Virginia approves redistricting, giving Democrats edge in midterms

"Virginia just changed the trajectory of the 2026 midterms," Democratic state House Speaker Don Scott said on social media."At a moment when Trump and his allies are trying to lock in power before voters have a say, Virginians stepped up and leveled the playing field for the entire country," he wrote.The redistricting referendum is the most expensive ballot measure in Virginia's history by far, according to figures from the Virginia-public-access-project" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="120184" data-entity-type="organization">Virginia Public Access Project. Over $80m (£59m) was raised as of earlier this month by groups on both sides of the effort.In his first public comments on Virginia's measure, Trump said on Monday that if House Democrats win a majority in the midterm elections, "it's going to be a disaster". "I don't know if you know what gerrymandering is, but it's not good," he added.States usually redraw their voting maps once every decade after new population data is released as part of the US Census. Texas became the first state to launch a mid-decade change amid pressure from Trump, setting off a race for other states to alter their maps to help their respective political parties.Texas' new map will give Republicans an advantage in five additional seats.