Both parties argue they’re on the side of ‘fairness’ in Virginia redistricting vote

Well, Nick, let me just begin with a clear statement that these efforts to redistrict a map that was drawn by an independent commission approved by a constitutional amendment by Virginians, is wrong. And that’s why we are working very hard to make sure everybody understands exactly what this referendum says, which is very misleading in the way it’s worded, and that people should vote no. No, we should stand by our vote back in 2000, where an overwhelming number of Virginians, two thirds, voted for an independent commission.

And listen, we’ve been working hard on this for a while. The Democrats have dumped tens of millions of dollars into what I view as a misinformation campaign, and we’ve been working hard to make sure that everybody understands that we should stand by the strong statement by Virginians in 2020 to have maps that are fair, maps that represent the will of the people.

And what they have presented are maps, you have Northern Virginia spread out through throughout the entire state. They have this new District 7, which reaches into Shenandoah County and down into deep central Virginia. You have a new number, congressional District 8, which stretches all the way from Northern Virginia into Hampton Roads, and you have a new District 1 that stretches from Northern Virginia down all the way through into nearly Rappahannock. I mean, this is a crazy map, and Virginians don’t want it, and that’s what this is all about.

And we as Republicans are trying to make sure that everybody understands that this is not Republicans versus Democrats. This is fairness against unfairness, and that’s why people should vote no on April 21.

We’ve been involved for quite a while. And the key fact here is that Virginians now fully understand that this map is unfair. And listen, what current Gov. Spanberger said on the campaign trail was that she was against redistricting. She has, in fact, been a vocal, vocal advocate to fight redistricting for a long time and now she comes out and wants to redistrict.

And I think this is why Virginians are so upset right now. You just saw in the recent polling that her favorable ratings are as low as any governor in modern time, and the reason is that they’ve been lied to in the fact that they want fairness. This isn’t Republicans against Democrats, again. This is, Virginians want fairness. That’s what we all voted for in 2020 in a constitutional amendment, and now they’re trying to take away the vote of millions and millions of Virginians, and that’s why I’ve been very, very active in making sure that Virginians understand, here’s your chance to push back. Here’s your chance to say no to unfair maps and yes to the fair maps that have already been drawn.

And so we’re on the road this week. We’ll be in southwest Virginia and all up and down the Shenandoah Valley, finishing up in Northern Virginia over the weekend and then more next week, just to make sure that Virginians fully understand, fully understand what it says on the ballot, which is, as I said, incredibly misleading, that a no vote is actually for fair maps that were the result of this nonpartisan redistricting commission that was overwhelmingly supported by Virginians, two thirds in 2020 in a constitutional amendment.

No I don’t. In fact, I think Virginians made the first move on this in 2020 when we went to the ballot and voted for nonpartisan, nonpartisan maps to be drawn by an independent commission, not by whoever’s in control in Richmond. And that’s what Virginians are all about. This started in 2020 with the voice of Virginians, and now we have, because they can, a party in power and Democrats trying to overturn the voice of Virginians. And that’s just wrong, and that’s why, again, I’m going to repeat what I just said. That’s why her favorability ratings are so low, it’s because Virginians don’t want to be lied to. She said during the campaign trail that she was against redistricting, and now she’s for it. And everybody sees that for what it is, which is a bait and switch. And this is a chance for folks voice to not be silent, but in fact, to be heard.

Well, Nick to be really straightforward, I am focused on April 21. In the next 10 days, we’ve got a huge election in Virginia, which is this redistricting referendum. I do believe that the recent polling numbers for Gov. Spanberger reflect the current state of mind of Virginians, all Virginians. And when you see the dramatic, dramatic reduction in favorable ratings for her from independent voters. And in Virginia, listen, the independent voters are the voice of the people. It’s a big, big group. It’s who elects statewide candidates, it’s who swings elections. And right now, they’re very unhappy with what’s come out of Richmond. They’re very unhappy with what’s happened with this redistricting initiative, and they’re making their voices heard. And so I think the first step in a 2026 cycle is actually going to be made this April 21 in Virginia.

Listen, it has been an uphill battle over the course of the last few months, but I’m really seeing momentum, and you can hear it when you’re out on the road, and that’s one of the things that I think really reflects the reality that the Democrats have spent, I mean literally, $20 plus million in trying to convince people that rejiggering maps that were drawn by an independent commission is fair. That taking the vote away from millions of Virginians around the state and candidly ceding it to representatives from Northern Virginia is fair. And people are just rejecting that. And again, it’s not Republicans versus Democrats. It’s Virginians, who have stood for fairness from the beginning of time.

I believe that’s one of the great attributes of our great Commonwealth of Virginia, which is we as a state seem to be a bit of a bellwether when it comes to fairness. And in this case, they’re viewing, I believe, once they fully understand what’s on the ballot, that it is wrong to gerrymander a map that was approved by a nonpartisan or independent commission based on the voice of the people. That’s what we’re elected to do, is to represent the voice of the people. And again, I think that’s why Abigail Spanberger’s numbers are so low, is because she’s not representing the voice of the people.

Well, first of all, thank you for the kind interest. And I’m always humbled when folks are wondering what I might do next. We stayed incredibly focused for four years trying to truly do the work of the Commonwealth of Virginia. I have to say, I think our administration did an extraordinary job in growing the economy and jobs and standing up for students and parents and making sure communities were safe. And by the way, managing the pocket of the people in a most responsible way, with $10 billion of surpluses and $9 billion of tax relief while having unprecedented investment in education and in law enforcement and behavioral health.

We can do this and so we stay focused all the way up through the end in the short course of 80 days, what Virginians are saying is they’re not happy with what the new governor has been doing. And here she is on the ballot, and I think that’s where my big attention is. And so I just appreciate the fact that people are interested in what I might do next. What I’m doing now is focused on making sure Virginians vote no in the April 21 referendum.