President Trump reacts after Indiana Senate rejects Republican redistricting plan
The Indiana Senate rejected a Republican redistricting bill as President Donald Trump and leaders responded with both sharp criticism and praise.
A Virginia court on January 27 blocked a Democratic-led effort to redraw the state’s congressional maps before the high-stakes 2026 midterm elections, a defeat that could help Republicans maintain their House majority.
Democrats had planned to ask voters on April 21 whether they would allow Congressional districts to be redone instead of every 10 years under limited circumstances. Tazewell Circuit Judge Jack Hurley Jr. slammed the Democratic effort, ruling that lawmakers did not follow the proper process to approve a constitutional amendment that would have allowed state lines to be redrawn three months before the April election, as required by law.
The judge added that the amendment could not proceed to a vote as planned because it was improperly adopted. Virginia Democrats had hoped to pick up as many as four seats in the midterm elections, but plan to appeal.
Currently, state Democrats hold six seats and Republicans hold five seats.
District reorganization efforts
The Virginia court’s ruling is the latest salvo in a nationwide battle in multiple states to change district maps ahead of a crucial November election as President Donald Trump seeks to maintain control of Congress.
“This is a clear attempt to confuse voters and prevent them from having a say,” Kellen Charles Dongo, campaign manager for the Democratic-led Campaign for Fair Elections, a Democratic-led group that supports redistricting, said in a statement on Jan. 27. “We are preparing for what happens next, and Virginians deserve both the right to vote and an opportunity to level the playing field.”
State Republican leaders praised the judge’s decision.
“The court found that Democratic legislative leaders illegally extended the special session, violated their own rules, and attempted to force a redistricting constitutional amendment to a vote while Virginians had already voted,” said a joint statement from Representative Terry Kilgore, the top Republican in the Virginia House of Representatives, State Senate Minority Leader Ryan McDougle, and former Republican Rep. Eric Cantor, a member of Virginians for Fair Maps.
Virginia voters previously amended the state constitution in 2020 to create a redistricting commission to oversee and redraw the state’s maps every 10 years. That’s why redrawing the map required more than just passing new laws.
McDougle, who also serves on the Virginia Redistricting Commission’s legislative committee and filed the lawsuit, said in a post on X that the lawsuit was never about partisanship.
“The case was about process, fairness, and the simple principle that you can’t change the Constitution by ignoring it. The court made it clear that elections matter, notice matters, and the rules apply to everyone, including those in power,” McDougle said. “This ruling is a simple but powerful statement: Democrats’ partisan gerrymandering amendments are illegal, and we hope Democrats do not defy the court’s orders.”
Virginia Democratic Party says it will appeal the decision
Democratic leaders in the Virginia House and Senate also released statements on January 27 regarding the judge’s decision.
“What happened today should not deter us from continuing to move forward and putting this question directly before voters. Unable to win at the polls, Republicans are abusing the legal process to create chaos and prevent Virginians from voting,” the lawmakers said. “We intend to appeal this decision immediately and expect to prevail. This was a straightforward legal battle.”
So far, nine more seats have been created in an extraordinary redistricting battle in mid-2010. Republicans believe they can win in states such as Texas, which has begun redistricting efforts and has drawn new maps that could add up to five Republican seats.
Other Republican-led states, including Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio, have also made redistricting changes, and Florida is considering redrawing new maps. Last month, the Indiana General Assembly rejected a redistricting plan that would have created two new red districts.
Meanwhile, Democrats are optimistic they can pick up six more seats thanks to new redistricting in California and Utah. In November, California voters passed Proposition 50, a ballot initiative led by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom. The proposal would suspend the bipartisan commission that draws congressional district lines every 10 years.
Proposition 50 passed with approximately 64% of the vote and was recently upheld by a federal appeals court ruling. California Republicans still plan to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, and Democrats hope to pick up as many as five seats to neutralize what happened in Texas.
Contributor: Phillip M. Bailey, USA TODAY
