Virginia Supreme Court strikes down redistricting in blow to Democrats
Campaign sign showing the current election map of Virginia alongside the proposed election map at the Republican Party volunteer table outside a polling place at the Burke Center Library on Saturday, April 18, 2026 in Burke, Virginia, United States.
Graeme Sloan | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The Virginia Supreme Court on Friday struck down the state’s recently passed redistricting referendum, dealing a major blow to Democrats hoping to pick up a few seats in the new House maps.
The redistricting ballot measure passed by three percentage points in late April; This was seen at the time as a big win for Democrats, who managed to win four seats from redrawn maps ahead of the November midterm elections.
The Virginia Supreme Court decision comes amid an ongoing partisan gerrymandering war and as Republican-led states in the South seek to redraw House districts following a landmark Supreme Court decision that weakened part of the Voting Rights Act.
Democrat Don Scott, Speaker of the Virginia House of Representatives, said in a statement after the decision, “We respect the court. However, we will continue to fight for a democracy where voters have the final say, not politicians. Because in Virginia, power still belongs to the people.” he said.
President Donald Trump, who has called on GOP-led states to draw more favorable maps in a bid to gain narrow majorities in the House of Representatives, celebrated the decision.
Trump said: “A huge victory for the Republican Party and America in Virginia. The Virginia Supreme Court just struck down the Democrats’ terrible gerrymand. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” Posted on TruthSocial.
The court ruled that the state had proposed a constitutional amendment that would allow for partisanship in an “unprecedented way.”
“This breach irreparably undermines the integrity of the resulting referendum vote and invalidates the vote.” Judge D. Arthur Kelsey wrote with the majority opinion.
The decision gives Republicans a decisive advantage in redistricting battles and could negate Democrats’ advantage heading into the 2026 midterm elections. Without Virginia’s redraw, last year’s redistricting efforts could have given Republicans a 12-seat advantage over Democrats, according to an analysis by Issue One, a bipartisan group that aims to reduce the influence of money in politics.
Virginia’s decision comes less than 24 hours after Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed into law a new map that would eliminate the state’s only Democratic-held district. Other Southern states, including Louisiana, Alabama and South Carolina, also took steps to eliminate majority-minority and Democratic-held districts after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a provision in the Voting Rights Act, making it more difficult to prove instances of racial gerrymandering.
Rep. Steve Cohen, a Memphis Democrat who represents the Tennessee district to be eliminated, has vowed to sue over the new map. Democrats also generally said they would continue the fight.
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chairman, D-Wash. “This is a setback that sends a terrible message to Americans; the powerful and the elite will do whatever they can to silence you,” Rep. Suzan DelBene said Friday of the Virginia decision. “House Democrats will not let this happen. Our democracy was founded on the belief that the people have the final say. They will do this in November and carry Democrats to the House majority.”
