Virginia voters approved Democrats’ effort to take control of the state on Tuesday, giving the party a lead in its bid to recapture the House in November.
The new map would give Democrats a chance to flip four seats currently held by Republicans. Its adoption could put Democrats slightly ahead in the national mid-decade gerrymandering wars — an outcome few thought about when President Donald Trump fought Texas Republicans last summer by prompting them to redraw their map.
The result is a major victory for Democrats’ hopes of retaking Congress, and it shows their ability to unite voters distrustful of partisan redistricting and push back against Trump in a Democratic-leaning state. It also marks a victory for Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger in her first national test as governor, as she faced pressure to take a more active role in the final stages of the campaign.
Virginia’s contest saw an explosion of outside spending and the involvement of national luminaries such as former President Barack Obama and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jefferies as both sides raced to convince people to vote during the off-cycle April election. Even Trump, who has largely remained on the sidelines of the fight, joined an eleventh-hour tele-rally on Monday to urge voters to reject the redistricting ballot measure.
The President said, “This is truly the country’s election. The entire country is watching.”
Buoyed by a five-seat gain in California last November and an unexpected new seat won by the courts in Utah, Democrats entered the final round of voting cautiously optimistic despite tight poll numbers. Those seats, and the new Virginia map, effectively erases the gains Republicans made in Texas, Ohio, North Carolina and Missouri.
Yet, a major threat still looms over Virginia’s map: The state Supreme Court could strike down the redistricting effort, a move that would effectively void the election results.
And the battle of maneuver in this cycle is not over yet. Florida GOP lawmakers could unveil a new map as soon as next week that could offset Democrats’ new advantage.
