An Unexpected State Is Moving To Add More Democratic Seats In Congress

Democrats in Virginia are pushing to redraw their state’s congressional maps to add two or three House seats in the state for their party, according to two Democratic sources with knowledge of the plan, a surprise move in the ongoing mid-decade redistricting battles sparked by President Donald Trump’s desperation to hold on to the House in the 2026 midterms.

The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because a formal announcement of a special session of the legislature to vote on the redistricting plan is still forthcoming.

Republicans in Texas, Missouri and North Carolina have already moved to create seats for their party, and voters in California are widely expected to approve a new congressional map to add Democratic seats in that state early next month. But Virginia has been little discussed as an option for where Democrats could add seats.

Democrats emphasized this is only step one toward potentially redrawing the maps, and there’s still a chance the General Assembly can decide not to make the changes.

“We’ve been monitoring Republicans steal seats left and right, and put maximalist pressure on states across the country to try and reshape this democracy in a way that is not reflective of the people,” said John Bisognano, the president of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee. “So I would say it shouldn’t be surprising to folks that a place like Virginia would take a moment like right now to retain its optionality for what it decides to do next year.”

The move also shakes up the state’s governor, attorney general and state legislature elections, which are just 11 days away. Polling indicates voters in the blue-leaning state were already inclined to back Democrats as a check on Trump’s administration, and Democrats are likely to see a chance to directly defy the president as an additional reason to vote.

Republicans portrayed the redistricting push as an attempt to distract voters from scandals surrounding text messages sent by Democratic Attorney General candidate Jay Jones where he advocated violence against a Republican politician.

“Virginia Democrats are in full panic mode,” Adam Piper, the executive director of the Republican Attorneys General Association, said in a statement. “Instead of calling for Jay Jones to drop out because of his murderous text message and being the subject of a criminal fraud investigation – they’re playing partisan games forcing lawmakers to return to Richmond for a special session that’s a bigger farce than Jay Jones ‘community service.’”

Former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, the Democratic nominee for governor and the heavy favorite to win the race, has largely avoided questions about whether she would support drawing new maps, and instead focused her campaign on lowering costs. Changing the maps would not require direct involvement either from her or from sitting GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin.

Successfully adding the seats would be logistically complicated, in part because Virginia voters approved a constitutional amendment creating an independent redistricting commission in 2020. The legislature will have to vote on the new maps once before Election Day 2025, and again once the legislature convenes in 2026. Then, the maps would go to the voters for approval in early 2026 and would be used in the midterms later that year.

Democrats narrowly control both chambers of the General Assembly and are expected to add seats in the House of Delegates in November.

The move was first reported by The New York Times.

The push seemed to catch even some high-profile Virginia Democrats by surprise. Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) told HuffPost he was still seeking more information about the legislature’s plans.

“Whatever is being discussed is not being done in a context of isolation,” Warner said. “I think this would not even be discussed if you weren’t seeing these actions in Republican-controlled states.”

Both the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and House Majority PAC, which is controlled by allies of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, have been involved in planning for the session. It’s possible HMP, which has already spent $15 million boosting the California referendum, could similarly support a referendum in Virginia.

It’s not clear what GOP-held seats in Virginia Democrats might target. Right now, there are three swing seats in the state: a Virginia Beach-based one held by Republican Jen Kiggans, one in the outer suburbs of D.C. and Richmond held by Democrat Eugene Vindman, and another north of Richmond held by Republican Rob Wittman.