Virginia Democrats Expect To Release Proposed New Congressional Map This Week

Virginia Democrats plan to release a proposed new congressional map this week that, if approved by voters, could net the party four additional seats in Congress.

The effort comes as a legal fight over the redistricting push plays out in state courts, with the Virginia Supreme Court receiving the case on Wednesday.

“Donald Trump knows he's going to lose the midterms. He knows it. That's why he's started this mess in the first place,” L. Louise Lucas, a top Democrat in the Virginia Senate said Thursday morning at a brief media availability with reporters in Richmond. “We said 10-1, and we meant it.”

Democrats vowed to release the proposed map sometime Thursday or by early Friday.

Virginia Democrats’ effort comes after a Tazewell County judge halted Democrats from moving forward, siding with Republicans who claim state lawmakers did not follow the law when they kickstarted the redistricting effort in October. The state Supreme Court is expected to weigh in on the legal challenge that Democrats violated state procedure.

The pending map release comes as national Democrats view Virginia as their biggest prize in the reapportionment battle with Republicans that got underway in July, when Texas carved out five new Republican-friendly districts in hopes of keeping the House under GOP control following this fall’s elections.

“Virginia to the rescue,” proclaimed Virginia House Speaker Don Scott, speaking after Lucas. He said Republicans are rigging the midterms in order to ensure Trump and Republicans maintain their hold on all levels of power in Washington.

“They know they can't win on their agenda in 2026 so instead of changing their ideas, they're trying to break the system. A 10-1 map levels the playing field and we’re ready to move forward,” Scott said.

Republicans, who have denounced the Democrats efforts as a “Democrat power grab,” panned the development.

“What they really mean is ‘We are proud to deliver an illegal map that the court told us we can’t draw, that delivers for Democrats, not Virginians,’” Virginia's former GOP Attorney General Jason Miyares posted on X. Miyares recently joined the Republican-backed organization Virginians for Fair Maps, working to block Democrats' redistricting effort.

Democrats are working to put a constitutional amendment before voters through a special election in April. If voters approve the amendment, it will give the Democrat-led General Assembly the authority to redraw the state’s maps. Democrats currently hold six seats while Republicans control five.

A spokesperson for Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger, who was sworn in last month, said state elections administrators told the governor that the General Assembly’s map can be implemented before voting begins.

“The Governor’s priority has been upholding the integrity of Virginia’s elections, and her team has been working throughout this process to make sure any proposed map could actually be implemented on the quick timeline before elections administrators,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

Some Virginia Democrats had been at odds with lawmakers pushing for 10-1 maps, suggesting it was too aggressive, with some reportedly favoring to go 9-2.