NORFOLK, Va. — Virginia legislators appeared poised Friday to take up the issue of re-drawing the state’s congressional districts. Virginia's Speaker of the House had called a special session.
This comes as redistricting had become a hot topic in other states as well.
“This is part of a national pattern," ODU Associate political Science Professor Jesse Richman said.
A national pattern that could impact Hampton Roads.
Richman said Virginia is responding to similar efforts in other states and if the democrats are able to re-draw districts, that could flip Virginia’s Second Congressional District which covers part of Hampton Roads.
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"Right now, it wouldn’t take a whole lot of tweaking the district boundaries to make second district, currently represented by republican Kiggans, a little more favorable for a democratic candidate," Richman explained.
A letter Thursday from Virginia Speaker of the House, Del. Don Scott, notifying fellow House members of the October 27 Special Session, however, doesn’t specifically say it’s to discuss redistricting.
News 3 made multiple attempts to reach Scott for comment.
“This is the democrats effectively saying that they’re losing and they need to get us out of the field and they’re thinking they’re going to lose in the future so they need to re-draw the maps to cheat," said Virginia Del. AC Cordoza.
Cordoza, who represents part of Hampton Roads, said he didn’t expect much discussion in the House Monday.
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“I expect a lot of partisan politics. I expect a lot of wasted time," said Cordoza.
In a statement to Scripps News Richmond, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee supports the democrats’ move, saying in part, “...we commend them for standing up against Republican attempts to weaken the power, and vote, of the people."
Virginia's decision to convene and preserve the right to consider a new map in 2026 is critical in the fight to ensure voters have fair representation and we commend them for standing up against Republican attempts to weaken the power, and the vote, of the people.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, in response to the session being called, argues Congressional districts should be handled by the bi-partisan commission established by voters in 2020.
“Virginians voted overwhelmingly for it. Why don’t we let the voice of the people be the voice of the people and stop trying to usurp it" Youngkin emphasized.
Re-drawing the districts would require changing the state’s Constitution, which would eventually have to go to voters for approval. That means any re-drawing of districts wasn’t likely to happen soon and could hinge on how democrats do in the November 2025 election.
