RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A Virginia judge ruled Tuesday that a proposed constitutional amendment letting Democrats redraw the state’s Congressional maps was illegal, setting back the party’s efforts to pick up seats in the U.S. House in November. In Maryland, Gov. Wes Moore testified for a new map that could enable Democrats to defeat the state’s only House Republican.
The latest developments are part of a national battle over unusual mid-decade redistricting attempts, launched last summer by President Donald Trump who urged Republican officials in Texas to redraw maps to help the GOP win more seats. He did so in hopes of holding on to a narrow House majority in the face of political headwinds that typically favor the party out of power in midterms.