LOL, gotta go with former Virginia Redistricting Commission citizen member James Abrenio on this one: I also “wish [Abigail Spanberger would] go harder to the hoop on redistricting,” but yeah, she’s actually “our nominee for governor,” and we’re just “tweeting in [our] basement” (actually, I’m in my kitchen, but whatever – haha). And yes, I agree with James Abrenio that I’m glad to see Spanberger’s feistiness, including the following:
“I think that it’s important that we do fight fire with fire. But I’m also recognizing that in the Commonwealth of Virginia, the process that we have to make constitutional amendments, right? So, it was just a couple years ago that we went through a multi-year process to put a redistricting commission process within our state constitution. We have to have an election…there has to be a vote in the General Assembly, then there has to be elections, then there has to be another election, then they vote again, and then it goes to the people. So, you know, even in the looking at this, if someone says, ‘OK, Virginia might be a possibility,’ that’s not till 2028 where there would actually be an impact on congressional elections. And I’m unwilling in Virginia to wait for 2028.
And so, it is the harder route, I’m not denying that, to say we’re going to fucking win those seats in the midterms by working hard and doing it. But in Virginia, that’s our only option. And frankly, like I think Democrats need to fight more and win more and actually ensure that people know what we are for because Republicans have to depend on redistricting and stealing votes and taking seats like they did in North Carolina in order to actually be able to win elections. But we know, as we did in 2018, when we grind it out and go to every community and listen to people, that’s how we win.
And so I could sit back and say, ‘Yeah, let’s go ahead and try and do something that for 2028 makes a difference.’ That’s too far off. And so understanding that both we have a constitutional amendment in our constitution, recognizing that there may or may not be the votes in the General Assembly to move forward any changes to that, and also recognizing that it wouldn’t actually impact until 2028. Like I could punt to that point in time, but I’m not going to because Virginia has a responsibility to act now, which is why we’re going to win this November. And then to actually act now and ensure that we win seats that yeah, through gerrymandering, you could make them easier, but like that is literally not an option on the table for us.
So, we’re going to gut it out and we’re going to get volunteers and we’re going to ensure that they have the financing to do it. good candidates who are going to spend every single minute of the day to win their seats. And if I sound like that is the clear focus that I have, it’s because I decided to win a seat that people told me was unwininnable. I had people laugh at me…”
So I think Spanberger makes some excellent and accurate points in here, such as the fact that 2028 is very far away, and it’s true that to amend Virginia’s constitution couldn’t happen until November 2028 – and that’s a long time from now, for sure. I also agree with Spanberger that, given these realities, we need to do whatever we can RIGHT NOW, including of course winning the elections this November for Governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General and the entire Virginia House of Delegates. Oh, and of course there’s no guarantee that we could even get a new redistricting amendment through the General Assembly, because particularly in the State Senate, my understanding is there are STILL Democrats who are true believers in the fatally flawed redistricting amendment that was foolishly put into our constitution back in 2020. Which means, given that of course all Republicans will oppose a new amendment, State Senate Democrats would have to be unanimous in voting for a new amendment, and that’s probably not going to happen (and for there to be ANY chance that happens, we’ll need strong gubernatorial leadership – pushing those Senators hard to change their positions).
Having said all that, I’d simply argue that, to paraphrase what a smart Virginia political friend said to me – we aren’t idiots, we understand the difficulties (if not impossibility) of passing a new redistricting amendment, but at this point grassroots Democrats badly need to know that their leaders will push back – hard – be willing to blow the roof off, say something. And to date, we’ve seen very little of that…still getting way too many votes for Trump nominees, “my friends across the aisle” business-as-usual b.s., normalization of a completely abnormal/FUBAR/dangerous situation, staying silent or muting criticism, etc. The problem is, at this point – given Trump’s unprecedented assault on the rule of law, checks and balances, civil liberties, the constitution, free-and-fair elections, etc. – that’s simply not going to cut it. The question is, will Democratic leaders (ever) rise to the occasion – or will they keep playing by traditional rules and norms as Republicans trample every single last one of those???
P.S. There are those – including former VA House Democratic Leader David Toscano – who argue that it’s possible Virginia could do a mid-decade redistricting under the current language in the constitution (“If Abigail Spanberger wins this fall, and the House remains in Democratic hands, anything could happen. While the state has a redistricting commission, the Constitutional provision guiding it requires that it meet “In the year 2020 and every ten years thereafter”. Would this language permit a legislative redistricting mid-cycle? If so, Democrats could draw districts providing them an advantage in 8 of 11 congressional seats and increase its delegation by two.”). I’ve talked to folks about this, and most seem to think that the VA Supreme Court would swat this down if Democrats were to try it. But sure…push the envelope, see if it’s even feasible – why not?
