The “yes” campaign claimed victory Tuesday night in the culmination of a six-month effort to temporarily amend Virginia’s constitution and allow for mid-decade redistricting ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
As of 9:50 p.m., the margin of victory for the “yes” campaign was 2.7 percentage points.
The new map created by the statewide referendum is expected to net Democrats an additional four congressional seats, compared to the current map, which favors Democrats 6-5.
Virginia Democrats have called the redistricting effort necessary, after Republican President Donald Trump called on conservative-led states to change their congressional maps in favor of GOP candidates ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
“Tonight, Virginians sent a message heard across this country: we will not let Donald Trump or MAGA Republicans rig our democracy,” said House of Delegates Speaker Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, in a statement. “This started in Texas when Trump launched an unprecedented power grab to rig the midterms and tonight Virginia voters ended it and voted YES to stop his power grab.”
Some on the side of the “no” campaign saw that slim margin as a “powerful message,” even in defeat.
“Despite being outspent by well over $60 million and facing biased ballot language, over a million Virginians stood up against a partisan power grab. The extraordinary lengths the pro-gerrymandering side had to resort to to secure that small percentage of a win shows that Virginians really don’t want gerrymandering,” said Brian Cannon, co-chair of the advisory council to No Gerrymandering Virginia, in a statement.
Tens of millions of dollars were pumped into the commonwealth from dark money donors in short order to fund the abbreviated campaigns on either side of the referendum question, with the “yes” side of the referendum receiving more than three times as much as the “no” side in untraceable dollars from 501(c)(4) groups, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.
The 2026 redistricting referendum was the most expensive referendum in Virginia’s history, garnering roughly $83.2 million between the two sides, according to the Virginia Public Access Project. About $81 million of that was spent on political ads, according to reporting by The New York Times.
“This campaign was built in just five months — overcoming nearly $40 million spent on spreading MAGA lies and misinformation to confuse voters, navigating unprecedented legal challenges to stop Virginians from having a say, and asking voters to grapple with a complex issue for our democracy. But in the end, voters cut through the noise, made their voices heard, and voted YES,” said Kéren Charles Dongo, manager for the “yes” campaign, Virginians for Fair Elections Campaign.
The General Assembly, controlled by Democratic lawmakers, in February passed a proposal for a redrawn congressional map with 10 Democratic-leaning districts and one solidly Republican district. Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed off on that proposed map, which voters approved Tuesday.
“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,” Spanberger said 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,” she said. “Looking forward, I remain committed to ensuring Virginia’s bipartisan redistricting commission gets back to work after the 2030 census, and to protecting the process Virginians voted to create.”
All eyes on the Virginia Supreme Court
In the months leading up to Tuesday’s referendum, Democrats in support of the redistricting effort have said that Virginia voters will have the last say in whether or not to redraw the maps. Republicans against the effort have filed lawsuit after lawsuit seeking to halt the mid-decade effort.
Court cases filed months ago will likely be decided by Virginia’s Supreme Court in the coming weeks to determine whether the redistricting effort is constitutionally sound, however. If the court finds the redistricting effort unconstitutional, it is likely to invalidate the referendum, and the new map.
The new 10-1 map will go into effect immediately until a court rules otherwise.
If the courts uphold the redistricting referendum, the new map will be in place for the 2026, 2028 and 2030 midterm elections. The bipartisan redistricting commission that was created in 2020 through a constitutional amendment, and approved through referendums, will again redraw the commonwealth’s congressional map after the 2030 census.
“Today, the referendum portion of this fight is behind us. Now, we enter the phase that will be decided through litigation,” said Jeff Ryer, chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia, in a statement. “We don’t know whether the Supreme Court of Virginia will rule that the General Assembly is not above the law and does not have license to violate the Constitution. For the sake of Virginia, we will hope and pray that they do.”
House Minority Leader Terry Kilgore, R-Scott County, a plaintiff in one of the cases that is slated to go before the commonwealth’s high court, echoed Ryer.
“From the start, this process was tilted: misleading ballot language and a massive spending advantage made this an uphill climb for voters trying to make sense of a deeply complicated issue,” Kilgore said in a statement. “Serious legal questions remain about both the wording of this referendum and the process used to put it before voters. Those questions have not been resolved, and they now move where they belong: to the courts.”
Democratic Attorney General Jay Jones said in a statement that his office “stands ready to defend the will of the voters.”
National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Richard Hudson said that the referendum’s close margin “reinforces that Virginia is a purple state that shouldn’t be represented by a severe partisan gerrymander.” The NRCC is a plaintiff in a court case regarding the redistricting effort.
The new landscape for the 2026 midterm election
Southwest and Southside Virginia will encompass four congressional districts under the new map.
The 4th Congressional District, represented by Rep. Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond, is drawn to stretch into Southside Virginia to include the city of Danville along with Pittsylvania, Halifax and Mecklenburg counties.
Virginia’s 5th District, represented by Rep. John McGuire, R-Goochland County, includes Campbell County at its westernmost point and curves northward to include some of the suburbs surrounding the city of Richmond as well as part of the city itself, under the new map.
Democrat Shannon Taylor, commonwealth’s attorney for Henrico County, reaffirmed her plan to run in the newly drawn 5th District on Tuesday evening. She had initially filed to run in the 1st Congressional District against incumbent Republican Rep. Rob Wittman of Westmoreland County.
“I got into this race to protect the community that I love, and I’m proud to continue that mission by running in Virginia’s 5th Congressional District where I’ve lived for 30 years,” Taylor said in a statement. “As Henrico’s top prosecutor, I’ve spent my career standing up for families and holding people accountable when they abuse their power. That’s the same fight I’ll take to Congress: delivering for Virginia families and making government work for them again.”
McGuire’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Charlottesville and Roanoke have been drawn into the 6th District, along with Lynchburg, Radford and Blacksburg, in the new congressional map. The new 6th District will pit former journalist and bestselling author Beth Macy of Roanoke against former Congressman Tom Perriello of Charlottesville and others in a Democratic primary to determine who will take on Republican incumbent Rep. Ben Cline of Botetourt County in November.
“Folks around here can agree on one thing — we are paying way too much for gas, groceries and healthcare. It’s time to fire Congressmen like Ben Cline who jacked up costs to protect the corrupt,” Perriello said in a statement. “I promise to fight for our communities to have good schools, affordable healthcare and housing, and a voice in shaping what happens in Washington. It’s time to build a new American dream that our communities can afford.”
Macy also issued a statement: “Today, Virginians’ voices were heard. Regardless of what the Virginia Supreme Court decides, Virginians have made it clear that they’re willing to fight tooth and nail against the excesses of Donald Trump to hold the wealthy and powerful accountable and build a new system that works for everyone.”
Cline has said he plans to continue running in the 6th District if voters approved the redistricting effort. His office did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
The 9th District, represented by Rep. Morgan Griffith of Salem, will likely be the last remaining Republican stronghold. As it is drawn in the new map, the 9th District runs from Lee County north to Highland County and parts of Augusta County, and east to Henry County, in a sideways “V” shape.
Griffith confirmed that he plans to seek reelection in the newly drawn 9th District.
“I am disappointed in the election results, but rural Virginia spoke loud and clear against the proposed maps disenfranchising many of them,” Griffith said in a statement. “As a plaintiff in lawsuits challenging the legitimacy of this constitutional amendment referendum process, I believe the Supreme Court of Virginia will overturn the underlying laws, thus invalidating the process.”
The midterm primary election will take place Aug. 4. The midterm election, often seen as a referendum on the presidential administration, is scheduled for Nov. 3.
