As Virginia votes on Dems’ redistricting plan, Trump warns of ‘disaster’ for GOP

As voters headed to the polls Tuesday to cast their ballots in Virginia’s redistricting special election, President Donald Trump warned it could “be a disaster” for Republicans if Virginians approve a Democratic plan to counter his gerrymandering gains in other states.

“If they do this, they’re guaranteed to pick up a lot of seats. Everybody knows it’s unjust, including them,” Trump said during a Monday tele-rally against the measure. 

Trump’s comments came nearly a year after he ignited a national redistricting arms race by claiming Republicans were “entitled” to five more congressional seats in Texas. The Lone Star State quickly obliged him, approving a new map and setting off a multi-state battle that has now arrived at Virginians’ doorsteps. 

Virginia voters will now decide whether to greenlight Democrats’ plan temporarily enacting a “10-1” congressional map that could produce up to four more Democratic seats in Congress.

Trump also warned this week that Democrats will be “making changes at the federal level” if they win additional House seats. 

Virginia State Sen. Louise Lucas (D), who has championed the aggressive “10-1” map proposal, was quick to respond to Trump’s claim, posting on social media: “Trump for once is correct.”

National Democrats rallied support for the special election this week, with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urging Virginians to vote yes in a social media video with Lucas. Former President Barack Obama, who previously urged Virginians to get out and vote in a pro-redistricting ad, again encouraged voters: “Make sure to vote YES.”

Opponents, meanwhile, made their final push against the referendum. 

Cleta Mitchell, the prominent anti-voting activist and Trump ally, warned voters to “stop the Democrats from literally stealing the representation of hundreds of thousands of Virginians.” Anti-voting influencer Scott Presler also entered the fray, traveling to the state and telling Virginians to “stop the unconstitutional gerrymandering scam.”

In a sign of the vote’s high stakes, Virginians have been inundated with political ads both for and against redistricting. Some mailers opposing the measure have deceptively invoked the civil rights movement and the Ku Klux Klan or used Obama’s image to convince Democrats and Black Virginians to vote no.

So far, more than 1.3 million Virginia voters have cast early ballots in the special election. Polls close Tuesday at 7 p.m.

The race is predicted to be close. According to polling conducted earlier this month by the Washington Post and George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government, a narrow majority of Virginia voters say they support the measure. 

Virginia is the second Democratic-controlled state to ask voters to fight back against Trump’s gerrymanders, after California voters approved a similar measure last November. 

Unlike in GOP-controlled states that have redistricted at Trump’s demand — Texas, Missouri and North Carolina — California and Virginia are only able to pass new maps if approved by voters. 

Florida could become the fourth GOP-controlled state to redraw its maps for the 2026 midterm elections if Gov. Ron DeSantis succeeds in convincing lawmakers to pass new maps during a redistricting special session next week.

Since Virginia Democrats moved to put redistricting to a statewide vote, Republicans have filed multiple lawsuits challenging the plan. 

Even if voters approve the referendum, the plan will still need to make it through the courts.