Virginia approves referendum to redraw its congressional map to favor Democrats, AP projects
A Democratic-backed redistricting ballot measure in Virginia will pass, The Associated Press projects, notching Democrats a key win that could allow them to flip up to four Republican-held congressional seats in November.
The referendum allows the Democratic-controlled legislature to redraw the state's congressional districts. That would allow the legislature to implement a map that will reconfigure four congressional seats to favor Democrats, which could help determine control of the U.S. House after November's midterms.
Democrats said they needed the measure to pass in order to continue to counter previous mid-decade redistricting that benefited Republicans in Texas and other states. But Republicans called it a power grab in a state that is relatively split even politically, and say it sidelines a redistricting commission voters previously approved.
Surrogates for both sides of the measure campaigned in full force ahead of Election Day and President Donald Trump weighed in by telephone on Monday night in a rally held by opponents.
"This referendum is a blatant partisan power grab ... if it passes, Virginia Democrats will eliminate four out of five congressional seats [held by Republicans in Virginia], so you're going to get just wiped out in terms of representation in Washington," Trump said.
But House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., a strong proponent of the measure, said Monday that the redistricting was because of Trump, who encouraged Texas and other states to redistrict in 2025.
"We believe that it's the voters of Virginia and the people of this country who should decide which party is in the majority ... not Donald Trump and his extreme MAGA sycophants in state legislative bodies across the country who were ordered by Donald Trump to gerrymander the national congressional map as part of the effort to rig the midterm elections," Jeffries told reporters.
During mid-decade redistricting in 2025, nine seats were redrawn to benefit Republicans, while six seats were redrawn to benefit Democrats. If Democrats add four seats to their count in Virginia, they might only net one new seat if all seats flip as expected in November. But Florida is also set to consider mid-decade redistricting, which is expected to help Republicans bolster their count.
In the Virginia election, the Democratic-supported side of the measure far out-fundraised and outspent the main group supporting a "no" vote, according to campaign finance filings, although both sides raised and spent millions. As of April 10, Virginians for Fair Elections, the flagship organization campaigning in favor of redistricting, had raised over $64 million, while Virginians for Fair Maps Referendum Committee, the largest organization campaigning against redistricting, had raised under $20 million.
While Democrats framed many of their arguments in favor of the redraw as meant to counter Trump, the president himself did not campaign for the "no" side in person and did not engage much with the election until his Monday call.
Former Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, asked by ABC News outside of an anti-redistricting campaign event in Leesburg, Virginia, on Monday if he thinks Trump or national Republicans should have gotten more involved with the race, downplayed the need for that, saying that the opposition to redistricting could go across party lines.
"I think what we've seen is that, first of all, it's been a grassroots effort across the Commonwealth," Youngkin said. "There are so many [vote] 'no' signs around the Commonwealt. ... and at the heart of it, that's Virginians standing up, not just Republicans."
ABC News' Will Lennon, Emily Chang, Lauren Peller, and Hannah Demissie contributed to this report.
