Louisiana and Virginia advance measures for mid-decade redistricting, joining national partisan battle – NaturalNews.com

• States are increasingly abandoning the traditional once-a-decade redistricting process, sparking a partisan battle for control of Congress. This trend, initiated by a call from President Trump, has Republican and Democratic states redrawing maps mid-decade to gain an advantage in the U.S. House of Representatives.
• In Louisiana, Republican lawmakers passed a bill to delay the 2026 congressional primary. This procedural move is designed to give the legislature time to draw a new, more favorable map if the current one (which created a second majority-Black district) is struck down by the Supreme Court.
• Democrats in Virginia are advancing a constitutional amendment that would allow the state legislature to temporarily bypass its bipartisan redistricting commission. They frame this as a defensive measure to counter Republican-led redistricting in other states and potentially solidify their narrow majority in the state’s congressional delegation.
• Despite the national trend, the push for mid-decade redistricting is not universal.
• The actions in Louisiana and Virginia confirm that the fight for control of Congress is now being fought as aggressively through the technical process of redistricting as it is during elections themselves, with both parties using it as a key political strategy.

In a strategic move that underscores the intensifying national fight for political power, state legislatures in Louisiana and Virginia advanced measures that could pave the way for mid-decade congressional redistricting ahead of the 2026 elections.

BrightU.AI‘s Enoch AI engine explains that redistricting is the process of redrawing the boundaries of electoral districts to ensure that each district has an equal number of residents.

The actions, driven by Republicans in Louisiana and Democrats in Virginia, signal a departure from the traditional once-a-decade redistricting process and reflect a growing trend of states seeking partisan advantages between census counts.

The push for unusual mid-decade map revisions was initiated this summer by President Donald Trump, who urged Republican-led states to redraw U.S. House districts to benefit GOP candidates. With control of the closely divided House of Representatives at stake, the call has triggered a wave of activity, with states like Texas, Missouri and North Carolina already revising their districts.

In response, Democratic-controlled states are now considering countermeasures, setting the stage for a nationwide redistricting arms race.

Louisiana adjusts election calendar amid impending Supreme Court ruling

In Louisiana, Republican lawmakers used a special session to pass legislation that delays the state’s 2026 congressional primary elections by one month, moving them from April 18 to May 16. The bill, which passed along party lines and is expected to be signed by Republican Gov. Jeff Landry, is a procedural maneuver designed to buy time for the legislature to draw a new congressional map.

The change is a direct response to an impending U.S. Supreme Court decision regarding Louisiana’s current six-district congressional map. Following a previous court ruling, the state legislature created a second majority-Black district, which subsequently flipped a reliably Republican seat to a Democrat.

Proponents of the map argue it ensures fair representation for a state where Black residents constitute one-third of the population. Opponents, however, contend that the district was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander.

During recent oral arguments, the Court’s conservative majority appeared sympathetic to the challengers’ case. If the Supreme Court strikes down the current boundaries, the delayed primary schedule would give the Republican-led legislature time to redraw the map more to its liking before the 2026 election.

Virginia moves to bypass bipartisan commission

Meanwhile, in Virginia, the Democratic-led House of Delegates voted to advance a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow the state legislature to temporarily circumvent its bipartisan redistricting commission. The amendment is specifically framed as a defensive measure, permitting lawmakers to redraw congressional districts in response to mid-decade redistricting efforts undertaken by other states.

This move requires a multistep process. The proposed amendment must still gain approval from the Virginia Senate. If it passes, it would then need to be approved again by both legislative chambers in a future session before ultimately being placed on a statewide ballot for voter ratification.

The political stakes in Virginia are high. Democrats currently hold a narrow 6-5 edge in the state’s U.S. House delegation, and a new map could allow them to expand that advantage. The state’s current districts were imposed by a court after the bipartisan commission, established by a voter-approved constitutional amendment, deadlocked following the 2020 census.

The debate in Virginia mirrored the national partisan divide. Democratic supporters framed the amendment as a necessary defense against what they characterize as a Republican power grab. Republican opponents, in turn, labeled the proposal a Democratic “power grab” and a dangerous return to partisan gerrymandering. So far, Virginia Democrats have not revealed what new district boundaries might look like.

A national landscape of action and hesitation

The developments in Louisiana and Virginia are part of a broader, yet uneven, national landscape. California stands as the only Democratic-led state to have formally countered the Republican efforts, with a new Democratic-drawn congressional map being decided in a special election.

However, similar pushes in other states have encountered obstacles. In Indiana, Republican Gov. Mike Braun called for a special session on redistricting, but legislative leaders from his own party have since indicated they will not be ready to convene on the scheduled start date.

Perhaps most notably, the push has faced resistance from some Democrats who fear potential backlash.

In Maryland, where Democrats hold a 7-1 advantage in the House, Democratic Senate President Bill Ferguson publicly rejected calls for redistricting. He argued that an attempt to gain an additional seat by targeting the state’s sole Republican congressman could backfire, jeopardizing other Democratic seats, provoking further retaliation from Republican states and risking a hostile redrawing of the map by a state Supreme Court with a majority of Republican-appointed judges.

Similarly, in Illinois, where Democrats already hold 14 of 17 House seats under a map drawn to favor their party, the state General Assembly did not take up redistricting during its recent session, despite pressure from national Democrats. Some state lawmakers expressed concern that redrawing the maps could dilute the political power of Black voters, highlighting the complex political and racial calculations inherent in the redistricting process.

As Louisiana and Virginia take these significant steps, their actions confirm that the battle for control of Congress is increasingly being fought not just during elections, but in the drawing of the very maps that determine them.

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Sources include:

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