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Virginia Democrats release proposed new congressional district map
FOX 5’s Julie Donaldson explains what the proposal would do and what still has to happen before it could take effect.
VIRGINIA - Virginia Democrats on Tuesday voted to approve their proposed congressional map that could significantly reshape the state’s political landscape ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, according to The Washington Post.
Virginia’s current congressional delegation includes six Democrats and five Republicans. The newly proposed map could help Democrats gain up to four additional seats.
Legal hurdles to clear
What we know:
Now that both the state Senate and House of Delegates have passed their respective bills, Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger will either veto or sign the legislation.
Under Virginia law, voters must still approve the new map via a statewide referendum before it can take effect, but a state judge has ruled that the amendment process was improper, which could delay or block the referendum entirely. Democrats are appealing that ruling.
Nationwide redistricting battle
Dig deeper:
Virginia's Democratic lawmakers say this proposed map is a response to redistricting moves in other states.
Trump has urged GOP-controlled states, such as Texas, to redraw their district lines to ensure that the Republican Party retains its current majority in the House of Representatives once the 2026 midterm elections roll around.
In response, Democratic lawmakers have begun fighting fire with fire, as they say.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 1: California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks at a "Yes On Prop 50" volunteer event at the LA Convention Center on November 1, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. California's Prop 50 is on the ballot to either authorize …
The most notable of these proposals is perhaps Proposition 50 in California, which state voters passed late last year. It authorizes California lawmakers to redraw the state's congressional districts, which could in turn deliver several new Democratic seats in the House. That, too, has continued to face legal obstacles.
When Spanberger signed the bill allowing the mid-decade redistricting proposal in Virginia, she said it was a temporary and responsive measure.
"Everything has been very much loaded to either favor Republicans or Democrats," Chapman Rackaway, a political science and sociology professor at Radford University, previously told FOX 5 DC. "No one's looking at this through a lens of equity or fairness, and everyone's looking for, ‘What can we advantage ourselves the most with in 2026?'"
Upcoming Supreme Court case
Big picture view:
These redistricting battles are all happening as the United States Supreme Court is set to hear a case regarding the legality of Section 2 of The Voting Rights Act later this year.
The plaintiffs in this case argue that a Black-majority congressional district in Louisiana relies too heavily on race, and therefore has an unconstitutional racial basis, specifically in regard to both the 14th and 15th Amendments. They also argue that the map of this district, drawn specifically to correct a previously discriminatory map, does not follow district drawing standards for compactness.
Section 2 specifically prohibits voting practices and procedures that discriminate on the basis of race; if it were to be done away with, the main way plaintiffs challenge discriminatory election practices would cease to be.
The Source: Information above was sourced from The Washington Post, VPM, The Associated Press, NPR, The Guardian, the National Archives and previous FOX 5 DC reporting.