Virginia voters on April 21 approved a Democrat-backed redistricting plan, clearing the way for new district lines that could net the party up to four additional seats in the 2026 midterm elections.
The ballot measure passed by a narrow margin of 51.6% to 48.4%, with more than 3 million ballots cast, according to unofficial results from the Virginia Department of Elections. It amends the state constitution to temporarily give the Democrat-controlled General Assembly authority to redraw congressional maps mid-decade — a power previously assigned to a bipartisan commission.
The new House map expands Democrats’ 6-5 advantage in the state’s congressional delegation to a 10-1 majority, according to the Virginia Mercury. As Zeale News previously reported, the new map will also eliminate three pro-life districts, according to CatholicVote’s grassroots coordinator, Joe Cantwell.
Under the change, lawmakers can implement a new map that’s already approved, with the revised districts expected to be used in the 2026, 2028, and 2030 election cycles before the state returns to its standard redistricting process after the next census.
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat, said in an April 21 statement on X that voters “pushed back against a President who claims he is ‘entitled’ to more Republican seats in Congress.” She added that Virginians “responded the right way: at the ballot box.”
Ahead of the vote in Virginia, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and former President Barack Obama became some of the party’s most prominent voices urging Virginians to vote yes on the map. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., urged Virginians to vote no.
In an April 22 Truth Social post, Trump called the vote a "rigged election."
"All day long Republicans were winning, the Spirit was unbelievable, until the very end when, of course, there was a massive 'Mail In Ballot Drop!'" he wrote.
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 22, 2026
Trump argued that the referendum's language was "purposefully unintelligible and deceptive. As everyone knows, I am an extraordinarily brilliant person, and even I had no idea what the hell they were talking about in the Referendum."
"Let's see if the Courts will fix this travesty of 'Justice,'" he concluded.
The vote comes amid a wider nationwide fight over redistricting, as both parties seek to reshape district lines in key states ahead of the midterms.
Republicans have enacted new district maps in Texas, North Carolina, and Missouri and may secure additional seats during an upcoming special session in Florida. Democrats, meanwhile, pursued a redrawing in California and saw added gains from a court-mandated map in Utah.