Virginia supreme court approves vote on Democratic redistricting map

Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News on Feb 13, 2026

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Virginia’s supreme court Friday gave the green light to a planned referendum on a Democratic redistricting map that aims to flip four Republican congressional seats, although the justices are still hearing arguments about whether the plan would be legal.

In a procedural win for Democrats, the court ruled Virginia may go ahead with the statewide April 21 vote on the proposed map, with early voting starting early in March. The map, passed by the state legislature, could result in a 10-1 Democratic congressional delegation in the midterm elections.

But the court also agreed to hear arguments about whether the Democratic mid-decade gerrymandering push is legal, regardless of whether voters approve the referendum.

Democratic-aligned voting rights attorney Marc Elias called the ruling “a big win,” in part because a lower court had blocked the referendum while the legal sparring plays out.

“Virginia Democrats are now one referendum vote away from a 10-1 congressional map,” Elias tweeted.

Democrats, who swept to a landslide victory in off-year elections in Virginia, passed the aggressive new map last week. Newly elected Gov. Abigail Spanberger gave it her blessing despite earlier misgivings.

If the map passes legal muster, it will mean Democrats have so far mostly fought President Trump and his Republican allies to a stalemate in the unprecedented mid-decade redistricting fight that Trump started in Texas.

The new GOP-friendly map in the Lone Star State could flip from three to five Democratic seats. But California hit back by enacting new districts that are likely to turn five GOP seats blue.

Although a few smaller red states have moved to give the GOP an edge, Virginia would effectively cancel out those gains by supersizing the current 6-5 Democratic edge.

New York Democrats might unexpectedly pick up one seat if they win a court fight aimed at redrawing Rep. Nicole Malliotakis’ GOP-leaning Staten Island-based district.

The biggest state yet to make its move is Florida. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to redraw the Sunshine State’s maps to pick up three or four Democratic seats, but legal challenges and GOP infighting might make that a tall order.

Regardless of the shifts, Democrats and most non-partisan political analysts believe they are poised to make significant gains in both houses of Congress in the fall midterm elections on the back of Trump’s sagging approval ratings.

Democrats are confident they will flip the House, where Republicans now hold only a narrow four-vote majority. They see an outside shot at taking the four Senate seats they would need to retake control of that chamber, which would put a screeching halt to Trump’s right-wing agenda.