Supreme Court rejects bid to restore Virginia’s redistricting map favoring Democrats

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court on Friday rejected Virginia’s bid to restore a congressional map that would have favored Democrats. 

The new map would have given Democrats four more seats. 

Dig deeper:

In recent days, the justices have sided with Republicans in Alabama and Louisiana who hope to redo their congressional maps to produce more GOP-leaning seats following the court’s voting rights decision.

But the Virginia situation was different, stemming from a 4-3 ruling by the Virginia Supreme Court that struck down a constitutional amendment that voters narrowly passed just last month.

The state court found that the Democratic-controlled legislature improperly began the process of placing the amendment on the ballot after early voting had begun in Virginia’s general election last fall.

What they’re saying:

After the Court’s ruling on Friday, Dan Helmer, who was running to represent Virginia’s 7th Congressional District, announced he was suspending his campaign.

“While I’m incredibly disappointed at tonight’s news, I can’t say I’m surprised. The MAGA playbook is straightforward: if you can’t win at the ballot box, pack the courts,” Helmer said. “While unelected judges can overturn the results of this election, they can’t overturn the truth: Virginians are tired of the GOP’s attempts to rip up the Constitution and end electoral democracy in this country, and we won’t be silent.”

The National Republican Congressional Committee responded to the ruling by saying “National Democrats are fraudsters and losers.”

“Their desperate stunts and nonstop meltdowns won’t change the fact that House Republicans are on offense and heading into November with the momentum to grow the majority,” said NRCC Spokesman Mike Marinella.

FILE – he U.S. Supreme Court building on May 4, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

The backstory:

Virginia’s amendment had been intended as a response to Republican gains in Texas, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio, and to blunt a new map in Florida that just became law.