Democrats in Virginia legislature poised to try redrawing congressional map
Virginia will be the latest state to enter the redistricting battles, as Democrats announced plans Thursday to convene in the statehouse where they are expected to plan redrawing its congressional map.
A Virginia General Assembly special session will reconvene Monday, according to a letter obtained by ABC News.
This marks Democrats' second formal attempt to counter the wave of Republican redistricting efforts encouraged by President Donald Trump, following in the footsteps of California's Prop. 50 election, which could net Democrats up to five seats if Californians approve a new congressional map.
Democrats currently hold six of Virginia's U.S. House districts.
According to the New York Times, which was first to report the news, Democrats are not calling a new special session but can reconvene an existing one.
Democrats will also need to do more than just pass a map. The Washington Post reported that Democrats will need to get the plan moving before Election Day on Nov. 4 and then hold onto the House of Delegates; Virginians will also eventually need to vote on a referendum.
Heather Williams, the president of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, told ABC News in a statement, "Redistricting decisions move through state legislatures and so it's never been more important for us to protect and expand the Democratic majority in Virginia."
Virginia's House of Delegates -- currently 51 Democrats, 48 Republicans and one vacancy, is also up for election on Nov. 4.
Virginia Senate Republican Leader Ryan McDougle and Sen. Mark Obenshain slammed the effort in a joint statement and argued that the state should defer to its redistricting commission.
"Democrats see the political tide turning against them and now they're trying to rewrite the rules before voters even finish casting their ballots," McDougle said. "Calling a special session to undo Virginia's bipartisan redistricting Constitutional amendment is not about fairness or good government, it's about power."
In 2020, a constitutional amendment granted the Virginia Redistricting Commission control of drawing congressional maps for the General Assembly to approve.
ABC News has reached out to Virginia House Speaker Don Scott and Senate Leader Scott Surovell for comment but did not immediately hear back.
Virginia's redistricting plans also come just two weeks before Election Day, when the state will vote in a high-stakes gubernatorial race.
The campaign of Republican governor candidate Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears accused her Democratic rival and former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, without providing evidence, of pushing for redistricting in order to help her in the race and to subvert the will of voters.
"This is what panic looks like. With just 12 days until Election Day, Abigail Spanberger and her Democrat allies have given up on talking to voters about real ideas and solutions. Instead, she's leading the charge on cheap political stunts to slow down Winsome Earle-Sears' momentum," Earle-Sears campaign spokesperson Peyton Vogel said in a statement on Thursday.
In another statement, Vogel alleged that Spanberger "wants to overrule the will of Virginia voters in favor of a cynical power grab."
Spanberger has previously said she would not try to redraw Virginia's congressional lines if elected governor. ABC News has reached out to her campaign for comment on whether she supports the redistricting push.
Redistricting is normally done after the Census each decade, but Texas lawmakers in August at Trump's urging redrew the state's congressional districts in an effort to win five more seats in next year's midterm elections. In response, California redrew its map to potentially pick up five seats, although that redrawn map will go before voters on Election Day.
Democrat-controlled Maryland, New York and Illinois have indicated they're considering mid-decade redistricting.
In September, GOP-leaning Missouri adopted a new map that could help Republicans gain one seat while North Carolina this week passed a new map that could help the GOP pick up another seat there.
Kansas and Florida, which have Republican-controlled legislatures, are also considering redrawing their maps before the midterms.
