By Hunter Woodall
February 6, 2026 / 2:56 PM EST / CBS News
President Trump’s Republican Party has pursued mid-decade redistricting in states such as Texas, Missouri and North Carolina to try to flip Democratic-held U.S. House districts and protect a narrow GOP majority in the 2026 midterms. That strategy, however, could cost Republicans as many as four seats in Virginia after Democrats unveiled a partisan map this week meant to be used if voters approve a constitutional change.
Virginia Democrats say the plan “levels the playing field” in response to GOP efforts nationwide. The proposal would target four Republican-held districts: Rep. Rob Wittman’s 1st, Rep. Jen Kiggans’ 2nd, Rep. John McGuire’s 5th and Rep. Ben Cline’s 6th. Kiggans’ and Cline’s districts appear potentially competitive this year; under the new map, the 1st and 5th would likely become safely Democratic. If adopted, the map would be one of the most aggressive partisan gerrymanders in recent memory for a state with Virginia’s recent voting history.
Virginia’s current delegation is six Democrats and five Republicans. Democrats aim to present a constitutional amendment and the new map to voters in a special April 21 election that would both override the current bipartisan commission arrangement and put the new lines into effect for this fall’s races. That plan faces legal hurdles: a Virginia judge in January rejected the effort, citing procedural problems in the expedited push to get the change on the ballot. More litigation is expected.
Republicans say the proposal rigs the system. “This extreme proposal rigs the game before a single vote is cast,” GOP Rep. Rob Wittman said, noting he is among those targeted.
The Virginia fight is part of a broader redistricting escalation ahead of the midterms. Last summer, Texas Republicans redrew maps to convert several Democratic-held seats into opportunities for GOP pickups. California Gov. Gavin Newsom responded by winning voter approval of a new map aimed at blunting Republican gains. North Carolina and Missouri lawmakers also altered maps to favor GOP candidates. But not all attempts to reshape maps have succeeded: a court-ordered redraw in Utah is expected to help Democrats pick up a seat; Kansas Republicans failed in a bid to change the seat of the state’s lone Democratic congresswoman; a bipartisan deal in Ohio thwarted an extreme Republican gerrymander; and Indiana Senate Republicans rejected a plan to overhaul the state’s two Democratic districts.
Virginia’s partisan change requires voter approval because in 2020, 66% of Virginia voters approved giving congressional mapmaking to a bipartisan commission. Democrats intend to use the amendment route to bypass that commission. The compressed timeline and legal questions complicate whether the amendment and attendant map would be on the ballot and, if so, upheld before this fall’s filing deadlines and primaries.
Virginia is politically purple: it has voted for the Democratic presidential candidate in every election since 2004, but former President Trump lost the state by only about six points in 2024. That makes statewide voter approval of a party-line constitutional change uncertain.
Other states may follow suit. In Maryland, Gov. Wes Moore seeks to flip the state’s last GOP-held seat but faces opposition from his party’s own Senate leader. Florida Republicans, led by Gov. Ron DeSantis and legislative allies, are poised to consider changes that could threaten dwindling Democratic seats there.
Any mid-decade changes from states such as Virginia, Texas, California, North Carolina and Missouri could be pivotal in determining which party controls the U.S. House for the final two years of a second Trump presidency — or they could end up as contested episodes in a period where long-standing political norms are under strain.