By Kevin Harris and Richard McDaniel

Redistricting has once again pushed the nation to a crossroads, and Virginia Democrats now find themselves at the center of it. With strong legislative majorities and Governor Abigail Spanberger’s leadership, Democrats in Virginia face a choice that will echo far beyond the Commonwealth. Should Democrats repeat the mistakes that have corroded American democracy for decades, or model a better path rooted in fairness, transparency, and respect for voters.

Across the country, the temptation to gerrymander is proving irresistible. In Virginia, analysis from Princeton’s Electoral Innovation Lab shows Democrats could draw maps that lock up 9 or even 10 of the state’s 11 congressional seats. But the price of that power grab would be steep. Nearly half of Virginians would be forced into new districts and two-thirds represented by members of Congress they never chose.

When politicians pick their voters instead of voters picking their politicians, democracy fails. That breakdown is already unfolding nationwide. Last summer, Donald Trump launched an unprecedented mid-decade redistricting push, urging Texas Republicans to manufacture five new GOP seats by weakening Black and Latino voting power. Missouri and North Carolina followed suit, targeting Democratic-held districts. Even with legal challenges, these gerrymanders could net Republicans up to seven seats—enough to hold onto control of Congress despite low approval ratings and legislative gridlock.

Democrats have responded in kind. California voters approved a counter-map in November that could flip five Republican seats. Now Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has called an April special session aimed at wiping out three to five more Democratic districts the same month Virginians would vote on their own redistricting referendum.

This is a national arms race, and voters are the casualties. Each gerrymander invites retaliation. Competitive districts vanish. Polarization hardens. Millions of Americans are shuffled into new districts for no reason other than political advantage.

Virginia, however, has the chance to break this cycle—and in doing so, set a national example. In 2020, Virginians overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment creating a bipartisan redistricting commission, making a clear statement that maps should serve voters, not politicians.

When that commission deadlocked, Virginia’s Supreme Court stepped in and appointed special masters to draw fair maps. The results earned an “A” from the Princeton Gerrymandering Project and produced three genuinely competitive districts. This is proof that fair maps can still give voters real power in a rigged national system.

Today, Republicans hold just five of Virginia’s eleven seats, and Democrats already have a strong chance to win two or three more through fair competition in 2026. Gerrymandering those gains into certainty would undermine the very idea of elections and strip Virginia of the moral authority it now holds in a national fight over democracy.

This is not about unilateral disarmament. It is about leadership. If Democrats gerrymander Virginia while Republicans rig Florida, Missouri, and North Carolina, the net effect is zero. A few seats change hands, but the country loses competitive elections, accountable government, and public trust.

Virginia can show a different way. By honoring the 2020 constitutional amendment and rejecting this April’s redistricting referendum, the Commonwealth can demonstrate that democracy is not just something Democrats defend when it’s convenient. It can show the nation how to fight back against Republican abuses without becoming what we oppose.

Just as importantly, Virginia Democrats can keep the national focus where voters want it: affordability. Working families did not hand Democrats power to redraw maps. They did it because costs are out of control. While Republicans in Washington push tax cuts for billionaires and strip healthcare subsidies, Democrats in Virginia and nationally can prove they are using power to lower the cost of rent, groceries, and childcare.

That message won elections across Virginia last year. It can win again in 2026 if Democrats don’t lose the national plot by playing the same political games voters are desperate to see end.

Virginia Democrats should reject this April’s redistricting referendum, uphold the fair maps Virginians already chose, and show the country that democracy still works best when voters choose their representatives—not the other way around.

Kevin Harris and Richard McDaniel are veteran Democratic strategists with over 100 political campaigns between them, including the passage of Virginia’s Amendment One. They co-host “Maroon Bison Presents: The Southern Comfort Podcast.”