Virginia’s political landscape is bracing for a seismic shift as Democrats in the state legislature move to redraw congressional maps, aiming to secure an electoral advantage before the pivotal 2026 midterm elections. The move, which has ignited fierce debate across party lines and injected fresh uncertainty into the state’s closely watched gubernatorial race, is set to take center stage at a special session of the House of Delegates convened by Speaker Don Scott at 4 p.m. on Monday, October 27, 2025.
The push for redistricting comes against a backdrop of similar efforts in states like Texas, North Carolina, and California, where majority parties have sought to cement their power through mid-decade map changes. According to 13News Now and Daily Caller News Foundation, Virginia Democrats—who currently hold six of the state’s eleven U.S. House seats—are hoping that new district lines could add two or even three blue seats, potentially giving them control of up to nine congressional districts. With Democrats needing to flip just three seats nationwide to retake the U.S. House in 2026, the stakes could hardly be higher.
Delegate Cia Price, a Democrat representing the 85th District and chair of the House Privileges and Elections Committee, underscored the urgency of the moment. “It’s more important than ever to protect Virginians’ right to fair representation. Across the country, we’ve seen unprecedented attacks on our democracy, from mid-decade redistricting in states like Texas and North Carolina to efforts that silence voters’ voices. I look forward to constructive discussions this week and to doing my part to ensure Virginia continues to stand as a model for free elections and a government accountable to the people, not Donald Trump’s power grabs,” Price told 13News Now.
But not everyone is convinced the Democrats’ intentions are so noble. Republican lawmakers have denounced the move as a blatant power grab. Governor Glenn Youngkin didn’t mince words when he spoke to 13News Now on the eve of the special session: “I just think this is a sham. I think it's representative of Democratic leaders in this state who are desperate for power any way they can get. If they can't get it from the voters, they will do anything to run around the voters.”
The controversy has spilled over into the heated governor’s race. Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, the Republican nominee and current Senate presiding officer, slammed her opponent Abigail Spanberger for accepting a six-figure campaign donation from the National Democratic Redistricting Committee just one day before the Democrats’ redistricting announcement. Earle-Sears’ campaign spokesperson Peyton Vogel told CNBC, “This is what panic looks like. With just 12 days until Election Day, Abigail Spanberger and her Democrat allies have given up on talking to voters about real ideas and solutions.”
For her part, Spanberger has remained tight-lipped about the redistricting effort, declining to comment on whether she supports creating additional Democratic-friendly districts. Back in August, she told WJLA-TV, “Virginia by constitutional amendment has a new redistricting effort that was put in place and first utilized in the 2021 redistricting. I’ve been watching with interest what other states are doing, but I have no plans to redistrict Virginia.”
Yet, as reported by CNN and the Virginia Scope newsletter, the Democrats’ maneuver is already reshaping the final stretch of the campaign. Earle-Sears will be pulled off the campaign trail to preside over the Senate during the special session, while Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor Ghazala Hashmi, a member of the party’s slim 21-19 Senate majority, will also play a key role in the legislative drama.
The mechanics of the Democrats’ plan are as complex as they are controversial. Virginia voters overwhelmingly approved a nonpartisan redistricting commission in 2020, designed to take the politics out of drawing congressional boundaries. To override this commission, Democrats would need to pass a constitutional amendment in two consecutive legislative sessions—one this year and another after January 15—followed by a statewide referendum that could appear on the ballot early next year, according to The New York Times. Notably, this process does not require the governor’s signature.
Political science professor Alex Keena of Virginia Commonwealth University described the process as “super lengthy and unrealistic,” telling CNN, “We’re talking like a yearslong process of two separate general assemblies approving it, and then the voters approving it. That’s not an easy or quick thing.”
Despite these hurdles, national Democrats are cheering Virginia’s move as a necessary counterweight to Republican-led redistricting efforts elsewhere. Courtney Rice, communications director for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said in a statement, “We are clear-eyed that Democrats cannot unilaterally disarm across the country and must pursue every available tool to counter Republicans’ desperate attempts to steal the midterms.” Jared Leopold, a strategist working with Democrats statewide, echoed this sentiment, arguing, “This is about keeping options on the table for redistricting, and we’ve seen that Donald Trump will shift things at any moment, and passing this now will allow Democrats to have options in 2026 to balance out what’s happening nationally.”
Opponents, however, are sounding the alarm about the potential consequences for Virginia’s political future. Republican state Senate Minority Leader Ryan McDougle charged, “Democrats see the political tide turning against them and now they’re trying to rewrite the rules before voters even finish casting their ballots. Calling a special session to undo Virginia’s bipartisan redistricting Constitutional amendment is not about fairness or good government, it’s about power.” House GOP leader Terry Kilgore added, “Amending the Constitution is a very serious ordeal. It’s a very serious step.”
Meanwhile, the broader context is impossible to ignore. Across the country, Republicans have advanced new congressional maps in states like Texas, Missouri, and North Carolina, each time seeking to add more seats for their party. The Trump administration has even called on Republicans in Indiana to pursue mid-cycle redistricting, though progress there remains uncertain.
As the special session convenes, both sides are preparing for a bruising fight—not just over district lines, but over the very rules that govern Virginia’s democracy. The outcome could reverberate far beyond the Commonwealth, setting a precedent for how states respond to the high-stakes chess match of congressional redistricting in an era of razor-thin majorities and relentless partisan warfare.
For now, all eyes are on Richmond, where the battle over Virginia’s political future is about to play out in real time, and the only certainty is that the stakes have never been higher.
