The Virginia Supreme Court delivered a major blow Friday to Democrats’ efforts to keep pace with Republicans in the partisan race to redraw congressional maps ahead of November’s midterm elections. In a 4-3 decision, the court struck down a voter-approved redistricting plan that was expected to net Democrats four more seats in the House of Representatives, ruling that the legislative process used to put the measure on the ballot violated state law.
“Huge win for the Republican Party, and America, in Virginia,” President Trump wrote on his social media site.
The ruling leaves Republicans with a clear edge in the extraordinary mid-decade gerrymandering battle that Trump started last year and bolsters the party’s hopes of maintaining control of the House. The GOP is now rushing to expand its advantage across the South after a U.S. Supreme Court decision last week gutted much of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
Democrats vowed to continue their fight.
“The decision to overturn an entire election is an unprecedented and undemocratic action that cannot stand,” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who has been leading the party’s redistricting fight, said in a statement. “We are exploring all options to overturn this shocking decision. No matter what it takes, House Democrats will win in November so we can help rescue this nation from the extremism being unleashed by Donald Trump and Republicans.”