This article was reprinted with permission from Virginia Mercury.
After weeks of buildup and a missed self-imposed Jan. 30 deadline, Virginia Democrats on Thursday evening finally released their long-awaited revised congressional map, proposing an aggressive 10–1 configuration that would tilt 10 of the state’s 11 U.S. House districts toward their party.
The proposed congressional map leaves several of Virginia’s largest districts visually intact while concentrating most of its changes in Northern and central Virginia.
The new plan preserves the broad outlines of some existing districts but redistributes how the population is grouped across much of the state.
The 9th District remains a single, expansive district in the state’s far southwestern corner. The Eastern Shore–based 2nd District is also preserved, maintaining a clear coastal anchor on the map.
The most visible changes are in Northern and central Virginia.
Districts now clustered in the state’s northeastern corner — particularly the 8th, 10th and 11th — are reconfigured and spread farther south and west, while several mid-state districts, including the 1st, 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th, are reshaped into a tighter patchwork than under the current map.
During a news conference at the state Capitol in Richmond earlier in the day, legislative leaders said the maps reflect what they describe as an extraordinary political moment nationally, as Democrats move forward despite a court order halting the process and a pending decision by the Virginia Supreme Court.
House and Senate leaders pitched the proposal as a response to recent Republican-led redistricting efforts in other states and emphasized that Virginia voters — not lawmakers — will ultimately decide the maps’ fate in an April referendum.
Senate President Pro Tempore Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, argued the proposal is necessary to counter what Democrats describe as a coordinated national strategy driven by President Donald Trump.
“Look, Donald Trump knows he’s going to lose the midterms. He knows it,” Lucas said Thursday. “That’s why he started this mess in the first place. … These are not ordinary times and Virginia will not sit on the sidelines while it happens.”
Lucas said Republicans have already moved aggressively in states such as Texas, North Carolina, Missouri and Ohio to redraw congressional lines ahead of the 2026 elections, forcing Democrats in Virginia to respond.
House Speaker Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, echoed that message, saying the General Assembly has been working for weeks to prepare the maps for public release. “Virginia to the rescue,” he said.
A 10–1 map “levels the playing field, and we’re ready to move forward,” Scott said. “We’ll get those maps released and put them out in the open and allow them to be debated the way they should be in a democracy.”
Republican leaders denounced the plan Thursday morning and said their counterparts aren’t concentrating on solutions to the financial strain many Virginians are facing.
“Democrats are focused on political gerrymandering instead of focusing on affordability,” said Senate Minority Leader Ryan McDougle, R-Hanover.
“The bills they are moving through the legislature are going to cost Virginians more money. It is taking money out of their pocket. But they’re more worried about political gerrymandering games and not Virginians, not the struggles that they are going through.”
The map’s release comes amid ongoing litigation over Democrats’ mid-decade redistricting amendment, which cleared the General Assembly earlier this year but was struck down last week by a Tazewell County Circuit Court judge. That ruling ordered lawmakers to stop the redistricting process, arguing the amendment violated the Virginia Constitution.
The case is now before the Virginia Supreme Court, which is expected to hear arguments later this month.
Despite the uncertainty, Democratic leaders said they remain committed to proceeding with a statewide referendum on April 21, when voters are set to decide whether to grant lawmakers authority to redraw congressional districts outside the once-a-decade redistricting cycle.
Under the state Constitution, amendments must pass two separately elected General Assemblies and then be approved by voters. Democrats completed the legislative portion of that process earlier this year, but the court ruling has cast doubt on whether the referendum can legally proceed.
Scott said he believes the judge exceeded his authority.
“You never want to speak ahead, you never know what a judge or jury are going to do,” Scott said. “But I think the law is clearly on our side. I think the judge overreached.”
Scott said the ruling relied on constitutional provisions that do not apply to the amendment process and predicted higher courts would reverse it.
“I think at the end of the day, (the Virginia) Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court will see the judge used the wrong sections of the Constitution to justify his argument,” he said.
Despite the legal challenge, Democratic leaders are moving forward with legislation that would implement the new maps only if voters approve them via referendum.
Scott said the writ setting the referendum has already been approved by the General Assembly and is currently on Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s desk.
“The calling has already been done,” Scott said. “And then the next thing is, we’re going to put the language in the bill with the maps in it in the caboose bill that we’re going to pass.”
Scott said Spanberger has already reviewed the maps, though the governor has not publicly endorsed the 10–1 configuration.
“The governor has seen the maps,” Scott said. “We wouldn’t be standing here if the governor had not seen the maps. I’m going to let the governor speak for herself.”
Spanberger’s team told WUSA9 Thursday that the map could be implemented before referendum voting begins, underscoring the governor’s role in ensuring the process can move forward if the courts allow it.
Her office has not publicly embraced any specific configuration, instead emphasizing that the ultimate choice should rest with Virginia voters and that the executive branch will act to administer the election should the constitutional amendment pass.
Lucas acknowledged that many Virginians favor the nonpartisan redistricting commission approved by voters in 2020 and said Democrats still intend to return to that system.
“The plan is for us to go back to the nonpartisan commission because that’s what Virginians voted for,” Lucas said. “The only reason we’re in this place right now is because of the power grab that started with Trump.”
Both Lucas and Scott rejected claims that the maps were drawn to benefit specific incumbents, despite reporting of internal Democratic debates over whether to pursue a 9–2 or 10–1 configuration.
Democrats currently hold six of the state’s 11 congressional districts.
“This was never about drawing a seat for a particular candidate,” Lucas said. “This was always about making sure that we defend democracy.”
Scott dismissed concerns that sitting lawmakers influenced the lines.
“If you’ve been paying attention to these last elections, you don’t know who the heck is going to win in these primaries,” he said. “Whatever happens, happens to that point.”
When asked who drew the maps, Scott said the legislature worked with outside consultants, but he declined to say more about the mapmaking process.
“We have some consultants. We’re not going to get into the details, but you all will be able to see it,” he said.
Lucas said Democrats believe the proposed districts remain competitive and that outcomes will ultimately depend on voter turnout and campaigning.
“The seats are competitive, but if you get out and work, you can win the seat,” she said. “But we’re not going to coronate you.”
For now, the fate of the maps rests with the courts and, potentially, Virginia voters.
Virginia Mercury reporter Shannon Heckt contributed to this story.
