Virginia’s senior U.S. senator, Mark Warner, sharply criticized the state Supreme Court on Friday for overturning a Democratic-led redistricting plan, accusing the justices of disregarding the electorate’s expressed wishes. In a video posted to X, Warner declared, “Today, justice was not served in Virginia. Against the will of the majority of voters, against not one — but two — legislative votes, the Supreme Court threw out the redistricting effort.”
The court’s 4-3 decision struck down a map approved by the Democratic-controlled General Assembly after voters narrowly passed a referendum last month authorizing mid-decade redrawing of congressional lines. The new map would have given Democrats a likely edge in seven of the state’s 11 U.S. House districts, upending the current 6-5 Republican advantage. But the majority ruled that lawmakers failed to follow proper procedures when placing the referendum on the ballot, leaving the existing GOP-friendly map in place.
The ruling deals a significant blow to Democratic hopes of flipping House seats in the November midterms, especially as the party faces a tough national environment. It comes on the heels of a U.S. Supreme Court decision that narrowed the Voting Rights Act, which has already spurred Republican-led redistricting pushes in states like Florida and Tennessee. GOP lawmakers in Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Georgia are also eyeing changes following that ruling.
Warner accused the Trump administration of using “every tool in the toolbox” to subvert the popular will. “We have to recognize that they will use every tool, legal or illegal, to try to stop Americans from saying, this is not the direction we want to go,” he said. “If there’s ever a time for us to double down and speak up and stand up louder and more forcefully, it’s now together, we can take back our country today.”
Former President Donald Trump celebrated the decision on Truth Social, calling it a “huge win for the Republican Party, and America, in Virginia.” He added that the state Supreme Court “has just struck down the Democrats’ horrible gerrymander.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries echoed Warner’s outrage, vowing to explore “all options” to fight the verdict. “No matter what it takes, House Democrats will win in November so we can help rescue this nation from the extremism being unleashed by Donald Trump and Republicans,” Jeffries said in a statement.
Nonpartisan analysts at the Cook Political Report estimate that the combined effect of the Virginia and U.S. Supreme Court decisions could cost Democrats between six and seven House seats they might otherwise have gained. The redistricting battle has been intensifying since last summer, when Trump publicly pressured red states to redraw maps to shore up the GOP’s slim House majority.
The Virginia ruling underscores the high stakes of the ongoing redistricting cycle, with both parties fighting for control of the House. For Democrats, the loss in the Old Dominion is a stark reminder of the judicial and procedural hurdles they face in countering Republican map-making advantages elsewhere.
