For the past decade, everyone, including the national and political media, has normalized “Republicans playing by a different set of rules.” Democrats are relentlessly punished for playing by “rules” and punished for trying to play by the GOP’s rules. Well, Virginians have had enough of that bullsh-t. Last year, Virginians came out en masse to elect an entirely blue state government, with our first female governor, Gov. Abigail Spanberger. Virginia Democrats, led by 82-year-old VA State Senator L. Louise Lucas, immediately moved to implement a mid-decade redistricting plan to ensure more Democratic-controlled congressional seats. Texas Republicans did something similar a few years ago and it was encouraged and applauded by national Republicans. Those same Republicans are screaming, crying and throwing up this week because Virginians passed the state’s redistricting plan.

Virginia voters on Tuesday approved a Democratic redistricting plan that could allow the party to pick up as many as four new seats in the midterm elections, NBC News projects. With 95% of the vote in, the “yes” vote on the ballot referendum held a narrow lead of nearly 3 percentage points.

The special election is a major victory for Democrats as they seek to gain control of the narrowly divided House this fall. Democrats have now won statewide votes in California and Virginia to redraw congressional maps as part of a mid-decade redistricting arms race that began last year when President Donald Trump urged GOP-led states to alter their district lines. Republicans had hoped they could insulate their three-seat House majority, but the result of the redistricting back-and-forth may end up being close to a wash.

The constitutional amendment that was on the Virginia ballot Tuesday sought to authorize the Democratic-controlled Legislature to bypass the state’s bipartisan redistricting commission and implement a new congressional map through the end of the decade. Democrats’ proposed map is designed to leave just one solidly Republican district out of 11 in the state. Currently, Virginia is represented by six Democrats and five Republicans in the House.

After Republicans enacted new maps last year in Texas, Missouri and North Carolina, Virginia offered a rare, seat-rich prize for Democrats — who control the redistricting process in fewer states — as they sought to respond.

“Virginia just changed the trajectory of the 2026 midterms, Virginia Democratic state House Speaker Don Scott said in a statement. “At a moment when Trump and his allies are trying to lock in power before voters have a say, Virginians stepped up and leveled the playing field for the entire country.”

In a statement, Gov. Abigail Spanberger said she was looking forward to campaigning with candidates to win the new newly drawn congressional seats and said she was committed to returning to the state’s bipartisan redistricting after the 2030 Census.

“Virginia voters have spoken, and tonight they approved a temporary measure to push back against a President who claims he is ‘entitled’ to more Republican seats in Congress,” she said. “Virginians watched other states go along with those demands without voter input — and we refused to let that stand. We responded the right way: at the ballot box.”

[From NBC News]

I’ve been drinking all of the MAGA tears online, Republicans are aghast that Democratic voters are perfectly willing to fight back and play dirty. “But what about the double standards,” they cry. “You promised to play by the rules and we get to break them,” the MAGAts fume. I’d just like to say – while it’s possible this would have happened regardless, L. Louise Lucas deserves so much credit here. She formed this redistricting plan and put all of the pieces in place in the past five years. When Virginia’s Democratic senators, Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, tried to convince her to “play by the rules,” she publicly told them that she didn’t need advice from the cuck chair.

I have the utmost respect for Senator Kaine and Senator Warner but we do not need “coaching” on redistricting coming from a cuck chair in the corner. How about you all stay focused on the fascist in the White House and let us handle redistricting in Virginia. 10-1

— L. Louise Lucas (@SenLouiseLucas) January 16, 2026

You all started it and we fucking finished it. https://t.co/JU3IR4eEHt

— L. Louise Lucas (@SenLouiseLucas) February 7, 2026

THANK YOU VIRGINIA! https://t.co/52jmrP0b1C pic.twitter.com/qTlZR91xkw

— L. Louise Lucas (@SenLouiseLucas) April 22, 2026

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red and via Instagram/Abigail Spanberger.