redistricting | ARLnow.com

UPDATED: Va. Dems pass redistricting map, despite ruling blocking referendum

Published February 19, 2026 at 10:30PM | Updated February 20, 2026 at 3:10PM

Virginia State Capitol on Feb. 1, 2023 (staff photo)

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Democrats passed a new congressional map through the Virginia legislature on Friday that aims to help their party win four more seats in the national redistricting battle. It’s a flex of state Democrats’ political power, however hurdles remain before they can benefit from friendlier U.S. House district boundaries in this year’s midterm elections.

A judge in Tazewell, a conservative area in Southwest Virginia, has effectively blocked a voter referendum on the redrawn maps from happening on April 21 by granting a temporary restraining order, issued Thursday.

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Local congressional races are ‘full steam ahead’ despite districting uncertainty

By Scott McCaffrey

Published February 18, 2026 at 3:45PM | Updated February 18, 2026 at 5:09PM

Voting at Arlington Central Library on Nov. 7, 2023 (staff photo by James Jarvis)

While questions around congressional redistricting will remain unresolved for months, campaigns for two seats that could represent Arlington are in full swing.

For now, all eyes are on an April 21 statewide referendum on whether to authorize dramatically redrawn districts for the U.S. House of Representatives. But that isn’t stopping candidates, political parties and officials in Arlington from launching into election season.

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Virginia redistricting election will go forward while court considers appeal

By The Associated Press

Published February 13, 2026 at 2:30PM | Updated February 13, 2026 at 2:48PM

Virginia State Capitol in Richmond (staff photo)

Virginia voters will get to cast ballots on a congressional redistricting plan benefiting Democrats while a court battle plays out over the legality of the effort.

The Virginia Supreme Court said Friday that a statewide referendum can be held April 21 on whether to authorize mid-decade redistricting, and the court will decide sometime later whether the plan is legal.

News

Proposed congressional maps in Virginia would split Arlington in two

By Scott McCaffrey and Emily Leayman

Published February 6, 2026 at 2:45PM | Updated February 6, 2026 at 3:20PM

Voting at Arlington Central Library on Nov. 7, 2023 (staff photo by James Jarvis)

Newly proposed maps would split Arlington into two congressional districts as part of a statewide overhaul heavily favoring Virginia Democrats.

The proposal would keep a southern portion of Arlington in the 8th Congressional District, which currently encompasses all of the county and is represented by Rep. Don Beyer (D). This would extend as far south as York County in the Tidewater region.

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Rep. Beyer has ‘mixed feelings’ on redistricting during his reelection bid

By Emily Leayman

Published January 28, 2026 at 2:45PM

Rep. Don Beyer (D-8) (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

U.S. Rep Don Beyer (D-Va.), currently seeking a seventh term in Congress, says he has “mixed feelings” on Virginia legislators’ redistricting proposal that is being blocked by a state judge.

Beyer, who represents Arlington and several neighboring localities in the 8th Congressional District, told ARLnow the current maps approved through the 2021 redistricting process made Virginia “one of the least gerrymandered in the country.”

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Judge finds Virginia Democrats’ redistricting resolution illegal

By The Associated Press

Published January 27, 2026 at 8:00PM

FILE - The state and U.S. flags fly over the Virginia State Capitol as the 2024 session of the Virginia General Assembly gets underway, Jan. 10, 2024, in Richmond, Va. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A Virginia judge ruled Tuesday that a proposed constitutional amendment letting Democrats redraw the state’s Congressional maps was illegal, setting back the party’s efforts to pick up seats in the U.S. House in November. In Maryland, Gov. Wes Moore testified for a new map that could enable Democrats to defeat the state’s only House Republican.

The latest developments are part of a national battle over unusual mid-decade redistricting attempts, launched last summer by President Donald Trump who urged Republican officials in Texas to redraw maps to help the GOP win more seats. He did so in hopes of holding on to a narrow House majority in the face of political headwinds that typically favor the party out of power in midterms.

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Virginia lawmakers back redrawing congressional maps, paving the way for a voter referendum

By The Associated Press

Published January 16, 2026 at 2:20PM

Virginia State Capitol in Richmond (staff photo)

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia voters will decide whether to back a redrawn district map that favors Democrats in the tit-for-tat battle for the U.S. House after the left-leaning Senate advanced a proposed constitutional amendment on Friday that supports mid-decade congressional redistricting.

Such a congressional map has not been publicly released, though lawmakers say that will change by the end of the month. Officials have repeatedly vowed that voters would see a proposed map before the referendum is held, likely in April.

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Sen. Favola: Redistricting effort holds potential, but also pitfalls, for Democrats

By Scott McCaffrey

Published November 7, 2025 at 2:15PM

Sen. Barbara Favola (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

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.”

News

Virginia Democrats advance redistricting amendment as Trump urges GOP states to redraw maps

By The Associated Press and ARLnow.com

Published October 31, 2025 at 3:45PM

Virginia State Capitol in Richmond (staff photo)

Virginia’s Democratic-led General Assembly advanced a proposed constitutional amendment on Friday that could pave the way for redistricting in the state ahead of the 2026 congressional elections. That measure still needs another round of legislative approval early next year before it can go to voters.

The proposed constitutional amendment would let lawmakers temporarily bypass a bipartisan commission and redraw congressional districts to their advantage. The Senate’s approval Friday followed House approval Wednesday.

News

Spanberger backs Virginia legislature’s redistricting push

By The Associated Press

Published October 28, 2025 at 8:30AM

FILE - Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., speaks during an interview at Libbie Mill Library in Henrico County, Va., Nov. 25, 2024, after she announced she will run for Virginia governor. (AP Photo/Ryan M. Kelly, File)

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) — Abigail Spanberger, the Democratic candidate for Virginia governor, said Monday that she would not oppose a push by the state’s Democratic-controlled legislature to redraw congressional districts ahead of next year’s midterm elections.

Virginia Democrats earlier in the day began taking steps to change the state’s constitution to allow for a new congressional map, a change that must ultimately be approved by voters before it becomes law. The change is designed to counter President Donald Trump’s push to create more partisan districts in several Republican-run states.

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Virginia Democrats will try to reshape US House districts in counter to Trump’s redistricting push

By The Associated Press

Published October 24, 2025 at 8:30AM

FILE - The state and U.S. flags fly over the Virginia State Capitol as the 2024 session of the Virginia General Assembly gets underway, Jan. 10, 2024, in Richmond, Va. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia Democrats are taking steps to redraw their state’s U.S. House districts, hoping to boost their party’s chances in next year’s midterm elections and counter President Donald Trump’s push for more partisan districts in Republican-run states.

Virginia House Speaker Don Scott sent a letter Thursday to members telling them to convene Monday for a special session but did not state a reason. The purpose includes congressional redistricting aimed at gaining more Democratic-held seats, according to four sources with direct knowledge of the plans who spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press because they are not authorized to publicly discuss them.

News

New candidate for District 2 House of Delegates steps forward

By Jo DeVoe

Published January 25, 2022 at 9:30AM | Updated January 26, 2022 at 9:11AM

Adele McClure (courtesy photo)

(Updated 9:10 a.m. on 1/26/22) A second candidate for the new, metropolitan House of Delegates District 2 has emerged.

And Adele McClure, 32, says she was in the right place at the right time to even consider running. She was in the middle of moving apartments when the state Supreme Court accepted new district maps after a months-long redistricting process.