Virginia Democrats’ redistricting push is dealt a setback by state court
By Fredreka Schouten, CNN
(CNN) — A state court on Tuesday blocked Virginia Democrats’ redistricting effort, delivering a setback to the party’s plans to redraw congressional lines ahead of November’s midterm elections.
Tazewell County Circuit Judge Jack Hurley Jr. ruled that Democrats in the General Assembly failed to follow the correct procedures when they launched a last-minute effort to change the state’s constitution and pave the way for a mid-decade redraw.
Democratic legislative leaders said they intended to immediately appeal the ruling. If the ruling is upheld, however, it delivers a major blow to the party’s hopes of picking up as many as four additional seats in November’s midterms.
The elections will determine which party controls the US House during the final two years of President Donald Trump’s time in office.
Last fall, Democrats who hold majorities in the state legislature undertook the first step in redistricting by passing a proposed constitutional amendment during a special session to pave the way for the new maps. Earlier this month, they finalized those plans by holding a second vote.
Hurley struck down the legislature’s move on several grounds, ruling that lawmakers last year failed to vote on the amendment before the public began casting ballots in the November 2025 election and did not publish the amendment three months before the election, as required by state law.
“The court made clear that elections matter, notice matters and the rules apply to everyone – even those in power,” Virginia Sen. Ryan McDougle, Del. Terry Kilgore and former Virginia congressman Eric Cantor said in a joint statement. The three serve as leaders of Virginians for Fair Maps, a Republican group fighting the redistricting push in the state.
Top Democrats in the state legislature accused Republicans of “court-shopping” in taking their case to a court in a deeply conservative part of the state.
“Nothing that happened today will dissuade us from continuing to move forward and put this matter directly to the voters,” Senate and House Democratic leaders in the General Assembly said in their joint statement. “Republicans who can’t win at the ballot box are abusing the legal process in an attempt to sow confusion and block Virginians from voting.”
Democratic leaders in Virginia have proposed putting new districts before voters in an April referendum. Virginia must take the redistricting issue to voters because its state constitution gives a bipartisan commission, rather than lawmakers, the power to draw congressional maps.
Tuesday’s ruling is the latest development in a mid-decade redistricting fight that began last year in Texas at Trump’s behest in an effort to gain more seats that are favorable to Republicans. So far, that fight has yielded nine more GOP-friendly seats and six that favor Democrats.
Virginia represents the largest potential number of seats Democrats still could pick up through redistricting. The party currently controls six of the state’s 11 US House seats
The court action comes as lawmakers in neighboring Maryland this week began work on a map pushed by Democratic Gov. Wes Moore that would target that state’s lone Republican in Congress.
This story has been updated with additional details.
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