Democrats, Republicans Clash in Virginia Senate Over Timing and Intent of Redistricting Amendment

A tense second day of Virginia’s surprise special legislative session erupted Tuesday morning into partisan fireworks, as Senate Democrats and Republicans sparred over a proposed constitutional amendment that could give lawmakers authority to redraw the state’s congressional map mid-decade — a move Democrats want to push through before next week’s statewide elections.

Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears presides over the Virginia Senate during Tuesday’s special session, where lawmakers debated a proposed constitutional amendment on redistricting that Democrats hope to advance before next week’s statewide elections. (Photo by Charlotte Rene Woods/Virginia Mercury)

The proposal, which has not yet been released publicly, is expected to surface Tuesday afternoon and will be heard by the House Privileges and Elections Committee on Wednesday.

The session’s temperature spiked early when Senate Democrats voted to block the reading of a communication from Gov. Glenn Youngkin — a sharply worded letter blasting the session as a “shameless 11th-hour political power grab.”

“I am disappointed to see the General Assembly reconvening this week to ram through a constitutional amendment on redistricting only seven days before the close of our 2025 statewide and House of Delegates election and with over one million voters already casting their ballots,” Youngkin wrote.

Youngkin accused Democratic leaders of trying to “subvert the will of the voters who thoughtfully considered and overwhelmingly voted to remove this very same politics from our redistricting process,” pointing to the 2020 referendum that established Virginia’s independent redistricting commission.

Democrats reject Youngkin’s criticism as partisan

Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, moved to waive the reading of Youngkin’s letter altogether, saying it crossed a line of decorum.

“When it was placed at my desk, I quickly skimmed it, and I’ve never seen anything with the letterhead of the commonwealth that was so blatantly partisan and political — it should have been written on campaign letterhead,” Surovell said. “I don’t feel like this body needs to listen to anything he has to say. He’s a lame dog now, he’s not relevant, and he’s not involved in this process.”

Republicans erupted in protest.

Sen. Mark Obenshain, R-Harrisonburg, invoked a point of personal privilege to read the governor’s message aloud himself, arguing that silencing the governor disrespected the office.

“Never that I can recall did we ever refuse to hear the message that was delivered from one of our governors,” Obenshain said. “While the contents of it may not be something that everybody wants to hear, I would respectfully submit that we owe the governor the respect of at least listening to what he has to say.”

Partisan and philosophical divides

The morning debate underscored how little consensus exists in Richmond over the amendment’s necessity — or legality.

Sen. Bill Stanley, R-Franklin, appealed for restraint, recalling the bipartisan spirit that once animated Virginia’s reform movement.

“Sometimes we must overcome our partisan desires and do what is right for the commonwealth as a whole,” Stanley said. “We looked Virginia voters in the eye, and promised them something fundamental, that Virginia would pick their representatives, and not the other way around. What message do we send to them if we walk away now?”

Democrats countered that the original redistricting commission had failed in practice, deadlocking along party lines and forcing the Virginia Supreme Court to draw maps for the 2021 elections.

Sen. Mamie Locke, D-Hampton, who served on the commission, said the process “was anything but bipartisan.”

“There was constant gridlock, and partisan roadblocks were the reasons why the Supreme Court ended up drawing the lines,” Locke said. “What’s being proposed is an effort to provide flexibility for the future. And voters will have a voice in what’s being proposed — they will vote in a referendum.”

Republicans warn of secrecy, speed

Senate Minority Leader Ryan McDougle, R-Hanover, another commission member, said Democrats were moving recklessly by pushing the expected redistricting bill.

“Between 12 and 1 o’clock, something that’s going to change the constitution of Virginia is going to be introduced, and not a single Virginian outside of a couple in this body … have even seen it,” McDougle said.

Sen. Mark Peake, R-Lynchburg, who also chairs the Republican Party of Virginia, called the effort “a travesty” given that “over a million people have already voted.”

“We have a process for amending the Constitution,” Peake said. “People know what it is, people weigh in with their legislators … but that is not the process we are undertaking this week. What’s it going to say? Like the rest of the 8 million people in the commonwealth, we can’t wait to see.”

Sen. Richard Stuart, R-King George, lamented that the debate had devolved into “personal attacks on our president and our governor,” warning that Virginia was losing its tradition of civility.

Democrats defend timing, cite national stakes

Democrats argued that Virginia must respond to what they describe as a national “redistricting arms race.” Republican legislatures in Texas, Missouri and North Carolina are exploring mid-decade remaps after encouragement from President Donald Trump.

Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg, D-Henrico, said Trump’s push to alter maps in red states underscored why Virginia should act.

“He’s going to the states where he has allies and saying, ‘Change the maps to make them better, because I can’t win,’” VanValkenburg said. “Donald Trump doesn’t want the people of Virginia to be able to have a say, and that’s why we are here today.”

Sen. Adam Ebbin, D-Alexandria, said Youngkin’s intervention only proved Democrats’ point that the process needed insulation from partisan interference.

“This letter is an attempt by the governor to inject himself into a process in which he is constitutionally and politically irrelevant,” Ebbin said. “Potentially giving voters a choice to revisit their past decision, under extraordinary circumstances, undermines no one.”

Sen. Barbara Favola, D-Arlington, emphasized that any amendment passed this week would still need to be approved by the next General Assembly in 2026 and ratified by voters.

“Whatever we start today is just the beginning,” Favola said. “Ultimately, it will be the voters in Virginia who will decide. We are opening up an option … we are even being asked to do this, by constituents, because they want a voice.”

Republicans decry “Washington politics”

Some Republicans urged colleagues not to allow national partisanship into Virginia’s halls. Sen. Luther Cifers, R-Prince Edward, the Senate’s most senior member, said the chamber should resist “being pinch hitters for the power brokers in Washington.”

“Maybe we should be holding ourselves to a higher standard,” Cifers said. “If we’re not looking out for the people of Virginia, who else is going to do that?”

Republicans also accused Democrats of hypocrisy, noting that Democratic gubernatorial nominee Abigail Spanberger once criticized mid-decade redistricting. Her opponent, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, has used the issue to frame Democrats as backtracking on reform.

The House on Monday adopted the procedural resolution allowing redistricting-related measures to move forward during the special session — a rule change that Republicans said was sprung without warning.

Democrats maintain they acted within their authority to “protect democracy in Virginia,” as Del. Cia Price, D-Newport News, chair of the House Privileges and Elections Committee, told The Mercury Monday.

The Senate is scheduled to reconvene at 11 a.m. Wednesday for a final vote on that same procedural resolution — a step that will determine whether the amendment can advance before Election Day.

by Markus Schmidt, Virginia Mercury

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