Voters in Virginia will now decide whether to back a redrawn congressional district map that favors Democrats after the state Senate advanced the measure on Friday, per the AP. The referendum will likely be held in April, and Democrats could gain up to four US House seats if it passes, reports the New York Times. The closely divided state Senate, where Democrats hold a slim majority, voted along party lines Friday afternoon to approve the plan, following a similar vote by House Democrats earlier this week. The redrawn maps are expected to be made available to voters by the end of the month.
President Trump teed up this ongoing redistricting fight last year and pushed Texas Republicans to create more favorable districts for the party by way of new congressional maps. Since then:
- Republicans: Texas, Missouri, and North Carolina all approved new Republican-friendly House districts. Ohio also enacted a more favorable House map for Republicans.
- Democrats: On the Democratic side, California voters approved new House districts helping Democrats, and a Utah judge adopted a new House map that benefits Democrats.
- Elsewhere: There have been some defections in the nationwide redistricting battle: Kansas Republicans dropped plans for a special session on redistricting. Indiana's Republican-led Senate also defeated a plan that could have helped the GOP win all of the state's US House seats. It's still up in the air as to whether new maps will be created in other states, such as Republican-leaning Florida, and Democratic-led Illinois and Maryland.
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