Democrat State Lawmakers To Launch Latest Congressional Redistricting Battleground

Virginia Democratic lawmakers are planning an effort to redraw the commonwealth’s congressional map ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

Don Scott, the speaker of the Democrat-controlled House of Delegates, wrote in a letter that the chamber will reopen an existing special legislative session on Monday.

News from @reidepstein: Democrats are moving to redistrict Virginia https://t.co/d0SlXJ97Mf

— Shane Goldmacher (@ShaneGoldmacher) October 23, 2025

NBC News explained:

Under Virginia statute, only the governor — currently Republican Glenn Youngkin — can convene a special session. But Scott’s letter makes it clear that state Democrats, who control narrow majorities in both chambers of the Legislature, are using a loophole in the statute by reopening a special legislative session that was convened in May 2024 but never technically concluded.

“The House will meet to consider matters properly before the ongoing 2024 Special Session I and any related business laid before the body, in accordance with the Constitution, statutes, as the Rules of the House,” Scott said in his statement.

Virginia Democrats plan to return to the state Capitol in Richmond after Republicans in Texas, Missouri and, as of Wednesday, North Carolina have enacted new maps at President Donald Trump’s urging designed to help the GOP pick up U.S. House seats in the 2026 elections.

Mandara Meyers, the executive director of The States Project, a political group that has discussed the issue with Virginia Democratic leaders, confirmed to NBC News the plan to take up new maps, which was first reported by The New York Times.

Virginia’s congressional delegation currently consists of six Democrats and five Republicans in the House of Representatives.

Some believe Democrat state lawmakers could redraw the congressional map to flip three seats from red to blue, creating a 9-2 advantage.

Virginia is one of Democrats’ strongest weapons in the redistricting fight, and they’re mobilizing accordingly. Dems could draw a rock-solid 9–2 gerrymander, flipping three seats, strong enough to hold even in the 2021 gubernatorial election. https://t.co/gAr6neY5ZF pic.twitter.com/x2dhN6ZRxD

— Zachary Donnini (@ZacharyDonnini) October 23, 2025

Obviously extremely early stages in the VA redistricting developments and nothing should be treated as certain.

But if Virginia Democrats retake control of the redistricting process, they could create a map like this. 11 would become significantly less Democrat leaning to allow… pic.twitter.com/wrn8yLkIsp

— Joe Szymanski (@JosephSzymanski) October 23, 2025

VPM News has more:

Democrats have not officially announced the move, and the letters do not state outright that the topic will be electoral map redistricting. However, Republican legislators told VPM News redistricting was on the agenda, and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee also confirmed Monday’s agenda in a press release.

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A general election using new congressional maps likely would not occur until next fall at the earliest: Virginia currently draws its electoral maps through a bipartisan redistricting commission, and changing that process would require a state constitutional amendment.

State law requires two consecutive passages of potential amendments to the Virginia Constitution by the General Assembly, with an election between them, before voters can ratify or reject the measure via ballot referendum. Democrats’ efforts for an accelerated timeline would require parliamentary maneuvers in order to be in place for the 2026 federal midterms.

Six Democrats and five Republicans represent Virginia in the US House of Representatives.

Virginia would be only the second state, after California, where Democrats are making moves to counteract Trump’s push to redraw electoral maps that explicitly favor the Republican Party. As of Oct. 23, the US House of Representatives has 219 Republicans and 213 Democrats.

The current electoral boundaries had narrow 2024 races in the 1st, 2nd, 7th and 10th congressional districts, which comprise swaths of Northern and Central Virginia, the Northern Neck and part of Hampton Roads. 2026 campaigning began months ago in the 1st Congressional District, currently held by longtime Republican incumbent Rob Wittman.

13News Now provided additional coverage: