Former President Barack Obama is urging Virginia voters to back a constitutional amendment that could reshape the state’s congressional districts in favor of Democrats ahead of the upcoming midterm elections.
On Thursday, Obama released a video on social media highlighting the trend of mid-decade redistricting, which gained momentum last year when Texas Republicans initiated efforts to reconfigure five Democratic-held districts to favor the GOP.
In response, California Democrats have redrawn boundaries to try to counterbalance the Texas gerrymandering by targeting five Republican-held districts. Similarly, Republicans in North Carolina and Missouri have each modified a Democratic-held seat in their states to bolster their party’s prospects.
“This April, Virginians have the chance to ensure that their voting power isn’t diluted by actions taken by Republicans in other states,” Obama stated in the video. “Passing this amendment would empower you to create a fairer playing field for the upcoming midterms.”
The Republicans currently hold a slim majority in the U.S. House, facing the possibility of losing control with every seat up for grabs this fall.
The redistricting initiative in Virginia, led by Democrats, has been a complex and contentious process, with legal challenges casting doubt on the final outcome. The existing map, implemented for the 2024 elections, allocated six House seats to Democrats and five to Republicans. However, Democratic leaders have proposed new plans this year aiming to secure as many as 10 Democratic seats, potentially leaving Republicans with just one.
“Democrats’ illegal gerrymandering power grab is an affront to democracy and rigs our maps to turn Virginia into a one-party state,” the Republican Party of Virginia said last month on social media, adding “It is an intentional effort to silence and disenfranchise half our Commonwealth.”
After the 2020 Census, both Democratic and Republican led states indulged in the well-worn practice of gerrymandering, drawing districts that favored their own parties and lessening the chances of competitive races.
But the series of mid-decade redraws impacting the 2026 midterms essentially represent a break from tradition and have put Democrats in the position of having to backtrack on some of their past messaging on the issue. “For too long, gerrymandering has contributed to stalled progress and warped our representative government,” Obama himself said on social media in 2020.
A statewide vote is set for April 21 on whether to change Virginia’s constitution and give the General Assembly the ability to change the maps just months before general election contests will be held. Early voting is set to start Friday.
Virginia is more of a purple state, and it’s unclear what will happen to the constitutional amendment in the April 21 special election. Republicans widely oppose the effort, and additional congressional redistricting in GOP-led Florida could lessen the impact of any changes made in Virginia.
