bernard
THEE Realist
Virginia voters on Tuesday approved a new congressional map that would give Democrats an advantage in 10 House districts, leaving just one safe Republican seat, CBS News projects.
The new map could help Democrats pick up as many as four House seats, marking a major blow for Republicans in a nationwide redistricting battle ahead of this year's midterm elections.
The closely contested referendum had been pitched by Democrats as a way to counter President Trump's push for GOP states to redraw their congressional maps to benefit Republicans, led by Texas, which made five of its Democratic districts GOP-leaning.
A similar ballot question spearheaded by California's Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom sailed through last year, moving five GOP-held districts leftward and potentially canceling out Texas' gambit. Missouri and North Carolina followed by redrawing their maps to edge out Democrats in one seat apiece. But measures in Indiana and Maryland did not make it through state legislatures.
While state legislatures can redraw congressional maps in some states, Virginia voters in 2020 approved a constitutional amendment that created a bipartisan commission to draw their state's map. Tuesday's referendum set aside the current maps drawn up by the commission, replacing them with maps that were drawn by the Democratic-controlled General Assembly. The previous system will be put back in place after the 2030 census.
The new map could help Democrats pick up as many as four House seats, marking a major blow for Republicans in a nationwide redistricting battle ahead of this year's midterm elections.
The closely contested referendum had been pitched by Democrats as a way to counter President Trump's push for GOP states to redraw their congressional maps to benefit Republicans, led by Texas, which made five of its Democratic districts GOP-leaning.
A similar ballot question spearheaded by California's Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom sailed through last year, moving five GOP-held districts leftward and potentially canceling out Texas' gambit. Missouri and North Carolina followed by redrawing their maps to edge out Democrats in one seat apiece. But measures in Indiana and Maryland did not make it through state legislatures.
While state legislatures can redraw congressional maps in some states, Virginia voters in 2020 approved a constitutional amendment that created a bipartisan commission to draw their state's map. Tuesday's referendum set aside the current maps drawn up by the commission, replacing them with maps that were drawn by the Democratic-controlled General Assembly. The previous system will be put back in place after the 2030 census.
