The next front in the nation’s pitched battle over mid-decade congressional redistricting is opening in Virginia, where Democrats are planning the first step toward redrawing congressional maps, a move that could give their party two or three more seats.

The General Assembly will convene at 4 p.m. Monday in Richmond, according to a letter House Speaker Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, sent Thursday to members of the House of Delegates. The letter did not specifically address whether the legislature would take up redistricting but said the House would meet to “consider matters properly before the ongoing 2024 Special Session I and any related business.” Because the legislature did not officially gavel out sine die after the 2024 special session, that session can be reconvened outside of the normal legislative period that begins in January.

Virginia Republicans said the special session is a bid to repeal the state’s bipartisan redistricting system, and lashed out over what they see as a partisan political gerrymandering plan.

The surprise development would make Virginia the second state, after California, in which Democrats try to counter a wave of Republican moves demanded by President Donald Trump to redistrict states to their advantage before the 2026 midterm elections. No other Democratic state has begun redistricting proceedings, while several Republican states have drawn new maps or are deliberating doing so.

Democrats now hold six of Virginia’s 11 congressional seats. Redistricting could deliver two or three additional seats for the party, depending on how aggressive cartographers choose to be in a redrawing effort.

“We are coming back to address actions by the Trump administration,” said Scott Surovell, the majority leader of the Virginia Senate, who confirmed the plans.

Virginia voters, by a nearly 2-to-1 margin, approved an amendment to the state constitution in 2020 that created an independent redistricting commission. Many of the same state legislators who voted to put the amendment before voters in 2020 are now expected to ask Virginia voters to suspend it next year.

Virginia Republicans strongly opposed redistricting efforts.

“Democrats see the political tide turning against them and now they’re trying to rewrite the rules before voters even finish casting their ballots,” said Senate Republican Leader Ryan McDougle. “Calling a special session to undo Virginia’s bipartisan redistricting Constitutional amendment is not about fairness or good government, it’s about power.”

Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, who is running for governor, presides over the Senate when it’s in session. Just days before the election, that could pull her off the campaign trail, according to a statement from her campaign.

“This is what panic looks like,” said campaign spokesperson Peyton Vogel. “With just 12 days until Election Day, (Democratic candidate) Abigail Spanberger and her Democrat allies have given up on talking to voters about real ideas and solutions. Instead, she’s leading the charge on cheap political stunts to slow down Winsome Earle-Sears’ momentum. It’s pathetic.”

Spanberger has not been involved in planning the redistricting effort. She said in August that she had “no plans” to commence a redistricting effort, though the state’s rules do not require the governor’s participation in the constitutional amendment process. Spanberger, through an aide, declined to comment.

The Virginia Democrats’ moves are the latest in a monthslong tango that has resulted in Texas and Missouri enacting new maps that add more Republican seats, California asking voters to approve a new map to add Democratic seats and North Carolina Republican lawmakers on Tuesday approving a new map expected to transfer one congressional seat to Republicans from Democrats.

Trump has pressured Republican legislators in Indiana to enact a new map to eliminate the state’s two Democratic-held House seats, and Democrats expect Florida Republicans will attempt to redraw their state’s congressional districts in early 2026. Republicans in Kansas and Nebraska have also explored redistricting before the midterms, though neither have yet taken formal steps to do so.

With congressional Republicans and a friendly Supreme Court acceding to nearly all of Trump’s demands, Democrats have viewed the midterm elections as their lone opportunity to reclaim some power in the federal government. Republicans now hold a five-seat majority in the House, which is seen as far more likely to change hands than the Senate, where Republicans have a 53-47 advantage and a favorable 2026 map.

Virginia is one of few options Democrats have to boost their chances of engineering more House seats for themselves next year.

John Bisognano, the president of the National Democratic Redistributing Committee, predicted that redistricting activity would continue across the country. “The farther Donald Trump drags our country into a gerrymandering crisis, the more states will look for responsive options to protect the voting power of the American people,” he said.

Adam Kincaid, the executive director of the National Republican Redistricting Trust, said that, “This seems like a pretty desperate move from Democrats to change the conversation a week before the election.”

As in California, redrawing Virginia’s congressional districts mid-decade requires altering the state’s constitution. To do that, majorities in consecutive sessions of the legislature — once this year and again after Jan. 15 when newly-elected delegates are seated — must approve the amendment. Then, it would have to pass a statewide referendum, which could go before voters early next year.

Democrats hold 51 out of 100 seats in Virginia’s House of Delegates and have a 21-19 advantage in the state Senate. Virginia state senators do not face reelection until 2027.

All 100 seats in Virginia’s House of Delegates are up for election Nov. 4, and Democrats are expected to increase their margin. Democratic House candidates are collectively spending over six times more than their Republican counterparts on television advertising in the campaign’s final weeks, according to an analysis by AdImpact, a media tracking firm.

757 Votes: The Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press 2025 election guide

The redistricting discussion is likely to inject uncertainty into Virginia’s politics 12 days before an election that, in recent weeks, has been dominated by discussion of a texting scandal that has engulfed Democrats’ nominee for attorney general.

Public and private polling indicates Spanberger has a wide lead over her Republican counterpart, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, though the contests for attorney general and lieutenant governor are believed to be tighter.

Under the existing map, Virginia was expected to have three competitive congressional races. Reps. Rob Wittman and Jen Kiggans, both Republicans, and Eugene Vindman, a Democrat, each face the prospect of well-funded challengers. No prospective maps have been drawn yet, two of the people involved in the plans said, and it is not clear which Republican seats would be targeted.

The New York Times’ Reid J. Epstein and The Virginian-Pilot’s Kate Seltzer contributed to this report. 

https://www.dailypress.com/2025/10/23/virginia-democrats-redistricting/