Voters in Virginia on Tuesday approved new congressional maps intended to boost Democrats’ chances of retaking the House of Representatives, in the latest blow to Donald Trump’s effort to use mid-decade redistricting to preserve his control of Congress.
The tit-for-tat redistricting battle began last year after Trump pressed Texas’s Republican-controlled legislature to redraw that state’s congressional maps in a bid to oust as many as five Democratic House lawmakers in the November midterm elections.
California voters retaliated by approving new maps that could flip five Republican-held seats, and in Virginia, Abigail Spanberger, the newly elected Democratic governor, backed an effort to redraw her state’s maps following her January inauguration.
Under the new maps, Democrats are now favored to win in 10 of Virginia’s 11 districts. In the current delegation, Democrats hold six seats and Republicans five.
The referendum, which changes the state constitution to set aside through the 2030 census a nonpartisan redistricting process voters authorized six years ago, must still be approved by the state legislature for a second time.
It is also the subject of an ongoing challenge before the state supreme court, which could still issue a ruling disqualifying its results.
Polls showed a close race in the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s vote, with signs that right-leaning voters in Virginia’s rural areas were incensed by new maps that would see many of them represented by lawmakers who live in the state’s northern suburbs outside Washington DC.
The surveys also showed that voters were divided on Spanberger’s performance as governor, with Republicans accusing her of lying about her moderate credentials on the campaign trail then quickly pivoting left as governor, including by supporting the referendum.
The race saw heavy spending by Democratic-linked groups and others, who poured more than $64m into the main committee backing the referendum. Groups opposing redistricting brought in around $30m.
Barack Obama recorded television ads in favor of the yes vote, while those opposed aired their own ads focused on past comments he had made criticizing gerrymandering. Glenn Youngkin, the Republican who preceded Spanberger as governor, campaigned heavily for the no vote.
The referendum’s success may embolden Florida’s Republican-controlled state assembly, which governor Ron DeSantis has called into a special session beginning next month to consider changes to its congressional map. The GOP could pick up as many as three more seats depending on how the legislature draws the boundaries.
In addition to Virginia, Missouri and North Carolina have redrawn their congressional maps to remove potentially one Democratic representative each. Democrats are also expected to pick up a seat in Utah thanks to a court ruling that required the state to draw new boundaries.
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