While supportive of redrawing congressional boundaries, one of Arlington’s state legislators isn’t convinced that it will guarantee her party more seats in the House of Representatives next year.
“This is sort of a risky business,” Sen. Barbara Favola (D-40) said at a community roundtable yesterday (Thursday). “It could go either way. It is not a magic bullet.”
Democrats in the General Assembly pushed through legislation late last month that set the stage for a springtime statewide referendum on allowing a one-time, mid-decade redistricting of Virginia’s 11 congressional districts.
The measure still needs to be passed in identical form when the 2026 legislative session convenes in January, but given the massive Democratic victories in Virginia statewide and legislative races on Nov. 4, that seems all but assured.
New congressional districts could be put in place for the November 2026 elections, making Virginia one of a growing number of states where political parties are using redistricting as a political tool in advance of the midterms.
Echoing comments made on the Senate floor during debate on the matter, Favola seemed to tacitly acknowledge that partisan gamesmanship may not be a good look for a political party that largely supported moving to nonpartisan redistricting of Virginia’s congressional and General Assembly seats.
She told constituents the measure adopted Oct. 31 was “very narrow” in scope and a one-time effort, and said feedback she has received from the public was running 3-to-1 in support of going forward with the proposal.
“Many of my voters believe democracy is at stake,” Favola said.
The matter was barely touched upon at an Arlington County Democratic Committee meeting on Wednesday. Only one member of the county’s legislative delegation, Del. Alfonso Lopez (D-3), was on hand for that session.
Currently, six Democrats and five Republicans represent Virginia in the U.S. House of Representatives. Through creative partisan redistricting, Democratic state lawmakers may be able to cut Republican representation to three or fewer seats.
The solidly Democratic districts of U.S. Reps. Don Beyer (D-8th), Suhas Subramanyam (D-10th) and James Walkinshaw (D-11th) would be unlikely to see major alterations, as the effort would be focused on redrawing downstate swing districts in order to squeeze out endangered Republicans.
Other issues discussed at Favola’s forum included the impact of the federal shutdown on local workers, as well as the state of Virginia’s economy.
Summing up the current feeling of her Arlington constituents on the economy and other issues, Favola used the word “nervous.”
“People are feeling it, and in large part that was the message being sent [in the election],” she said.
Also present at Favola’s town hall was Flannery O’Rourke, unemployment-insurance program director for the National Employment Law Project. She discussed the government shutdown and resources for impacted federal workers and contractors.
