Former President Barack Obama has thrown his support behind a Democratic effort to redraw congressional lines in Virginia, the latest front in a nationwide redistricting battle ahead of this year’s midterm elections. The announcement comes a day after the state Supreme Court allowed the redistricting question to go to voters for an April 21 election, with early voting beginning March 6.
Key Takeaways
Former President Barack Obama has endorsed a Democratic-led effort to redraw congressional districts in Virginia ahead of an April 21 vote. The plan aims to give Democrats four additional seats and counter Republican gerrymandering efforts in other states.
- Former President Barack Obama endorses Virginia's redistricting plan aimed at giving Democrats four more House seats.
- Virginia Supreme Court allows the redistricting question to go to voters on April 21, with early voting beginning March 6.
- The proposed map is a temporary measure that would revert to a bipartisan commission process after the 2030 Census.
- Republicans describe the effort as a power grab by liberals in northern Virginia.
- Obama's endorsement comes amid a nationwide redistricting battle ahead of the midterm elections.
In a video endorsement shared with multiple news outlets, Obama urges Virginians to support the voter referendum on the redrawn maps. He argues that it will ensure “your voting power is not diminished by what Republicans are doing in other states.”
The proposed map, released by Virginia Democrats in February, aims to give their party four more seats. The Democratic-led legislature passed the proposed map, and Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed the document into law. However, the map only goes into effect if it’s backed by voters and the state Supreme Court.
This is the second time Obama has agreed to stump for a Democratic effort that asks voters to temporarily set aside an independent redistricting process in favor of partisan maps as a way to counter President Donald Trump’s push for congressional gerrymandering in Republican-controlled states. California voters approved a similar measure last fall.
Obama emphasizes that the proposed map is a temporary construct, noting that after the next census in 2030, Virginia will revert to a system that lets a bipartisan redistricting commission redraw the maps. However, there are no guarantees the new map will take effect this year even if it’s approved by voters.
Democratic lawmakers in Virginia have sought to portray their redistricting plan as a response to Trump’s push for Republican states to redraw their maps in an attempt to maintain a GOP majority in the House of Representatives. Republicans, on the other hand, describe it as a way for liberals in northern Virginia to commandeer congressional districts in the rest of the state.
Currently, Virginia is represented in the U.S. House by six Democrats and five Republicans who ran in districts imposed by a court after a bipartisan legislative commission failed to agree on a map after the 2020 census.
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