RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia political and community leaders are responding after voters approved a plan to temporarily redraw the Commonwealth's 11 congressional districts ahead of November's midterm elections in Tuesday's referendum.
Virginia Politics
Virginia votes yes on proposed congressional redistricting
The constitutional amendment asked voters to suspend a voter-approved bipartisan redistricting commission. The current map gives Democrats a 6-5 advantage in the U.S. House of Representatives, while the proposed new map would favor Democrats 10-1.
Democrats say the change is a response to Republican-led states doing the same thing. Meanwhile, Republicans say the measure ignores the voter-approved commission and is a return to gerrymandering.
Democrats respond
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger stated, “Virginia voters have spoken, and tonight they approved a temporary measure to push back against a President who claims he is ‘entitled’ to more Republican seats in Congress. Virginians watched other states go along with those demands without voter input — and we refused to let that stand. We responded the right way: at the ballot box. I understand the urgency of winning congressional seats as a check on this President, and I look forward to campaigning with candidates across the Commonwealth working to earn Virginians’ trust — and their votes. Looking forward, I remain committed to ensuring Virginia's bipartisan redistricting commission gets back to work after the 2030 census, and to protecting the process Virginians voted to create.”
Virginia House Speaker Don Scott stated,
“Tonight, Virginians sent a message heard across this country: we will not let Donald Trump or MAGA Republicans rig our democracy.
“This started in Texas when Trump launched an unprecedented power grab to rig the midterms and tonight Virginia voters ended it and voted YES to stop his power grab.
“We trusted the voters, not politicians. We put this question on the ballot because we believe power belongs to the people. And tonight, the people of Virginia answered.
“In a special election with everything on the line, Virginians showed up in extraordinary numbers and chose fairness over fear, truth over misinformation, and democracy over political games.
“Let’s be clear about what this means: Virginia just changed the trajectory of the 2026 midterms. At a moment when Trump and his allies are trying to lock in power before voters have a say, Virginians stepped up and leveled the playing field for the entire country.
“Virginia has done this before — and tonight, we did it again. When the stakes are highest, we lead.”
Virginia Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell stated, “Tonight, Virginians did what Virginians have always done: they answered a question about the nature of our democracy, and they answered it in favor of the people.
In 1788, it was here in Virginia that Madison, Mason, and Henry debated whether this new Constitution could truly safeguard self-government. The compact they helped forge rested on a single, radical premise: that legitimate power flows from the consent of the governed, not from those who seek to entrench themselves against the will of voters. Virginia did not simply ratify the Constitution. Virginia shaped it, insisted on a Bill of Rights, and set the standard that representation must answer to the people.
That is the tradition Virginians honored tonight.
Faced with unprecedented gerrymandering in other states, naked attempts to decide elections before a single vote is cast, Virginians refused to stand idle. They voted to reclaim the founding principle that maps should reflect communities, not protect incumbents, and that Congress should be chosen by voters, not the other way around.
President Trump told the country that if Democrats wanted change in Washington, we would have to win more House seats. Tonight, Virginians answered him in the same clear voice Patrick Henry used more than two centuries ago: the people will decide.
Fairness won. Accountability won. And the Commonwealth that gave America its Constitution has once again reminded the nation what that Constitution is for.”
Henrico County Commonwealth's Attorney Shannon Taylor, who is running for Congress in Virginia's 5th district, released a statement reaffirming her campaign amid the referendum's passage.
“I got into this race to protect the community that I love, and I’m proud to continue that mission by running in Virginia’s 5th Congressional District where I’ve lived for 30 years," Taylor stated. "Donald Trump and House Republicans are hurting Virginia families and we need bold fighters who know how to take on the tough fights and win. Right now, hardworking Virginia families are being squeezed from every direction — by rising health care costs, higher prices, and politicians in Washington who look out for themselves instead of the people they represent. As Henrico’s top prosecutor, I’ve spent my career standing up for families and holding people accountable when they abuse their power. That’s the same fight I’ll take to Congress: delivering for Virginia families and making government work for them again.”
Republicans respond
Former Attorney General Jason Miyares and former Majority Leader Eric Cantor, co-chairs of Virginians for Fair Maps, stated, "Today, Virginians cast their votes to preserve their voices in Congress while going up against $70 million of out-of-state money and shamefully misleading ballot language intended to keep them silent. Despite all odds, neighbors calling neighbors, homemade signs, and the support of grassroots leaders and donors across the Commonwealth brought us to within a photo finish. Today's outcome means the fight resumes in the courts. Virginians deserve fair maps and respect for the rule of law, but as voters they have a right, clearly articulated by the Supreme Court in Coleman v. Pross, to vote on constitutional amendments before them at the ballot box only if placed there by a fair process. Virginians disenfranchised by today's vote will have their day in court."
Virginia House GOP Leader Terry Kilgore stated, “While these weren’t the results we were hoping for, they were not unexpected. From the start, this process was tilted: misleading ballot language and a massive spending advantage made this an uphill climb for voters trying to make sense of a deeply complicated issue.
"But the ballot box was never the final word here. Serious legal questions remain about both the wording of this referendum and the process used to put it before voters. Those questions have not been resolved, and they now move where they belong: to the courts.
"Tonight marks the end of the campaign. It does not mark the end of this fight. We will continue to stand for fair maps, transparent process, and equal representation for every Virginian.”
Former Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin wrote on X, "Thank you to all the voters who turned out to vote against this egregious power grab. The race was much closer than the left expected because Virginians know a 10-1 map is not Virginia. I urge the Virginia Supreme Court to rule against this unconstitutional process that will disenfranchise millions of Virginians."
Organizations respond
“They sent lies to our doors,” said Rev. Cozy Bailey, President of the NAACP Virginia State Conference. “They tried to confuse us, discourage us, and keep us home. But we came anyway — and in numbers that could not be ignored. Tonight, Virginia has a message for every extremist lawmaker in this country who thinks they can rig the rules and silence our communities: we see you, and we defy you.”
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