Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger recently confirmed that the midterm elections will take place under the state’s previous district map. This enraged Democratic voters in Virginia, many of whom had argued in favor of redistricting changes that would give the party an edge in the midterms.
The official response was given to the press shortly after the Virginia governor signed a bill at the Inova Schar Cancer Institute. Spanberger explained that there was a May 12 deadline for any redistricting changes and that, even if Democrats had been able to change the map, they still would have had to wait until 2028 to put it into practice.
Earlier this month, Virginia’s Supreme Court overturned the redistricting referendum, which could have resulted in a 10-1 Democratic majority representing Virginia in the U.S. House. Despite this setback, the governor claimed she still believes that “we will win two to four seats in the House of Representatives.”
Virginia Democratic Voters Think Party Has Given Up Too Quickly
While the governor and the local Democratic Party are still trying to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, her words did not sit well with locals on Reddit’s r/Virginia. One Virginia resident said, “Way to almost fight, guys! We nearly put up a struggle. Luckily, we stopped before the boat rocked too much.” Others mocked the party: “Democrats: When Republicans go low, we give them our lunch money.”
The dissatisfaction among Virginia Democratic voters was reflected in multiple comments, such as “Elected Dems wonder why their approval is in the tank. Just rank cowardice to say ‘the election is when we’ll get revenge’ when 4 Republicans just threw out an election.” Someone else lamented, “Just threw our votes in the trash can on procedural grounds that clearly didn’t change the outcome of anything. Insane.”
Some users even argued that Spanberger was not fighting harder because she is not seeking re-election: “Maybe this is what happens when she doesn’t need to worry about running for a second term. Cause while she’s signed a few good things, it seems like a whole lot of nothing when it counts.”
Others complained that the whole referendum was not a good idea to begin with: “For the record, they were told it was unconstitutional before the vote. They said Hold my beer, let’s spend $70 million first, then get it thrown out in court.”
In any case, Democrats from Virginia intend to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, and there is still a chance that the new voting map could be used in the 2028 election.
