Democrats passed a new congressional map through the Virginia legislature on Friday that aims to help their party win four more seats in the national redistricting battle.
It’s a flex of state Democrats’ political power, but hurdles remain before they can benefit from friendlier U.S. House district boundaries in this year’s midterm election.
A judge in Tazewell, a conservative area in Southwest Virginia, has effectively blocked a voter referendum on the redrawn maps from taking place on April 21 by issuing a temporary restraining order on Thursday.
Democrats are appealing that decision and another by the same judge, who ruled last month that Democrats illegally rushed the planned voter referendum on their constitutional amendment to allow the remapping. The state’s Supreme Court picked up the party’s appeal of the earlier ruling.
To add to that bad news, the Texas districts that were redrawn to favor Republicans in the recent election are now turning away from Republicans.
Virginia has 11 seats, 6 Democrats and 5 Republicans. Republicans will lose 4 if Virginia wins. Roughly 37 million registered voters are Republican, and 44 million are registered Democrats. Only 45% of voters have a party affiliation.
Democrats are an existential threat to democracy. They have, for years, redistricted Republicans out of representation. Barack Obama praised the effort.
It is one reason why the borders were opened: House seats.
We are losing this fight. Republicans won’t fight back
