Gov. Abigail Spanberger, for the first time, seemed put her full support behind Virginia Democrats and their effort to allow for mid-decade congressional redistricting. Up until her joint address to the General Assembly on Monday, Spanberger hedged from the topic — not opposing it while also not prioritizing it.
“In that spirit, as we protect reproductive rights, marriage rights, and voting rights, we must be ready to contend with further attacks on our democratic institutions across the country,” Spanberger said during the address. “I know the General Assembly just took a step toward being prepared to respond to what is happening in other states.”
The General Assembly has already done its part of the process in passing the constitutional resolution twice. Now, a referendum vote will be held — likely in April — for Virginia voters to decide if they want to allow legislators to redraw the congressional districts and make it harder for Republicans to win in November’s midterm elections.
The redistricting push gained momentum after President Donald Trump encouraged Republican-led states to redraw district boundaries in ways more favorable to the GOP.
As a response, Democrats — who control both chambers of the Virginia General Assembly — have been very clear about their desire to gain more seats in the congressional delegation, which is currently composed of six Democrats and five Republicans.
“Virginia’s proposed redistricting amendment is a response to what we’re seeing in other states that have taken extreme measures to undermine democratic norms,” Spanberger continued. “This approach is short-term, highly targeted, and completely dependent on what other states decide to do themselves.”
The governor is not involved in the amendment process at all, but she will have to sign the legislation creating the new maps.
Nonetheless, Spanberger just won in a landslide victory and is the most influential Democrat in Virginia right now.
It will be important for the Democratic campaign for her to be behind the movement.
Speaker of the House Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, said on MSNOW Monday night that now that Spanberger is fully backing the movement, Democrats will “definitely” be successful.
“Now that we know that Governor Spanberger is 100% behind us, we’re going to definitely get this done and get this to the voters,” Scott said.
Democrats are expected to draw a congressional map that could give them nine or 10 of Virginia’s 11 House districts.
General Assembly Democrats said during a press conference last week that voters will be able to view the map proposals before the referendum.
Spanberger has not publicly commented on potentially signing a 10-1 map.
A referendum date has not been set.