WASHINGTON – Virginians voted on April 21 to back a new electoral map that could hand the Democrats four more seats in the US House of Representatives, turning US President Donald Trump’s redistricting push into a potential liability for Republicans in upcoming midterm elections.
The battle over “gerrymandering” – the long-established but widely criticised US practice of drawing electoral boundaries to benefit one party – has become one of the defining fights of the campaign for November’s congressional contests.
The state voted in a referendum to let officials redraw the congressional map before the next scheduled nationwide redistricting in 2030, giving the Democrats a strong advantage in 10 of the state’s 11 House districts, up from their previous 6-5 edge.
With control of the House on a knife’s edge, the vote makes it more likely that Mr Trump will be forced to finish his term with a Democratic legislature empowered to block his agenda and investigate his administration, rather than the compliant Republican Congress he now enjoys.
It marked a stinging defeat for Mr Trump, who joined a telephone rally on the night of April 20 with House Speaker Mike Johnson to urge a no-vote, warning Virginians: “The whole country is watching.”
Redistricting usually follows the national census every 10 years, but Mr Trump in 2025 urged Republican-led states to redraw maps mid-decade to protect the party’s fragile House majority.
That triggered a tit-for-tat contest as both parties raced to squeeze out an extra advantage before November.
Texas moved first, adopting a map that could add up to five Republican seats.
California answered with a ballot measure designed to give the Democrats five more of their own.
“Virginia voters have spoken, and tonight they approved a temporary measure to push back against a President who claims he is ‘entitled’ to more Republican seats in Congress,” Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat, said in a statement after the referendum was called.
Democratic groups poured money into the state election, making the vote one of the most expensive redistricting fights in US history.
The main campaigns on both sides have raised nearly US$100 million (S$127 million), much of it from “dark money” groups – nonprofit organisations that can spend heavily on politics without publicly disclosing their donors.
The pro-redistricting campaign, Virginians for Fair Elections, raised the lion’s share – nearly US$65 million, according to The Hill news site.
It was given an assist by former president Barack Obama, still one of the Democratic Party’s most influential campaign voices, who urged Virginians to vote yes.
“Congratulations, Virginia!” he wrote in a post on social media platform X after the vote was called.
“Republicans are trying to tilt the midterm elections in their favour, but they haven’t done it yet. Thanks for showing us what it looks like to stand up for our democracy and fight back.”
The Democrats argue that the Virginia map is a necessary counterweight to Mr Trump’s pressure campaign. The Republicans call it a naked power grab in a politically mixed state where Mr Trump took 46 per cent of the vote in 2024.
But University of Virginia political scientist Larry Sabato cautioned that – even with the success of the “yes” campaign – winning 10 out of 11 seats in November will not be straightforward for the Democrats.
“Sometimes constituencies shock the map makers. You know, they don’t vote the way the map makers thought they would vote. So you never know for sure, and the margins here aren’t enormous,” he told AFP.
Virginia resident Corey Crouch told CBS News he had voted no.
“I don’t look at what other states and what everybody else is doing… I don’t think we need to change maps around or anything,” he told the broadcaster.
The result was being watched closely nationwide and could shape the final phase of the national map fight.
Trump ally and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is pushing a special session that could allow the Republicans to gain as many as five seats, potentially wiping out any Democratic gains in Virginia. AFP
