Virginia Democrats wrestle with redistricting setback, mull determined courtroom purge
Virginia Democrats face ‘desperation and fury’ after the Commonwealth’s Supreme Courtroom blocked their redistricting map, which might have favored them with 10 districts in opposition to Republicans’ one. Inner discussions, revealed by a leaked New York Instances report, present Democrats contemplating an uncommon gambit to switch your entire state Supreme Courtroom, probably forcing retirements by reducing the retirement age of justices. This transfer has drawn sharp criticism from Republicans.
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President Donald Trump says he’ll be “watching carefully” as lawmakers within the Republican-dominated South Carolina legislature on Tuesday start redrawing their state’s congressional district map to erase the one Democrat-dominated U.S. Home seat.
On the identical time, Republican officers in solidly pink Alabama are shifting ahead with a redrawn congressional map that may seemingly get rid of one of many state’s two Democratic-held U.S. Home seats in time for this autumn’s midterm elections, when the GOP can be defending its razor-thin congressional majority.
This week’s strikes in Alabama and South Carolina, together with comparable efforts in Louisiana and Tennessee, come two weeks after a ruling by the conservative majority on the Supreme Courtroom to slash a key Voting Rights Act safety.
And so they’re giving Trump and the GOP a significant increase of their ongoing political combat with Democrats to redraw congressional district maps forward of the midterms. At stake on this nationwide redistricting showdown is which celebration will management the Home through the last two years of Trump’s second time period within the White Home.
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The South Carolina Statehouse, in Columbia, S.C. (Getty Photos)
In South Carolina, the state Senate is anticipated to vote Tuesday on whether or not to agree with the state Home to take up uncommon however not unparalleled mid-decade redistricting. State lawmakers would additionally must push again South Carolina’s U.S. Home primaries from early subsequent month to August. Early voting within the state’s major is scheduled to kick off in two weeks.
South Carolina Republicans are prone to advance a brand new map that might put longtime Rep. Jim Clyburn, the one Democrat within the state’s seven-person Home delegation, out of a job.
Clyburn this previous week remained optimistic he can nonetheless win re-election.
“I don’t know why folks assume I couldn’t get re-elected in the event that they redistrict South Carolina,” Clyburn mentioned in a CNN interview. “I’ve a district that’s about 45 p.c African-American. I do not know what the quantity can be after the legislature finishes, however no matter that quantity is, I can be operating on my file and America’s promise.”
Trump, in a social media publish Monday night time, urged “South Carolina Republicans: BE BOLD AND COURAGEOUS.”
“Transfer the U.S. Home Primaries to August, go away the remaining on the identical schedule. The whole lot can be high quality. GET IT DONE!” he added.
Trump’s message comes per week after 5 Indiana Republican state senators who in December helped sink congressional redistricting within the solidly pink Midwestern state had been ousted by Trump-backed challengers in GOP primaries.
WHAT’S ON THE LINE AS THESE STATES HOLD PRIMARIES TODAY
Voters stroll out into the rain after casting their poll in a vote middle on the Tippecanoe County Historic Affiliation historical past middle throughout a major election on Tuesday, Could 5, 2026, in Lafayette, Indiana. (Cara Penquite/AP Picture)
It is again to the longer term in Alabama, after the Supreme Courtroom, in a 6-3 ideological ruling, cleared the way in which for the state to place in place a map Republicans drew up in 2023 that had been blocked by decrease courts. The map would get rid of one of many state’s two blue-leaning congressional seats.
The Supreme Courtroom’s determination two weeks in the past reshaped the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act by ruling that race shouldn’t dictate the redrawing of legislative district maps. And the opinion particularly dominated that Louisiana’s congressional district map was unconstitutional.
Final week, the Supreme Courtroom mentioned that its determination declaring Louisiana’s map unconstitutional ought to go into impact instantly, breaking with its normal process of ready roughly a month earlier than its opinions develop into official.
That cleared the way in which for the GOP-controlled state legislature to start the method of reshaping the map, and hearings obtained underway on Friday.
Republican Gov. Jeff Landry, a high Trump ally, took swift motion within the fast aftermath of the excessive courtroom’s ruling, when he delayed the Could 16 U.S. Home major elections in Louisiana.
