Virginia is once again at the center of a heated political storm as lawmakers return to Richmond for a special session on Monday, October 27, 2025, just days before the state’s pivotal elections. The move, announced by Virginia House Speaker Don Scott (D-Portsmouth) on October 24, has set off a flurry of speculation and accusations as Democrats appear poised to revisit the state’s congressional redistricting process—a maneuver that could reshape the political landscape for years to come.
According to The New York Times, Virginia Democrats are preparing to redraw U.S. House maps in a redistricting push that coincides with the upcoming November 4, 2025, statewide elections. The stakes could hardly be higher: the entire House of Delegates, as well as the governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general, are all on the ballot. With control of Congress hanging in the balance nationally, the outcome of this battle may reverberate far beyond the Commonwealth’s borders.
In a letter to legislators, Speaker Scott cited constitutional provisions and joint resolutions authorizing the General Assembly to reconvene the 2024 Special Session I “to consider matters properly before the ongoing session and any related business laid before the body.” He scheduled the House to meet at 4 p.m. Monday in the Capitol chamber, with the Senate expected to follow suit. However, Scott offered no public explanation for the recall, fueling rumors and raising eyebrows across the aisle.
Behind the scenes, several Democrats and legislative staffers told Virginia Scope that redistricting is likely to be a central focus of the session. Virginia’s current congressional map, drawn by the state Supreme Court in late 2021 after the independent redistricting commission deadlocked, divides the state’s 11 congressional districts between six Democrats and five Republicans. Now, with Democrats holding narrow control of both the House and Senate, party strategists are eyeing the possibility of shifting at least two more seats into the Democratic column by reshaping district boundaries.
The mechanics are complex and fraught with political risk. Under Virginia’s constitutional amendment process, any change to the redistricting framework must be approved twice by the General Assembly, with a House election in between, before it can be put to voters as a referendum. Democratic leaders are reportedly considering an initial vote before the November 4 election, followed by a second vote during the 2026 legislative session. If successful, this would set up a statewide referendum next spring and could allow new maps to take effect as early as April 2026—just two months before the congressional primaries.
Not everyone in the Democratic caucus is on board. Some senators complained to Virginia Scope that they had been “kept out of the loop” regarding the special session’s agenda. The tension highlights the delicate balance Democratic leaders must strike between pursuing political advantage and maintaining internal party unity, especially with so much at stake in the upcoming elections.
The timing of the special session has only heightened suspicions among Republicans, who have been quick to denounce the move as a brazen power grab. Republican Party of Virginia Chair Mark Peake, a state senator from Lynchburg, took to social media to blast the Democrats’ maneuver. In a video posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, Peake declared, “Desperate Democrats are pulling a pathetic, political stunt,” accusing the majority of “doing anything they can to take attention away from their horrible candidates.” He further argued, “The General Assembly hopes they can do something with this ruse about redistricting,” urging voters not to “fall for it.”
Meanwhile, the campaign of Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, who is running for governor, pointed the finger at Democratic contender Abigail Spanberger. Campaign spokesperson Peyton Vogel charged, “In a stunning display of arrogance, Abigail Spanberger wants to overrule the will of Virginia voters in favor of a cynical power grab. She came out in favor of abolishing Virginia’s Independent Redistricting Commission and wants to hand control back to the politicians in Richmond so they can guarantee their own reelection. … It’s never been about the voters or what’s best for Virginia. It’s always been about what’s best for Abigail Spanberger.”
Yet, the record suggests a more nuanced picture. In an interview with WJLA in late August, Spanberger actually voiced opposition to mid-decade redistricting, warning against “politicians trying to tilt the playing field in their favor.” She also aligned herself with Maryland Governor Wes Moore’s call for fair-maps legislation, signaling a commitment to impartial redistricting principles.
Democrats, for their part, argue that they are simply responding to a nationwide escalation in partisan mapmaking. Across the country, redistricting fights are intensifying as both parties maneuver for advantage ahead of the 2026 midterms. States like Texas, Florida, and North Carolina have recently enacted new congressional maps designed to cement GOP control, capitalizing on a series of federal court decisions that loosened constraints on mid-decade redistricting. The U.S. Supreme Court, for its part, is currently weighing a major redistricting case out of Louisiana, underscoring the national significance of the issue.
Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell (D-Fairfax) told The New York Times that Virginia’s Democratic leaders are considering joining a “growing number of states” seeking to counter what they see as partisan gerrymandering encouraged by the Trump administration. “We are coming back to address actions by the Trump administration,” Surovell said, framing the move as a corrective to Republican-led remapping efforts elsewhere.
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesperson Courtney Rice echoed these concerns in a statement, asserting, “House Republicans know they are poised to lose the majority because the public is souring on their failed agenda.” Rice accused Republicans of “rigging the midterms by ramming through new, unpopular, gerrymandered maps across the country.” She praised Virginia Democrats for “standing up against Republican attempts to weaken the power, and vote, of the people,” emphasizing that the move to reconvene and “preserve the right to consider a new map in 2026 is critical in the fight to ensure voters have fair representation.”
As lawmakers prepare to gavel in on Monday, the path forward remains uncertain. Procedural resolutions adopted earlier this year give Speaker Scott wide latitude to add topics to the agenda, meaning redistricting is likely to be at least discussed, if not acted upon. Any move to alter the redistricting process would almost certainly invite legal challenges and further political backlash—especially with Election Day just around the corner.
Against this backdrop, Virginia’s political climate is already charged. Recent headlines reveal a fiercely competitive race for governor, with a new poll showing a single-digit gap between the candidates, according to Fox News. Governor Glenn Youngkin has declared a state of emergency for hunger relief amid a government shutdown, and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro is heading to Virginia to campaign for Democrat Abigail Spanberger, as reported by CBS News. In the words of The Economist, Democrats are banking on a “boring” candidate to carry the day in a state weary of perpetual political drama.
What’s clear is that the fight over redistricting in Virginia is about more than just lines on a map—it’s about the future of representation, the rules of democracy, and the raw contest for power in a nation deeply divided. As the special session unfolds, all eyes will be on Richmond to see whether lawmakers choose to redraw the boundaries yet again—or whether the status quo will hold, at least for now.
