In rural Virginia, excitement and dread grow over Democrats' redistricting referendum
If Virginia voters approve a redistricting plan and it survives in court, Democrats could counter Republican gains made through redistricting elsewhere.
A print edition of the Goochland Gazette, with a story on the Virginia redistricting referendum, lies on a table at GG's Pizza as members of the Goochland Democratic Committee hold a lunch meeting on get-out-the-vote efforts, Thursday, April 2, 2026, in Maiden, Va.
AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson
Louisa, Va.
Michael Shull never imagined that a Democrat from the wealthy suburbs of Washington would represent his community in Congress. His corner of Virginia, with its sprawling farms and winding country roads, has been electing Republicans for more than three decades.
Then came an unusual , with Democrats and Republicans redrawing congressional lines to boost their chances in November鈥檚 midterm elections. Virginia could be next as voters consider a new map that would pair conservative rural areas with liberal suburbs, diluting Republicans鈥� electoral clout.
鈥淧oliticians should be elected to be their people鈥檚 voice,鈥� said Shull, a Republican member of Augusta County鈥檚 board of supervisors. 鈥淣ot their party鈥檚 voice.鈥�
The vote on the constitutional amendment is on April 21, and early balloting has begun. If voters pass the referendum and it survives a , Shull鈥檚 area within the county would be split between the 7th and 9th Congressional Districts. While the 9th District would be the state鈥檚 lone Republican stronghold, the 7th District would resemble a lobster with the long tail beginning in Democrat-dominated Arlington and two claws reaching south into rural communities.
Congressional districts are usually redrawn once a decade, but started a chain reaction last year by encouraging Texas Republicans to devise a new map to help the party in November. After a cascade of redistricting efforts, Republicans believe they can win a combined nine more U.S. House seats in Texas, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio, while Democrats think they can win a total of six more seats in California and Utah. Virginia could give Democrats an extra four seats 鈥� enough to overturn the GOP鈥檚 slim majority, at least as things stand now.
鈥淚t鈥檚 about making sure that we fight back to what Trump鈥檚 done,鈥� said U.S. Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., He said the party needs to persuade voters that the referendum is 鈥渘ot about embracing gerrymandering.鈥�
鈥淚 feel optimistic, but it鈥檚 close,鈥� he said.
A rural-urban divide
The referendum comes at a moment when Virginia Democrats have tried to make up ground in rural areas. Last year, Democrat Abigail Spanberger campaigned for governor in to engage with more conservative voters. Before that winning campaign, she had represented a that mixed city suburbs, exurbs and adjacent rural communities.
鈥淎nyone who鈥檚 doing their job will be responsive to the communities that they seek to represent,鈥� Spanberger said.
But her results were mixed. In counties where fewer people lived in rural areas, she outperformed Democrat Kamala Harris鈥� Virginia showing in the 2024 presidential race by an average of 6 percentage points or 7 percentage points. In more rural counties, Spanberger gained about 2 percentage points to 4 percentage points.
Democrat Anthony Flaccavento, former and co-founder of the nonprofit Rural Urban Bridge Initiative, is torn over the referendum.
鈥淎t some level, it feels like kicking the can down the road -鈥� which is something that my party has done for a long time 鈥�- when it comes to winning back rural and working-class voters,鈥� Flaccavento said.
A welcome change for some
Democrats in rural areas who are tired of being outnumbered by their Republican neighbors are embracing the redistricting plan.
鈥淔ight Back, Vote Yes,鈥� said a sign at a No Kings protest in Louisa County. A second said, 鈥淰ote Yes. Stop ICE. No Kings.鈥�
State Del. Dan Helmer, who helped spearhead the redistricting effort, greeted protesters and spoke to the cheering crowd. Helmer is now one of at least four Democrats running in the 7th District.
Helmer said Republicans 鈥渢hink that in red areas like Louisa and in rural areas, that people don鈥檛 know what鈥檚 going on. But I鈥檓 looking around right now, I see strong, proud patriots who know exactly what is going on, who know that we have an aspiring dictator who is trying to take away our democracy.鈥�
Jennifer Lee, who has lived in Louisa for 33 years, said she was eager to support the new district lines. Lee said she felt Republicans were perpetuating a double standard, falsely claiming the 2020 presidential election won by Democrat Joe Biden was stolen from Trump but accepting his push to eliminate Democratic seats through gerrymandering.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 their slogan, right? 鈥楽top the steal,鈥欌�� Lee said. 鈥淏ut they started 鈥榯he steal.鈥� They鈥檙e stealing the seats now in all these districts.鈥�
Democrats see a fight for survival
At a town hall hosted by Democrats at a rural Goochland County recreation center, voters nibbled on finger foods and passed around bottled water as they debated whether redistricting violated some kind of moral code.
鈥淚鈥檓 sorry, morality just goes out the door right now. We have to do what it takes for us to survive,鈥� said Bruce Silverman, a local nephrologist. He was voting 鈥測es.鈥�
At one point, Roberta Thacker-Oliver stood up to talk. She votes in the rural 9th District, which would become even more Republican with the new map.
鈥淚n the redistricting, the 9th is going to become bigger and redder,鈥� she said, adding, 鈥淚 need to know what to tell my community about why they need to take one for the team.鈥�
鈥淲hat do we tell them?鈥� she said.
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Associated Press writers Maya Sweedler, Ashlyn Still and Joey Cappelletti in Washington contributed to this report.