Is tit-for-tat political gerrymandering the future of US politics?
Consider This from NPR
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🗓️ 22 April 2026
⏱️ 9 minutes
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Summary
A narrow majority voted to allow lawmakers to bypass the state's bipartisan redistricting commission. That means the Democratic-led legislature will create a map that’s more favorable to them in the midterms.
It's the latest chapter in a redistricting saga that President Trump started last year, but is the tit-for-tat redistricting battle the future of US electoral politics?
We speak with Democratic Virginia governor Abigail Spanberger to hear her perspective.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | On Tuesday, Virginia voters wrote the latest chapter in the ongoing nationwide saga over redistricting. |
| 0:05.7 | Virginia's approval for redistricting brings Democrats even or ahead of the Republican redistricting push. |
| 0:11.3 | It's a saga that President Trump started last summer when he called on Texas to change their congressional map to add five Republican seats. |
| 0:18.9 | I think we get five. And there could be some other states. |
| 0:22.7 | We're going to get another three or four or five. And Texas did just that, followed by two other |
| 0:27.4 | states with Republican-led legislatures. North Carolina's Republican-led legislature has passed a new |
| 0:32.7 | congressional map that could help the GOP win another seat. Missouri has joined Texas in redrawing its congressional |
| 0:38.9 | maps to protect the Republican majority in the midterm elections. Then California entered the chat. |
| 0:44.3 | In California, voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot measure that will let lawmakers |
| 0:48.9 | redraw the state's congressional maps. The goal is to try to send five more Democrats to Congress. Now, Virginians are the latest to vote for a partisan congressional maps. The goal is to try to send five more Democrats to Congress. |
| 0:55.1 | Now, Virginians are the latest to vote for a partisan congressional map, |
| 0:58.8 | potentially setting up Democrats to win 10 out of the state's 11 congressional seats. |
| 1:03.7 | The map faces court challenges, but for now, Democrats hold a slight edge heading into the midterms. |
| 1:09.7 | Here's Democratic Virginia governor, Abigail Spanberger. |
| 1:12.5 | I think that what it shows is that voters want to take a stand against so much of the chaos |
| 1:17.4 | that they see in Washington. |
| 1:19.4 | And we had the opportunity with the votes of the people to take a stand and push back against |
| 1:25.3 | that. |
| 1:27.1 | Consider this. President Trump sought to manipulate congressional maps in Republicans' favor, |
| 1:32.5 | but Democrats have had wins of their own. Is a tit-for-tat over partisan gerrymandering the way of the future? |
| 1:42.6 | From NPR, I'm Juana Summers. |
| 1:54.3 | It's consider this from NPR. |
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