Supreme Court kills Virginia redistricting push
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The U.S. Supreme Court. Photo: Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The Supreme Court denied an emergency effort from Virginia Democrats to revive their chances of redrawing the state's congressional maps before the November midterms.
Why it matters: Virginia's redistricting push is officially dead.
Driving the news: In a brief order on Friday, the justices declined state Democrats' emergency request to pause the Virginia Supreme Court's ruling — which struck down the voter-approved redistricting plan — to buy time to craft an appeal.
- The justices didn't give a reason for the denial.
State of play: Friday's decision marks another Republican victory in a growing redistricting fight nationwide, and cements a difficult path ahead for Democrats to flip a closely divided U.S. House in the midterms.
- Virginia's now-rejected map would have favored Democrats in 10 of the state's 11 districts and potentially helped them pick up four additional seats in Congress.
- But after a slew of legal challenges, the state high court this month overturned the redistricting referendum results, saying the amendment process led by Democrats violated the state constitution.
- The ruling sparked panic among Virginia's congressional Democrats and House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries, who reportedly discussed the possibility of overhauling the state Supreme Court and forcing the justices into retirement.
Between the lines: State Democrats dismissed the proposals as unrealistic, and instead tried arguing to the U.S. Supreme Court last week that the state justices misread federal election law and Virginia's constitution.
- Republicans pushed back on those claims Thursday, saying the case was a state issue — which the Supreme Court doesn't usually intervene in — and Democrats had "no case on the merits."
What's next: Virginia's current map, which yields a congressional split with six Democrats and five Republicans, will stay in place for November's midterm elections.
What we're watching: How candidates who launched campaigns in districts that no longer exist respond ahead of the filing deadline, and whether Democrats try again before 2028.
Go deeper:
- Virginia Supreme Court throws out redistricting referendum results
- Virginia Dems discussed court overhaul after redistricting ruling
Editor's note: This story has been updated with background throughout.