Democrats in Virginia are pushing to redraw their state’s congressional maps to add two or three House seats in the state for their party, according to two Democratic sources with knowledge of the plan, a surprise move in the ongoing mid-decade redistricting battles sparked by President Donald Trump’s desperation to hold on to the House in the 2026 midterms.
The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because a formal announcement of a special session of the legislature to vote on the redistricting plan is still forthcoming.
Republicans in Texas, Missouri and North Carolina have already moved to create seats for their party, and voters in California are widely expected to approve a new congressional map to add Democratic seats in that state early next month. But Virginia has been little discussed as an option for where Democrats could add seats.
Democrats emphasized this is only step one toward potentially redrawing the maps, and there’s still a chance the General Assembly can decide not to make the changes.
“We’ve been monitoring Republicans steal seats left and right, and put maximalist pressure on states across the country to try and reshape this democracy in a way that is not reflective of the people,” said John Bisognano, the president of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee. “So I would say it shouldn’t be surprising to folks that a place like Virginia would take a moment like right now to retain its optionality for what it decides to do next year.”
