Virginia voters have backed a plan aimed at helping Democrats pick up more seats in the House come November.
With 97 percent of the votes counted, 51.5 percent voted yes to temporary redistricting, while 48.6 percent voted no. The Associated Press called the race at 1:49 a.m.
The results of the referendum were a direct rebuke to President Donald Trump, who has been urging Republican-led states to redraw their congressional maps to favor GOP candidates, prompting a scramble to redraw districts in Democrat-led states.
Democrats in deep-purple Virginia backed the proposal to redraw the congressional districts ahead of the 2026 midterms as Republicans fight to hold onto power.
The new Virginia maps could allow Democrats to pick up an additional four seats in Congress come November. They currently hold six of the state’s 11 seats. The proposed maps backed by voters on Tuesday could give Democrats 10 of those seats.
The referendum fueled more than $81 million in ad spending, making it one of the most expensive contests in Virginia history outside a presidential election.
The mid-decade gerrymandering push in the state came after a series of red states, starting with Texas, moved to redraw maps to favor the GOP at Trump’s urging.
It set off a redistricting war with Virginia being the latest state to enter the fray. Voters in California previously backed Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom’s push to redistrict mid-decade last November with Prop 50.
Florida is the final state that could take up redistricting this spring after Missouri and North Carolina joined Texas, with efforts to help Republicans.
The proposed constitutional amendment in Virginia would allow for the General Assembly to temporarily adopt the new districts ahead of the upcoming election in response to redistricting efforts by Republicans.
Source: Drudge Report
