The proposed amendment to the state’s constitution would give Democrats a 10-1 advantage in Virginia’s congressional districts
When Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D., Va.) ran for office last year, she campaigned as a “moderate” and told voters she had “no plans” to gerrymander her state’s congressional districts. Now, she’s pushing for a ballot measure doing just that.
“I’m voting yes on Virginia’s redistricting amendment,” Spanberger said in a video posted on X on Wednesday. “At this extraordinary moment, I urge all Virginians to join me.”
Spanberger’s remarks represent a dramatic shift from her position during her gubernatorial campaign last year.
“Short answer is no,” she said last August when asked if she had any intention of changing the maps if elected. “I’ve been watching with interest what other states are doing, but I have no plans to redistrict Virginia.”
Spanberger did not respond to a request for comment.
The governor’s turnabout comes as national Democrats push Virginia voters to pass a redistricting amendment to the state’s constitution in an April 21 special election.
The amendment would redraw Virginia’s congressional map to give Democratic candidates an electoral edge in four U.S. House of Representatives districts currently held by Republicans. The new map would give Democrats a 10-1 advantage among the state’s 11 districts, potentially helping the party clinch the House majority in this fall’s midterm elections.
Democrats across the country—including George Soros-backed groups—have poured tens of millions of dollars into the redistricting campaign, framing it as an effort to “stop Donald Trump.” The blitz includes TV ads featuring former president Barack Obama and billboards in Republican-leaning areas of the state implying that Trump supports the amendment.
While Democrats are reportedly outspending Republicans on advertising by 14 to 1, some political observers have pointed to early signs of trouble for the gerrymandering effort.
Republican-majority areas have outperformed their Democratic-leaning counterparts in early voting a month ahead of the special election, regardless of supporters’ funding advantage. Between 10 and 15 percent of registered voters in GOP-heavy areas have already cast their ballots, according to WTOP News, while Democratic strongholds have seen less than 5 percent of registered voters doing so early.
Recent polling is consistent with those numbers. A Roanoke College survey of Virginia residents taken in mid-February found that 62 percent of respondents approve of the way the state draws congressional maps right now. Only 44 percent said they support the proposed amendment, while 52 percent said they oppose the ballot measure. Results from a mid-January Christopher Newport University poll had 63 percent of registered voters saying they approve of the status quo, though 51 percent also said they support the amendment.
Spanberger, who campaigned as a moderate focused on “lowering costs, keeping our communities safe, and strengthening our economy,” lurched leftward after entering office. In her opening days as governor, Spanberger announced she would end her state’s cooperation with ICE and signed bills proposing constitutional amendments on abortion, voting rights for felons, and same-sex marriage, in addition to gerrymandering.
Weeks later, in her response to Trump’s State of the Union address, she praised anti-ICE school walkouts—often organized by radical Marxist groups—as showing “determination” among students who “demand more from their government.”
Some Democrats have noticed Spanberger’s pivot away from the center.
“I think the danger for her is that she is appearing to be more of a show horse than a workhorse,” former Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton aide Dan Turrentine told reporter Rachael Bade on Wednesday. “She is embracing issues up-front, in the beginning [of her term], that appeal to the base.”
