Virginia voters approved a Democrat-backed measure to allow for mid-decade redistricting, AP projects.
Currently, Democrats hold a 6-5 advantage in Virginia's congressional delegation, but the new map proposed by state lawmakers could give them a 10-1 advantage.
With 95% of the votes tallied, AP reports that the redistricting measure passed by a margin of 51.4% to 48.7%.
The move by Virginia state Democrats to redraw the congressional maps follows similar efforts in Republican-led states like Texas and North Carolina, where redrawn districts favored the GOP.
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger said the results of this referendum is a counterbalance to President Donald Trump's request to state lawmakers to add GOP seats to the House of Representatives:
“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. Virginians watched other states go along with those demands without voter input — and we refused to let that stand. We responded the right way: at the ballot box.
“I understand the urgency of winning congressional seats as a check on this President, and I look forward to campaigning with candidates across the Commonwealth working to earn Virginians’ trust — and their votes. Looking forward, I remain committed to ensuring Virginia's bipartisan redistricting commission gets back to work after the 2030 census, and to protecting the process Virginians voted to create.”
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Despite Virginians voting 'yes,' redistricting measure still faces legal hurdle
Virginia House GOP Leader Terry Kilgore conceded the results in a statement sent to News 3. He also pointed the ongoing legal proceedings against the referendum.
“While these weren’t the results we were hoping for, they were not unexpected. From the start, this process was tilted: misleading ballot language and a massive spending advantage made this an uphill climb for voters trying to make sense of a deeply complicated issue.
"But the ballot box was never the final word here. Serious legal questions remain about both the wording of this referendum and the process used to put it before voters. Those questions have not been resolved, and they now move where they belong: to the courts.
"Tonight marks the end of the campaign. It does not mark the end of this fight. We will continue to stand for fair maps, transparent process, and equal representation for every Virginian.”
In a statement sent to News 3, Virginia House Speaker Don Scott said the results of this special election sent a message to the whole country.
It reads, in part: “Tonight, Virginians sent a message heard across this country: we will not let Donald Trump or MAGA Republicans rig our democracy.
This started in Texas when Trump launched an unprecedented power grab to rig the midterms and tonight Virginia voters ended it and voted YES to stop his power grab.
We trusted the voters, not politicians. We put this question on the ballot because we believe power belongs to the people. And tonight, the people of Virginia answered.”
The NRCC chairman issued the following statement after the passage of the redistricting referendum:
“Virginia Democrats can’t redraw reality. This close margin reinforces that Virginia is a purple state that shouldn’t be represented by a severe partisan gerrymander. That’s exactly why the courts, who have already ruled twice to block this egregious power grab, should uphold Virginia law. Even under this map, Republicans will hold our majority based on our record cleaning up Democrats’ mess and a historic war chest to litigate the Democrats’ failures."
Watch related coverage: Why 2025 became the year of mid-decade redistricting
In Hampton Roads, Virginia's Second Congressional District — which encompasses all of Virginia Beach, Suffolk, and Franklin, part of Chesapeake, and Accomack, Northampton and Isle of Wight counties — will be notably altered under Democrats' proposed map.
Some precincts from this purple district, currently represented by Rep. Jen Kiggans (R), could be shifted to Virginia's Third Congressional District, currently held by Rep. Bobby Scott (D), to dilute the voting power of Republican-leaning areas.
Kiggans is set for a rematch in the 2026 midterm elections against former Rep. Elaine Luria, the Democrat she ousted in 2022.
Watch previous coverage: State Supreme Court suspends lower court's pause on redistricting referendum
However, the public vote may not be the final word: the Virginia Supreme Court will consider whether the redistricting plan is illegal in a case that could make the referendum results meaningless.
A Tazewell County judge ruled that the redistricting push was illegal for several reasons. Circuit Court Judge Jack Hurley Jr. said lawmakers failed to follow their own rules for adding the redistricting amendment to a special session.
He ruled that their initial vote failed to occur before the public began casting ballots in last year’s general election and thus didn’t count toward the two-step process. He also ruled that the state failed to publish the amendment three months before that election, as required by law.
If the state Supreme Court agrees with the lower court, the results from Tuesday's vote could be rendered moot.
