Virginia Democrats announced on Thursday that they agreed on a proposed congressional map that would include 10 Democrat-leaning seats and just one Republican-leaning seat.
Virginia lawmakers previously debated a similar Democrat-favoring map that had a 9-2 split. Both options reflect a strong shift from the current map, which has six Democratic and five Republican seats.
In the 2024 presidential election, Virginia voters supported former Vice President Kamala Harris with 51.8% of the vote compared to 46.1% for President Donald Trump.
In an X post, Virginia Senate President Pro Tempore Louise Lucas, a Democrat, announced that the 10-1 map secured the 21 votes needed to pass the state Senate. Another photo posted on X showing Lucas next to Democratic Virginia House Speaker Don Scott said the two bodies agreed to a 10-1 map.
“Donald Trump knows he is going to lose the midterms, he knows it,” Lucas said after an agreement was reached.
The official map will be released on Friday, but it still needs voter approval in an April referendum.
A spokesperson for Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) said state elections officials have said the map will be used in the midterm elections, according to the Virginia Scope.
“The Governor’s priority has been upholding the integrity of Virginia’s elections,” the spokesperson said. “Her team has been working throughout this process to make sure any proposed map could actually be implemented on the quick timeline.”
The path forward is complicated, as legal challenges have already arisen in the redistricting efforts.
Last week, a Tazewell County Circuit Court judge ruled that the legislature’s constitutional amendment to redistrict the congressional map was improperly passed.
The judge said there were procedural errors in the special session used to advance it after the first of the two sessions to vote on the map occurred during early voting for the 2025 elections.
Democrats are appealing the decision, and the case could reach the Virginia Supreme Court.
If the appeal succeeds, voters may decide in the April 21 referendum whether to amend the state constitution to allow the legislature to redraw the map, possibly in time for the 2026 midterm elections.
In Virginia, establishing a partisan gerrymander necessitates a constitutional amendment through a ballot measure because the state’s congressional map is currently drawn by a constitutionally mandated independent commission. This legal process for bypassing independent redistricting mirrors the requirements found in California.
Virginia’s redistricting debate has unfolded against a backdrop of intense nationwide battles over congressional map lines, driven in part by both parties’ efforts to shape the House before the 2026 midterm elections.
Lucas said Trump has called on states such as Texas to approve Republican-favored maps.
“We made a promise to level the playing field,” Lucas said. “Trump started this mess, and Virginia is going to finish it.”
Neighboring Maryland has also tried to redraw congressional lines to favor Democrats, but the measure has faced opposition. Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson, a Democrat, has been a roadblock in passing such a map, citing legal concerns.
VIRGINIA JUDGE HALTS DEMOCRATS’ EFFORTS FOR REDISTRICTING REFERENDUM IN APRIL
Earlier redraws in Republican-led Texas enacted a map designed to yield additional GOP seats. Legal disputes over the new congressional map made it all the way to the Texas Supreme Court, which ruled in favor of the GOP-favoring map.
Democratic voters in California approved a ballot initiative that would redraw its congressional districts in a way that flipped up to five Republican seats. After facing challenges from the Trump administration, the Supreme Court allowed the new map to be used in the 2026 elections.