Court Battles

Warner slams court ruling on Virginia redistricting: ‘Justice was not served’

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by Sophie Brams - 05/08/26 6:01 PM ET

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by Sophie Brams - 05/08/26 6:01 PM ET

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Virginia senior Sen. Mark Warner (D) criticized a state Supreme Court ruling Friday that struck down a Democratic-backed redistricting plan, arguing the decision undermined the will of voters.

“Today, justice was not served in Virginia,” Warner said in a video shared on social platform X. “Against the will of the majority of voters, against not one — but two — legislative votes, the Supreme Court threw out the redistricting effort.”

Voters in the Old Dominion narrowly approved a referendum last month that allowed congressional lines to be redrawn midcycle to favor Democrats in all but one of the state’s U.S. House districts.

But in a 4-3 decision, the Virginia Supreme Court found that the Democratic-controlled Legislature did not follow proper procedures in putting the referendum on the ballot.

The ruling left in place the state’s current 6-5 map, dealing a blow to the party that hoped the new map could help counter Republican gains in other states ahead of the November midterm elections.

It also came on the heels of a U.S. Supreme Court decision that narrowed the scope of the Voting Rights Act, renewing a redistricting push across the South that has already seen Florida and Tennessee pass new GOP-leaning maps.

Republican lawmakers in Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina and Georgia have also left the door open to potential changes in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

The redistricting fight has been playing out across the country since last summer, when President Trump publicly pressured red states to overhaul maps in order to secure Republicans’ slim House majority.

“Huge win for the Republican Party, and America, in Virginia,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post Friday. “The Virginia Supreme Court has just struck down the Democrats’ horrible gerrymander.”

Warner accused the Trump administration of using “every tool in the toolbox” to circumvent the electorate’s wishes.

“We have to recognize that they will use every tool, legal or illegal, to try to stop Americans from saying, this is not the direction we want to go,” he said. “If there’s ever a time for us to double down and speak up and stand up louder and more forcefully, it’s now together, we can take back our country today.”

The senior senator’s words echoed those of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), who vowed to explore “all options” to fight the verdict.

“No matter what it takes, House Democrats will win in November so we can help rescue this nation from the extremism being unleashed by Donald Trump and Republicans,” Jeffries said in a statement.

Together, the Virginia Supreme Court and U.S. Supreme Court decisions stand to net Republicans between six and seven seats that they could have otherwise lost, according to nonpartisan Cook Political Report analysts.

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