Virginia approves new congressional map in favor of Dems; ex-AG vows 'legal fight is just beginning'

By Ryan Foley, Christian Post Reporter Wednesday, April 22, 2026

Virginia voters approved new congressional districts on Tuesday amid a nationwide redistricting battle, as opponents of the new map are asking the Virginia Supreme Court to strike it down.

In a statewide referendum, Virginians narrowly approved a ballot measure that will implement a new congressional map ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. The unofficial results from the election, as compiled by the Virginia Public Access Project, show the amendment passed with 51.44% of the vote, while 48.56% voted to reject the new map.

The new map will drastically alter the makeup of the state’s 11 congressional districts in the U.S. House of Representatives, which currently consist of six districts held by Democrats and five held by Republicans. The map approved by voters could result in the state’s congressional delegation featuring 10 districts represented by Democrats and one represented by a Republican after this year’s elections.

Data from the Virginia Public Access Project show that under the new map, Virginia’s 3rd, 4th, 8th, 10th and 11th Congressional Districts would have backed Democrat Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election by double digits. Virginia’s 1st Congressional District would have backed Harris by 7.4 percentage points, the 5th Congressional District by 8.5 points and the 7th Congressional District by 8 points.

Two districts labeled as swing districts — Virginia’s 2nd and 6th Congressional Districts — supported Harris by margins of 4.7 percentage points and 3 percentage points, respectively. Virginia’s 9th Congressional District is the only district on the new map that supported President Donald Trump by double digits.

By contrast, the current map consists of just four districts that backed Harris by double digits: Virginia’s 3rd, 4th, 8th and 11th Congressional Districts. Virginia’s 1st and 2nd Congressional Districts voted for Trump by margins of 4.9 percentage points and 0.2 percentage points, respectively, while Virginia’s 7th and 10th Congressional Districts favored Harris by margins of 2.7 percentage points and 8.5 percentage points, respectively. The remaining districts — Virginia’s 5th, 6th and 9th — all supported Trump by double digits.

Several other states have enacted new maps ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Texas, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio have implemented new maps that could see Republicans win up to nine seats currently held by Democrats, while California has enacted a new map that could give Democrats up to five new seats. A court ruling in Utah has also forced the creation of a seat that will almost certainly flip to Democrats.

During this year’s midterm elections, all 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives will be on the ballot. If new districts withstand legal challenges and remain in effect for the 2026 elections, at least 144 races will take place in districts created by mid-decade redistricting. Additional redistricting is expected to be considered in Florida at a special session next week.

The mid-decade redistricting battle, which began in Texas, comes as the RealClearPolitics average of polls shows Democrats leading the generic ballot — which asks voters which party they want to control Congress — by 5.9 percentage points. It also shows Trump’s net disapproval rating at 17.4 percentage points.

These factors, combined with the razor-thin Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, suggest Democrats are favored to take control of the chamber. However, the final outcome of the redistricting battle is expected to have an impact, as seats are decided individually rather than by a national popular vote.

While voters have approved new congressional districts in Virginia, opponents of the new map are hoping that the Virginia Supreme Court will strike it down on procedural grounds. Former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, a Republican who served as director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services during the first Trump administration and now leads the Election Transparency Initiative, elaborated on the litigation surrounding the new map in a statement published Wednesday.

“The ‘yes’ vote has won Va.’s redistricting referendum, but the legal fight is just beginning,” he said.

The matter is currently pending before the Virginia Supreme Court. The Election Transparency Initiative alleges that the Democrat-controlled Virginia Legislature violated several procedural rules to put the map on the ballot.

Virginia law requires constitutional amendments to be approved by the state legislature in two consecutive sessions before going before voters. The Election Transparency Initiative states that the amendment was first passed during a 2024 special legislative session convened for “budget purposes,” noting that Article IV, Section 6, and Article V, Section 5, of the Virginia Constitution require such sessions to be limited to the stated topic, as did the governing resolution.

According to the Election Transparency Initiative, “Expanding it to include a constitutional amendment required a two-thirds vote that did not occur.”

While Article XIII, Section 1, of the Virginia Constitution requires constitutional amendments to go before the state legislature after a general election, the Election Transparency Initiative insists that the requirement was not met because the first passage took place on Oct. 31, 2025, after early voting for the 2025 general election had already begun.

Article XIII, Section 1, of the Virginia Constitution also requires a constitutional amendment to go before voters “no sooner” than 90 days after its second passage by the state legislature. The Election Transparency Initiative maintains that the state legislature violated this provision as the second passage occurred Jan. 16, 2026, and early voting began March 6 — less than 90 days later.