Louisiana Republicans are aiming to erase one or each of the 2 Black-majority Home seats, that are represented by Democrats.
TENN GOV LEE CALLS SPECIAL SESSION TO REDRAW HOUSE MAP IN GOP’S FAVOR 9-0
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, proper, an ally of President Donald Trump, is supporting congressional redistricting in his red-leaning state. (Scott Olson/Getty Photos)
Republicans in Tennessee moved even quicker.
The GOP-dominated Tennessee legislature on Thursday rapidly adopted a brand new map that may get rid of the one Democrat-controlled congressional district within the state, and would seemingly give Republicans management of all 9 districts.
GOP Gov. Invoice Lee rapidly signed the brand new maps into regulation.
Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen, who represents the bulk Black district that is being carved up, vowed authorized motion.
“Trump is aware of he HAS TO rig the sport to maintain his majority in November. And the TN GOP was prepared to associate with it. It’s shameful,” Cohen wrote on social media. “Subsequent cease is the courts.”
Trump praised Tennessee Republicans in his social media publish and urged GOP lawmakers in South Carolina to behave “similar to the Republicans of the Nice State of Tennessee had been final week.”
BLOCKBUSTER SUPREME COURT VOTING RIGHTS RULING IGNITES REDISTRICTING WAR ACROSS SOUTHERN STATES
In Florida, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis final week signed a invoice by the GOP-dominated state legislature that overhauls the red-leaning state’s congressional districts, including 4 extra right-leaning seats by eliminating districts at the moment managed by Democrats.
Republicans at the moment management Florida’s U.S. Home delegation by a 20-8 margin.
Democrats are combating again.
On Monday, Democrats filed an emergency attraction with the U.S. Supreme Courtroom searching for to halt a Virginia state Supreme Courtroom ruling invalidating a poll measure that may have given their celebration an extra 4 left-leaning U.S. Home seats.
Final week’s ruling in Virginia means the map used within the 2024 elections will keep in place for the 2026 poll field showdowns. Democrats at the moment management the state’s U.S. Home delegation by a 6-5 margin. The now overturned map may have resulted in a 10-1 benefit for Democrats within the blue-leaning however aggressive state.
How we obtained right here
The battle over the maps ignited final spring when Trump, aiming to stop what occurred throughout his first time period within the White Home when Democrats reclaimed the Home majority within the 2018 midterms, first floated the thought of uncommon, however not unparalleled, mid-decade congressional redistricting.
The mission was easy: redraw congressional district maps in pink states to pad the GOP’s fragile Home majority to maintain management of the chamber within the midterms, when the celebration in energy historically faces political headwinds and loses seats.
When requested by reporters final summer season about his plan so as to add Republican-leaning Home seats throughout the nation, the president mentioned, “Texas would be the largest one. And that’ll be 5.”
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas known as a particular session of the GOP-dominated state legislature to cross the brand new map.
However Democratic state lawmakers, who broke quorum for 2 weeks as they fled Texas in a bid to delay the passage of the redistricting invoice, energized Democrats throughout the nation. Amongst these main the combat in opposition to Trump’s redistricting was Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom of California.
California voters in November overwhelmingly handed Proposition 50, a poll initiative that briefly sidetracked the left-leaning state’s nonpartisan redistricting fee and returned the ability to attract the congressional maps to the Democratic-dominated legislature.
That led to 5 extra Democratic-leaning congressional districts in California, which aimed to counter the transfer by Texas to redraw their maps.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks throughout an election night time press convention at a California Democratic Get together workplace in Sacramento on Nov. 4, 2025. (Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP Picture)
However the combat rapidly unfold past Texas and California.
Republican-controlled Missouri and Ohio and swing state North Carolina, the place the GOP dominates the legislature, drew new maps as a part of the president’s push.
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However in blows to Republicans, a Utah district choose late final yr rejected a congressional district map drawn by the state’s GOP-dominated legislature and as an alternative authorized an alternate that can create a Democratic-leaning district forward of the midterms.
And as talked about, Republicans in Indiana’s Senate in December defied Trump, capturing down a redistricting invoice that had handed the state Home.
