A House Democratic plan to redistrict the party to the majority ran straight through Virginia. Then it came crashing down with an adverse state Supreme Court ruling.But in what’s shaping up as a favorable midterm election environment for Democrats, two Commonwealth House Republicans may still be at risk under the old district lines. Amid a fierce political knife-fight for House control, Democrats need to net three seats to win a majority in the 435-member chamber.It’s the latest series of twists and turns in a national redistricting fight started by President Donald Trump’s political operation, which pushed Texas to make a rare mid-decade redraw of its House map. The effort expanded the state’s GOP House delegation from the current 25-13 to an overwhelming 30-8.
After GOP Texas lawmakers and Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) enacted their state’s new House map, Democrats in deep blue California responded in-kind. A new House map pushed by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) and state Democrats, and adopted by voters, aims to shift what’s now effectively a 43-9 map in Democrats’ favor to an even more partisan 48-4 advantage.
Left to right: Rep. Rob Wittman (R-VA) and Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-VA) (Alex Brandon/AP; Allison Robbert/AP)
