Virginia Democrats launch redistricting push to counter Trump

Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News on Oct 23, 2025

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Virginia Democrats Thursday said they will seek to redraw the blue-trending state’s congressional map to flip two or three Republican-held seats and counter President Trump’s push to hold Congress in next year’s crucial midterm elections.

Lawmakers in the Old Dominion State would seek to pass a constitutional amendment necessary to open the door to redistricting ahead of the 2026 elections and converting the current 6-5 split to as much as a 9-2 Democratic edge in the state’s House of Representatives delegation.

The push could help Democrats even the playing field as Trump pushes red state Republicans to grab as many Democratic seats as possible ahead of what is forecast as a difficult political year for the GOP.

State Sen. Scott Surovell, the Democratic majority leader, confirmed the redistricting plans, which would require the approval of both houses in the state legislature.

Democrats hold a 21-19 edge in the state Senate, which only faces reelection in 2027. They hold a 51-49 edge in the lower chamber but are expected to significantly expand that edge in the Nov. 4 general election.

Former Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger leads Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle Sears by a healthy margin in polls of next month’s off-year race for Virginia governor. Spanberger had previously said she was not planning to push the state to undergo mid-decade redistricting.

Virginia has been trending to the left for years as Washington, D.C.’s deep-blue suburbs expand south and west into previously solid GOP turf, giving Democrats flexibility to squeeze more seats statewide.

Trump and Republicans unleashed the unprecedented mid-decade map-making war in hopes of keeping control of the House of Representatives, which they hold by a narrow six-vote margin.

The president started by prodding Texas to redraw its maps to pick up an estimated five Democratic seats.Other red states have jumped into the effort, with Missouri pushing for a new map to flip one Democratic seat and North Carolina Republicans seeking to extend their advantage in the evenly split swing state’s delegation from 10-4 to 11-3.

Democrats hope to counter by rejiggering district lines in California to pick up five GOP-held seats.

They are also eyeing similar moves to extend their advantage in blue states including Illinois and Maryland.

New York Democrats hope to find a way to get around the state’s independent redistricting committee to redraw maps of its 26 seats, now split 19-7 in their favor. But any change could only go into effect in 2028.