle in an unprecedented coast-to-coast redistricting fight that began last summer, when President Donald Trump successfully urged Texas Republicans to install a new congressional map that took aim at five Democratic incumbents.
With Tuesday’s victory, Democrats have managed to effectively cancel out any Republican gains from Trump’s push, though Florida Republicans are set to consider their own redistricting effort next week.
The outcome adds to Democratic momentum following a string of impressive performances in dozens of elections since Trump took office last year. It also bolsters Democratic Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger, whose own 15-point victory in November was widely read as an early warning for Republican prospects this fall and who had campaigned in favor of the measure.
The updated district lines are likely to result in Democrats capturing 10 of the state’s 11 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives in November, up from their current six-to-five advantage.
Democrats need to flip only three Republican-held seats nationwide in November to win control of the 435-seat House, which would enable them to investigate the Trump administration and block the president’s legislative agenda.
Reflecting the stakes, both parties had poured tens of millions of dollars into the Virginia race, with Democrats spending far more than Republicans. Most of the funds have come from so-called “dark money” political groups that are not required to disclose their donors.
The main organization backing the ballot measure, Virginians for Fair Elections, raised $64.1 million through April 13, the latest deadline for campaign finance reporting. More than $38 million came from House Majority Forward, House Democrats’ main political nonprofit arm.
The leading Republican-led opposition group, the similarly named Virginians for Fair Maps, had brought in nearly $20 million as of April 13.
Trump had exhorted Virginians to vote against the measure early on Tuesday, writing on social media, “VIRGINIA, VOTE ‘NO’ TO SAVE YOUR COUNTRY!”
The referendum amends the state constitution to allow lawmakers to sideline an independent redistricting commission until 2030, when the power to draw congressional lines would revert to the commission.
The measure still faces legal challenges from Republicans, who argue that Democratic lawmakers did not follow the law when approving the proposed referendum. The state Supreme Court allowed Tuesday’s vote to proceed but could still decide to invalidate the referendum, making the results moot.
Redistricting typically occurs at the end of each decade to reflect population changes recorded in the U.S. Census. State lawmakers have historically used that process to draw districts that are more favorable to their party, a strategy known as partisan gerrymandering.
Democrats argued the new map was necessary to counter Texas and other Republican states that have used redistricting to target Democratic seats at Trump’s behest. Republicans accused Democrats of hypocrisy, pointing to their previous stances against partisan gerrymandering.
Even after Virginia’s vote, the redistricting arms race is far from over. Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has called a special session next week to consider redrawing that state’s map, and the U.S. Supreme Court is still weighing a voting rights case that could allow Republicans in Southern states to target additional Democratic seats.
(Reporting by Joseph Ax; Editing by David Gregorio and Shri Navaratnam)
Comments