Battle for the House runs through Virginia as court OKs high-stakes redistricting vote
Virginia Supreme Court greenlights referendum in congressional redistricting fight with US House majority at stake
By Paul Steinhauser , Charles Creitz Fox News
Published February 13, 2026 11:42am EST
In a crucial decision on Friday, the Virginia Supreme Court ruled that a high-stakes referendum scheduled for April 21 on congressional redistricting can go forward.
It's a victory for Democrats in Virginia, who are fast-tracking a proposed new congressional map that would give the competitive state up to four more left-leaning U.S. House districts in time for this year's midterm elections.
Virginia is the latest battleground, with Florida on deck, in the ongoing crucial battle between President Donald Trump and Republicans versus Democrats to alter congressional maps ahead of November's elections.
Republicans are defending their razor-thin House majority in the midterms, and Democrats need a net gain of just three seats to win back control of the chamber. That means the redistricting efforts in Virginia and other states may very well decide which party controls the House next year.
But the proposed map in Virginia, which the Democrat-controlled legislature is expected to give final approval in the coming days, followed by Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger signing it, still needs the approval of voters in the Commonwealth.
Republicans had challenged the validity of the referendum, arguing that Democrats had erred procedurally when the legislature approved amendments to the state Constitution. And last month, a lower court ruled in the GOP's favor.
But the ruling by the state Supreme Court greenlights the ballot measure, which asks voters to give the legislature, rather than Virginia's current non-partisan commission, redistricting power through the 2030 election.
"Today’s order is a huge win for Virginia voters," Dan Gottlieb, spokesperson for Democrat-aligned Virginians for Fair Elections, said in a statement. "The Court made it clear that nothing in this case stops the April 21 referendum from moving forward and that Virginians will have the final say."
Early voting on the referendum is scheduled to start on March 6.
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https://www.foxnews.com/politics/battle-house-runs-through-virginia-court-oks-high-stakes-redistricting-vote
