Virginia House speaker projects optimism on redistricting push in light of Supreme Court ruling
Source: Politico
12/09/2025 07:13 PM EST
Virginia House of Delegates Speaker Don Scott said Tuesday that Democrats are bullish on their ability to pass a new congressional map on the heels of a Supreme Court decision approving Texas’ partisan gerrymander. In an interview with POLITICO’s Brakkton Booker, Scott said he feels “comfortable that we have an opportunity to do a number of maps here in Virginia to allow for us to level the playing field” as Republicans push ahead with redistricting efforts in Ohio, Missouri and several other states.
“I won’t be lectured by Republicans while they stand quiet while Trump redistricts Texas, Indiana, Missouri, North Carolina, but then when it comes to Virginia … they get holier than thou and get sanctimonious,” Scott said Tuesday at POLITICO Transition of Power: What’s Next for Virginia, held in Richmond. “When they start lecturing Trump about what they’re doing in Texas, Missouri, Indiana, North Carolina, I might listen to them, and they may have some credibility when it comes to Virginia.”
Democrats, who have made a play at redistricting in places like California (where their constitutional amendment passed overwhelmingly), see Virginia as a prime target to counter Republican efforts in other states in light of the Supreme Court ruling. The court’s conservative majority deemed Texas’ map permissible despite three of its justices concluding the lines were “indisputably” drawn for partisan advantage.
After flipping the governor’s mansion and retaining control of both chambers of the state’s Legislature in last month’s statewide elections, Democrats are hoping to amend the state’s constitution to let lawmakers bypass the state’s independent redistricting commission and redraw congressional lines in their favor. That could net as many as five additional seats for Democrats, who currently hold six of the state’s 11 House seats.
Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/09/virginia-house-speaker-optimism-supreme-court-00684139