VA Lawmakers Move Forward With Congressional Redistricting Plans

RICHMOND, VA — Virginia's Democratic-led General Assembly advanced a proposed constitutional amendment on Friday that could pave the way for redistricting in the state ahead of the 2026 congressional elections.

Virginia is represented in the U.S. House by six Democrats and five Republicans. Democratic lawmakers haven’t unveiled their planned new map, nor how many seats they will try to gain, but said their moves are necessary to respond to the Trump-inspired gerrymandering in Republican-led states.

“Our voters are asking to have that voice. They’re asking that we protect democracy, that we not allow gerrymandering to happen throughout the country, and we sit back,” Democratic Sen. Barbara Favola said.

President Donald Trump has been urging Republican-led states to reshape their U.S. House districts in an attempt to win more seats. Ohio, Texas, Missouri and North Carolina are states where Republican lawmakers already have revised congressional districts.

However, Democrats have been pushing back. California voters are deciding Tuesday on a redistricting plan passed by the Democratic-led Legislature.

Virginia's proposed constitutional amendment would let lawmakers temporarily bypass a bipartisan commission and redraw congressional districts to their advantage. The Senate's approval Friday followed House approval on Wednesday.

The measure needs another round of legislative approval early next year before it can go to voters.

The developments come as Virginia holds elections Tuesday, where all 100 state House seats are on the ballot. Democrats would need to keep their slim majority to advance the constitutional amendment again next year. It then would go to a statewide referendum.

Republican Sen. Mark Obenshain said Democrats were ignoring the will of voters who overwhelmingly approved the bipartisan redistricting commission.

“Heaven forbid that we actually link arms and work together on something,” Obenshain said. “What the voters of Virginia said is, ‘We expect redistricting to be an issue that we work across the aisle on, that we link arms on.’”

But Democratic Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg, who has long championed the bipartisan redistricting commission, noted it still would be responsible for redistricting after the 2030 census.

“We’re not trying to end the practice of fair maps," he said. "We are asking the voters if, in this one limited case, they want to ensure that a constitutional-norm-busting president can’t break the entire national election by twisting the arms of a few state legislatures.”