Virginia Voters Told Trump Where to Stick His Gerrymandering

In another huge swell for the Big Blue Wave, Virginia dealt Trump a new loss on Tuesday, voting to allow Democrats to redraw the district maps—a move that could help them pick up House seats in November. BTW, the three redistricting “wins” Trump has racked up over the last year were not achieved through the electoral process. Damn America, our pesky voters, and democracy! 

Virginians had slightly lower turnout than in November’s gubernatorial election, but still voted to pass a constitutional amendment that would give lawmakers, rather than a bipartisan redistricting commission, temporary power to redraw the state’s congressional map from 2026 through 2030. The Associated Press called the race at 1:49 a.m., with 97 percent of the votes counted; 51.5 percent voted yes to temporary redistricting, while 48.6 percent voted no.

It’s a big win for what the New York Times called “one of the country’s most aggressively gerrymandered congressional maps.” And the move could prime Democrats to win an additional four House seats in the midterms, allow them to win 10 of the state’s 11 congressional districts, and further ruin House Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.)—who monitors porn intake with his son—life.

“Virginia voters have spoken, and tonight they approved a temporary measure to push back against a President who claims he is ‘entitled’ to more Republican seats in Congress,” Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) announced in a statement. “Virginians watched other states go along with those demands without voter input—and we refused to let that stand. We responded the right way: at the ballot box.”

Suburban white wine moms and Black women are responsible for this victory https://t.co/JEZdNXwg6G pic.twitter.com/J9FeQIcgub

— Adam Carlson (@admcrlsn) April 22, 2026

“This measure…will protect Black voters and give all voters a fair shot at representation,” Svante Myrick, president and CEO of People for the American Way told reporters ahead of the referendum. “This is truly a battle for the right for voters to pick their politicians instead of politicians just picking their voters.”

Trump’s redistricting wars began in August, when he asked Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) to redistrict the state and give the GOP five more seats—again, without an election. The move prompted more than 50 Democratic lawmakers in the Lone Star State to literally flee and deny the legislature the quota it needed to vote—though they eventually caved, and the state wasted no time gerrymandering. Missouri did the same in September and North Carolina in October—again, without voter input. Sense a pattern?

Ahead of the referendum, Trump hilariously said, “I don’t know if you know what gerrymandering is, but it’s not good.” He added that if House Democrats win a majority in the midterms, “it’s going to be a disaster.” Fingers crossed. 

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