Obama endorses Virginia redistricting constitutional amendment that could help Dems gain 4 seats
Former President Barack Obama on Thursday endorsed Democrats' redistricting effort in Virginia that could grant the party four additional seats in the House of Representatives.
Virginia is one of several states engaged in a nationwide redistricting battle ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. So far, Obama has thrown his weight behind Democratic initiatives in both California and now Virginia.
"Free and fair elections are the cornerstone of our democracy. But right now, they’re under attack," Obama wrote on X Thursday.
"Several Republican-controlled states have redrawn their congressional maps to give themselves an unfair advantage in the midterm elections. Now Virginia has a chance to help level the playing field. If you live in the Commonwealth, early voting begins March 6, and Election Day is on April 21. Vote YES," he added.
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Obama urged Californians to back Gov. Gavin Newsom's redistricting effort late last year, arguing it was a "responsible" tactic in response to GOP redistricting efforts in Texas.
His newfound support for redrawing congressional maps comes six years after he and former Attorney General Eric Holder launched All On The Line, a "a grassroots movement to fight gerrymandering and advocate for a fair redistricting process."
Obama also blasted gerrymandering during his final State of the Union address, during which he said the nation must "end the practice of drawing our congressional districts so that politicians can pick their voters, and not the other way around."
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The battle over congressional districts has spilled out across the country, with President Donald Trump and top Democrats urging allied state legislatures to take action.
The Supreme Court weighed in on the issue earlier this week, ruling in favor of a Republican representative from New York challenging a Democratic redistricting effort.
Over the dissent of the court's three liberal justices, the conservative majority halted a state court ruling that had ordered New York's redistricting commission to redraw the district held by Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., which covers Staten Island and a small piece of Brooklyn.
A judge had ruled that the district was drawn in a way that dilutes the power of its Black and Hispanic voters and had instructed the state’s Independent Redistricting Commission to complete a new map.
"Today’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to keep New York’s 11th Congressional District intact helps restore the public’s confidence in our judicial system and proves the challenge to our district lines was always meritless," Malliotakis said in a statement on Tuesday.
"The plaintiffs in this case attempted to manipulate our state’s courts to use race as a weapon to rig our elections," she added. "That was wrong and, as demonstrated by today’s ruling, clearly unconstitutional."