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Virginia Democrats are seeking to redraw the state’s congressional districts in 2026, breaking with the customary practice of revisiting district boundaries once every 10 years after the census.

The proposal comes after Democrats gained 12 seats in the Virginia House and as the party looks toward November’s midterm elections. Republicans currently control Congress, and Democratic leaders see redistricting as a possible route to gaining additional seats.

Social studies teacher Joshua Henry said drawing districts to favor one party can make general elections less competitive. When a district contains a clear Democratic or Republican majority, he said, the eventual winner may effectively be determined during the primary.

“Both parties do [gerrymandering] and both parties have done this for a long time,” Henry said. “The difference [between the past and now] is it typically happens once every 10 years, but the Democrats are doing this in the middle of the decade.”

Virginia’s congressional districts were redrawn following the 2020 census and were in place by 2022. The new Democratic plan would alter those boundaries several years before the next scheduled census-based redistricting.

A similar partisan dispute unfolded in 2013, when Republicans controlled the House and pursued legislation that would have changed state Senate district lines ahead of schedule. Democratic opposition helped defeat that effort.

Henry said whichever party controls a state government has an incentive to concentrate its supporters into districts it can win. Democrats and Republicans have both employed that strategy when given the opportunity, he said.

Gov. Abigail Spanberger initially appeared skeptical of mid-decade redistricting but has since indicated that she is willing to consider the proposal.

Senior Daanial Pasha described Spanberger’s position as a strategic effort to begin her administration with a cooperative relationship with Democrats in the House.

“I think it’s a strategic move showing that she really wants to prove to the Democrats inside the house that she’s open to their plans,” Pasha said.

Virginia joins a national redistricting fight

The Virginia effort is part of a broader struggle over control of the U.S. House of Representatives. Democrats have sought ways to counter Republican redistricting campaigns in other states, including Texas.

Mike Signer, chair of the Dranesville Committee and a former Charlottesville mayor, said Republicans face the possibility of losing control of the House and perhaps the Senate. He characterized their redistricting efforts in several states as an attempt to protect Republican seats and reduce Democratic representation.

Texas has been particularly important to that strategy, Signer said, because new boundaries there were designed to decrease the number of Democratic seats while creating more reliably Republican ones.

Voters could face new districts and representatives

For Virginians, another round of mapmaking could change both their congressional representatives and the communities grouped within their districts.

Henry said heavily partisan districts can reduce the perceived importance of general elections. They may also increase the influence of primary voters, who tend to be more partisan and more likely to support candidates who are less interested in compromise.

Candidates in a safe district may therefore focus on satisfying their party’s most committed voters rather than appealing to the wider electorate.

The process could also frustrate voters who see the new boundaries as openly partisan. Some may decline to vote or support the opposing party in response, Henry said.

Voters placed in a district dominated by the other party could become especially discouraged. A Republican in a heavily Democratic district, for example, may feel that participating will make little difference. Henry said representatives in such districts may also have less political incentive to address concerns raised by members of the minority party.

Uncertainty over district boundaries could complicate decisions for prospective candidates as well. With the election approaching in November, candidates need to know where they will live, which district they could represent and which primary they would enter.

“If [the Democrats] redraw lines between now and then, they’re going to have to do that soon,” Henry said.

Court ruling puts the plan in doubt

A lower-court judge has blocked the Democratic redistricting effort, but party leaders plan to appeal the decision.

Voters would also need to approve a referendum on the issue, potentially as soon as April, for new boundaries to be established before the November midterms.

Beyond the immediate fight for congressional seats, Henry warned that the proposal could reshape Virginia politics for years. If one party redraws the maps after gaining power, the other could respond in kind after a future election.

That cycle could replace a predictable once-a-decade process with repeated boundary disputes whenever control of the state government changes. Henry said the resulting instability could leave voters uncertain about their districts and representatives while giving greater influence to highly partisan candidates and primary voters.