On Tuesday evening, Democrats earned a key win when Virginians narrowly voted to allow a mid-cycle redistricting effort. This will allow Democrats to redraw the congressional maps to create 10 districts favorable to Democrats and one favorable to Republicans, compared to the current 6-5 split.
This is the second time voters have decided to allow a one-time redraw of a congressional map typically decided by a nonpartisan board.
The decision in Virginia was a narrow one, passing by a little less than three points, much narrower than the almost 30-point victory for Proposition 50 in California and far lower than Gov. Abigail Spanbergerâs 15-point margin in November. Despite its blue tint, Virginia maintains a moderate bend.
Nevertheless, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries spiked the football.
âWe won Prop 50 in California, reclaimed a seat in Utah, pushed back extremists in Ohio and halted toxic GOP efforts in Indiana, New Hampshire, Nebraska and Kansas,â Jeffries said.
But he also issued a warning shot â right in Trumpâs backyard.
“If Florida Republicans proceed with this illegal scheme, they will only create more prime pick-up opportunities for Democrats, just as they did with Trumpâs dummymander in Texas,â Jeffries posted, and warned: âWe will aggressively target for defeat Mario DĂaz-Balart, Maria Elvira Salazar, Carlos GimĂ©nez, Kat Cammack, Anna Paulina Luna, Laurel Lee, Cory Mills and Brian Mast. We are prepared to take them all on, and we are prepared to win.
“Maximum warfare, everywhere, all the time.â
So how did we get here? Well, last year, California passed Proposition 50 to do the same, after President Donald Trump pressured Texas, Missouri and North Carolina to redraw their congressional maps. Trump did so in hopes of keeping the House of Representatives under Republican control after the midterm elections this November.
That led California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a likely candidate for president, to say Democrats would âmeet fire with fireâ with redistricting and promote his ballot initiative to allow for five new Democratic-leaning seats.
The Virginia decision Tuesday reveals that Trumpâs attempts to insulate himself from the typical cycles where the opposite party takes over the House of Representatives in a midterm backfired tremendously. Democrats for years have adopted nonpartisan redistricting boards in an attempt to end gerrymandering. But Trump poking the bear can make even mild-mannered states push back.
Unsurprisingly, Trump groused about the result and claimed it was not legitimate.
âA RIGGED ELECTION TOOK PLACE LAST NIGHT IN THE GREAT COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA!â he yelled Wednesday afternoon with no evidence to support the claim.
âI’m looking forward to running in the 10th district, but people are fed up with this administration,â Rep. Suhas Subramanyam of Virginia told The Independent.
âAnd especially in Virginia, Trump is historically unpopular there, and I think the vote reflected that just as much as it did the desire to even the playing field.â
In Florida, meanwhile, Gov. Ron DeSantis has called for a special session to redraw its congressional map, sparking the Jeffries threat that Florida is next in his sights.
On one end, this should be easy pickings for Republicans: as the home to Trumpâs Mar-a-Lago estate, Florida has undergone its own facelift from a perpetual swing state to MAGA-ritaville. Itâs the home not only to DeSantis, but Marco Rubio, Pam Bondi and others.
Still, Republicans need to be careful. If they dilute the districts too much to make new Republican seats, they risk making some safer seats more competitive, and therefore, likely to flip.
Jeffries, like his Senate counterpart Chuck Schumer, has received criticism for being too timid in his opposition to Republicans, too close to Wall Street and the pro-Israel lobby. Some progressives criticized him for waiting until the last minute to endorse Zohran Mamdani for mayor of New York City.
But he received praise from his progressive peers for the comments.
âHell yes,â Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a member of the Squad, said on social media. âThis is the energy.â
For Republicans from the Miami had one response: do it.
âWelcome to the American political system,â Salazar told The Independent. âI have no power. I cannot even know anything about it. So, hey, that’s the way the system works. We just go along with the system.â
Salazar has been warning her Republican colleagues for some time that Trumpâs mass deportation initiatives risk costing the GOP the Hispanic gains that Trump made in 2024.
Trumpâs approval among even the historically conservative Cuban-American population of Miami has taken a dip in recent months.
Giménez took the same approach.
âWeâre a democracy,â he said. âBring it on.â
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