Top Virginia Democrat for the First Time Hints at Eliminating Four Republican Congressional Seats Before the Midterms

The top Democrat in the Virginia state legislature, house of delegates speaker Don Scott, said that he and his colleagues may vote to eliminate as many as four Republican congressional seats before the midterm elections next year. Such a move could cancel out any gains the Republican Party made during their redistricting push this year. Virginia Democrats have already kicked off the redistricting process, though they do not yet know how far they will go in terms of how many Republican seats they will nix. In order to redraw the congressional maps, state lawmakers must amend the Virginia constitution, which requires one session of the legislature to pass a measure aimed at amending the document, followed by another bill passed in the consecutive legislative session before a statewide ballot initiative. The legislature passed their proposal before the November statewide general election, meaning that lawmakers will have to do so again once the legislature reconvenes in January. After that, Virginia voters will go to the polls sometime in the spring to either approve or reject a redistricting effort by the state’s Democrats. On Wednesday, Mr. Scott — confident that a constitutional amendment would pass via statewide vote — says he and his Democratic colleagues may eliminate up to four GOP seats. That would mean there is only one Republican congressional district left in the entire state. “If a bully came and punched you in the mouth, you didn’t sit there and cry,” Mr. Scott said of growing up in Texas, referencing Mr. Trump’s push to redraw maps in Republican states. “You better punch back.”“We have an opportunity to do some redistricting, to look at redrawing the maps — all of the congressional delegation. Right now, it’s six–five [in favor of] Democrats — six Democrats, five Republicans. Ten–one is not out of the realm,” Mr. Scott said during an event at the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. “We’re gonna take a look at it.”Mr. Trump is now pushing Republicans in Indiana to eliminate two Democrats seats in their state — something Mr. Scott says could spur him and his colleagues to eliminate four GOP seats in Virginia. “Ultimately, the voters decide,” Mr. Scott said of the statewide initiative that will come next year. “Y’all are gonna be seeing a lot more TV commercials again,” he said with a smile. “I apologize in advance.”The president pro tempore of the Virginia state senate, Democrat Louise Lucas, also says she favors drawing new maps to kill four of the Republicans’ five seats. As it currently stands, the Republicans could be in serious trouble after kicking off the redistricting fight earlier this year. Mr. Trump gave Texas Republicans the green light to eliminate five Democratic seats because he felt he was “entitled” to new maps. California quickly countered, adopting congressional districts which would eliminate as many as five GOP seats. Republicans currently have the advantage in the fight. Missouri, Ohio, and North Carolina have already redrawn maps to eliminate one Democratic seat each. On the current scoreboard, Republicans are picking up eight new House seats while Democrats are only picking up five. Virginia Democrats, however, could add those four seats to bring the score up to nine new seats for Democrats compared to eight new seats for Republicans. If the Republican-controlled Indiana state senate gets off the mat, however, they will add two new seats, giving Republicans a one-seat advantage under the new maps. Democrats in Maryland, however, are pushing to eliminate the state’s lone Republican seat, which could bring the whole affair to a tie should the Indiana GOP move forward. There are three other serious questions yet to be answered: whether or not the U.S. Supreme Court will allow Texas’s maps to take effect, whether or not Illinois Democrats will join the fray, and whether or not Florida Republicans can successfully redistrict to pick up two Democratic seats. If the justices of the Supreme Court vote to strike down the Texas maps, the crux of the GOP’s redistricting effort will be dead. Should Indiana redraw their maps, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said he may counter by killing two of his state’s Republican districts. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, meanwhile, says his Republican-controlled legislature will meet in session to redraw their congressional lines. The big question mark for Mr. DeSantis though is whether or not Latino voters stick by his party in 2026. Depending on how the new Florida districts are drawn, he could create a host of new light-red districts populated by Hispanic voters, who did shift significantly toward the Republican Party last year. If those Latino voters were to swing back toward Democrats, however — as they did in New Jersey and Virginia in November — Mr. DeSantis would be at risk of losing several GOP seats in his state rather than killing off some of his Democratic districts.

Top Virginia Democrat for the First Time Hints at Eliminating Four Republican Congressional Seats Before the Midterms

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