Virginia voters have narrowly passed a contentious redistricting referendum that could significantly impact which party holds the majority in the House of Representatives following the 2026 midterm elections.
The measure, aimed at aggressive gerrymandering, was approved by a slim margin of 50% to 49%. This decision could potentially see Democrats gaining four additional congressional seats.
The referendum is poised to create a notable power shift, possibly allowing Democrats to secure control of all but one of Virginia’s 11 congressional seats in the upcoming year.
Currently, Virginia’s congressional delegation is split 6-5 in favor of Democrats. However, the newly proposed map seeks to realign this to a 10-1 advantage.
Republicans have criticized the newly drawn district boundaries, describing them as a deliberate attempt to marginalize conservative voices in a state where former Vice President Kamala Harris secured just under 52% of the popular vote in 2024.
On the eve of the vote, former President Trump spoke out against the redistricting effort, cautioning that its outcome would have “major consequences for our entire country.”
“We’ll have one seat. At most, we’ll have one seat. And we can’t do that,” the president said during a tele-rally with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), calling the measure a “shameful effort to disenfranchise” conservative voters.
“If this referendum passes, Democrats will silence the voices of Virginia conservatives and push the same crazy radical left policies in Congress that [Virginia Democratic Gov. Abigail] Spanberger is now bringing to Virginia,” Trump warned.
“You’ve been dealt a bad hand with this governor that you have,” he lamented.
Johnson urged Virginians to get out to the polls to defeat “the most gerrymandered map in the country” and “save our Republican majority in the House.”
The House speaker argued “extreme Democrats” aimed to “wipe out four Republican seats all in one fell swoop for one reason: they want to stop President Trump and our agenda in its tracks.”
The ballot measure sought to amend Virginia’s constitution to give the Democrat-majority General Assembly power to redraw the state’s congressional district lines.
It’s the latest salvo in a redistricting war set off when Trump pushed GOP-controlled states to engage in rare mid-decade redistricting as a means of helping Republicans in the midterm elections.
Republicans will be defending their razor-thin House majority in the fall.
Texas, Missouri, Ohio, and North Carolina have redrawn district maps to favor Republicans.
Florida is also slated to pursue redistricting that could add GOP seats to the House.
Meanwhile, California voters approved new congressional maps last November aimed at canceling out the potential GOP gains in Texas.
“Today’s redistricting referendum is about one thing: President Trump’s power grab,” Spanberger wrote on X before polls closed.
“Last summer, he said he’s ‘entitled’ to more seats in Congress, and states across the country got to work to give him what he demanded,” she added. “You can push back, Virginia. Vote YES.”
Spanberger infamously said during her 2025 gubernatorial campaign that “I have no plans to redistrict Virginia.”
