Virginia redistricting and raw political power
Why resist verification?
Virginia’s proposed new congressional map, which gives Democrats all but one seat in a state that still votes more than 40% Republican, is sparking new debates over the proper use of political power.
Conservatives in particular are split over whether Virginia Democrats’ aggressive gerrymander is an abomination to be condemned or an example red states should follow ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
President Donald Trump urged Republican-led states such as Texas to pursue mid-decade redistricting to help the GOP defend its razor-thin House majority by creating new pickup opportunities for the president’s party. Some red states heeded Trump’s call. Others, like Indiana, demurred.
But blue states have answered with redistricting pushes of their own. California voters approved a map backed by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), a likely 2028 presidential candidate, to counter any Republican gains in Texas. Maryland Democrats’ new map could erase the state’s last Republican-held House seat.
Nowhere has been quite as audacious or lopsided as Virginia. If approved by voters and allowed by the courts, the commonwealth’s congressional map could be up to 10-1 Democratic.
All of Virginia’s statewide elected executive officers, including the governor, were Republicans as recently as mid-January. (Democrats swept the off-year elections in Virginia last November.) Former Vice President Kamala Harris won just 51.8% of the vote against Trump there in 2024. Large swathes of the state south of the Washington, D.C., suburbs remain heavily Republican. The current split in the Virginia congressional delegation is just 6-5 Democratic, though both senators are Democrats. Virginians haven’t elected a Republican to the upper chamber since George Allen in 2000.
Beyond the merits of the individual state maps in question or partisan gerrymandering in principle, however, conservatives are debating whether this is a prudent use of political power.
Some conservatives would like to see Republican-led states be as ruthless in pursuing partisan advantages in the drawing of congressional maps as they legally can be, precisely because Democrats have shown little hesitation in wielding such political power themselves.
Many blue states were arguably already more gerrymandered than their Republican counterparts before the current redistricting wars started. In California, Democrats held 82% of congressional seats in a state Harris won with 59% of the vote, while Republicans occupied 66% of …
Why resist verification?
Virginia’s proposed new congressional map, which gives Democrats all but one seat in a state that still votes more than 40% Republican, is sparking new debates over the proper use of political power.
Conservatives in particular are split over whether Virginia Democrats’ aggressive gerrymander is an abomination to be condemned or an example red states should follow ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
President Donald Trump urged Republican-led states such as Texas to pursue mid-decade redistricting to help the GOP defend its razor-thin House majority by creating new pickup opportunities for the president’s party. Some red states heeded Trump’s call. Others, like Indiana, demurred.
But blue states have answered with redistricting pushes of their own. California voters approved a map backed by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), a likely 2028 presidential candidate, to counter any Republican gains in Texas. Maryland Democrats’ new map could erase the state’s last Republican-held House seat.
Nowhere has been quite as audacious or lopsided as Virginia. If approved by voters and allowed by the courts, the commonwealth’s congressional map could be up to 10-1 Democratic.
All of Virginia’s statewide elected executive officers, including the governor, were Republicans as recently as mid-January. (Democrats swept the off-year elections in Virginia last November.) Former Vice President Kamala Harris won just 51.8% of the vote against Trump there in 2024. Large swathes of the state south of the Washington, D.C., suburbs remain heavily Republican. The current split in the Virginia congressional delegation is just 6-5 Democratic, though both senators are Democrats. Virginians haven’t elected a Republican to the upper chamber since George Allen in 2000.
Beyond the merits of the individual state maps in question or partisan gerrymandering in principle, however, conservatives are debating whether this is a prudent use of political power.
Some conservatives would like to see Republican-led states be as ruthless in pursuing partisan advantages in the drawing of congressional maps as they legally can be, precisely because Democrats have shown little hesitation in wielding such political power themselves.
Many blue states were arguably already more gerrymandered than their Republican counterparts before the current redistricting wars started. In California, Democrats held 82% of congressional seats in a state Harris won with 59% of the vote, while Republicans occupied 66% of …
Virginia redistricting and raw political power
Why resist verification?
Virginia’s proposed new congressional map, which gives Democrats all but one seat in a state that still votes more than 40% Republican, is sparking new debates over the proper use of political power.
Conservatives in particular are split over whether Virginia Democrats’ aggressive gerrymander is an abomination to be condemned or an example red states should follow ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
President Donald Trump urged Republican-led states such as Texas to pursue mid-decade redistricting to help the GOP defend its razor-thin House majority by creating new pickup opportunities for the president’s party. Some red states heeded Trump’s call. Others, like Indiana, demurred.
But blue states have answered with redistricting pushes of their own. California voters approved a map backed by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), a likely 2028 presidential candidate, to counter any Republican gains in Texas. Maryland Democrats’ new map could erase the state’s last Republican-held House seat.
Nowhere has been quite as audacious or lopsided as Virginia. If approved by voters and allowed by the courts, the commonwealth’s congressional map could be up to 10-1 Democratic.
All of Virginia’s statewide elected executive officers, including the governor, were Republicans as recently as mid-January. (Democrats swept the off-year elections in Virginia last November.) Former Vice President Kamala Harris won just 51.8% of the vote against Trump there in 2024. Large swathes of the state south of the Washington, D.C., suburbs remain heavily Republican. The current split in the Virginia congressional delegation is just 6-5 Democratic, though both senators are Democrats. Virginians haven’t elected a Republican to the upper chamber since George Allen in 2000.
Beyond the merits of the individual state maps in question or partisan gerrymandering in principle, however, conservatives are debating whether this is a prudent use of political power.
Some conservatives would like to see Republican-led states be as ruthless in pursuing partisan advantages in the drawing of congressional maps as they legally can be, precisely because Democrats have shown little hesitation in wielding such political power themselves.
Many blue states were arguably already more gerrymandered than their Republican counterparts before the current redistricting wars started. In California, Democrats held 82% of congressional seats in a state Harris won with 59% of the vote, while Republicans occupied 66% of …
