Virginia Democrats Take Ruling on Map to US Supreme Court

UPDATE May 11, 2026 4:15 PM CDT

Democrats on Monday filed an emergency appeal with the US Supreme Court in an attempt to preserve a congressional map that would have given them a chance at adding four US House seats in Virginia. The state's Supreme Court had thrown out a voter-approved constitutional amendment supporting the Democratic redistricting. "The Court overrode the will of the people," wrote lawyers for Virginia Democrats and state Attorney General Jay Jones, a Democrat, per the AP. They added, "The irreparable harm resulting from the Supreme Court of Virginia's decision is profound and immediate."

May 11, 2026 12:00 AM CDT

Democrats are scrambling in Virginia after the state's highest court wiped out a congressional map that favored them, and their most aggressive possible counterpunch is already dividing the party. In a private Saturday call with Virginia House members, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and others vented over the Virginia Supreme Court's decision and discussed options that range from trying to flip GOP seats under the existing lines to a far more drastic maneuver: remaking the court itself to get the map back, five sources tell the New York Times. The frantic push comes as the GOP appears to have won this round of the redistricting wars, at least "for now," Axios reports—noting that one response to the Virginia news was a House Democrat's text to one of its reporters consisting of just one single emphatic profanity. Republicans are definitely projected to come out ahead in Virginia if nothing is done, the Hill reports.

According to people on or briefed about the call who spoke to the Times, one floated strategy would lean on a lower-court ruling to challenge the constitutional amendment that set up Virginia's independent redistricting commission—potentially handing map-drawing power back to the Democratic-controlled legislature. Lawmakers could then lower the mandatory retirement age for state Supreme Court justices to force out the current bench and appoint new ones. The idea, inspired by a progressive newsletter column, has prompted concerns about legitimacy even among Democrats; former Rep. Jim Moran called it "a bridge too far." Gov. Abigail Spanberger has not taken a position, and time is short: state election officials warn that map changes after May 12 could disrupt preparations for the Aug. 4 primary. Jeffries, who has promised "maximum warfare" on redistricting, says he is still examining how to respond.