Virginia Gives Democrats An Edge In Redistricting
Left, Right & Center
KCRW
3.9 • 5K Ratings
🗓️ 24 April 2026
⏱️ 52 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Democrats claimed victory in Virginia to redraw district maps and flip as many as four seats from Republicans in Congress. It’s the latest in a gerrymandering arms race to control the House that started with the Texas GOP, but where does it end?
We talk about the President’s negotiating tactics in Iran. It’s also a big test for Vice President J.D. Vance to prove himself on the international stage. But with little to show so far, what does it mean for his aspirations to the White House?
Plus, Congress takes up a huge bill to address food and farming in America. However, the typical left/right divide is scrambled by the Make America Healthy Again movement. Liz Bruenig joins from the left, and Sarah Isgur is with us on the right.
Producer: Leo Duran
Host: McKay Coppins, staff writer, The Atlantic (@mckaycoppins)
Guests:
- Elizabeth Bruenig, staff writer, The Atlantic (@ebruenig)
- Sarah Isgur, senior editor at The Dispatch (@whignewtons)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello, Jonathan Friedland here, host of the Guardian's Politics Weekly America podcast. |
| 0:06.2 | Each week, I invite experts to help analyze the biggest headlines in American politics. |
| 0:11.8 | Whether it's the latest scandal from the White House or the next election you need to know everything about |
| 0:17.4 | will bring you up to date on all things Washington and beyond. Listen, |
| 0:22.3 | wherever you get your podcasts. |
| 0:30.2 | Welcome to left, right and center. I'm McKay Coppins in for David Green. There's an arms race |
| 0:35.9 | going on across the country to win control of Congress, |
| 0:39.1 | and battle lines have been drawn and then redrawn. The main weapon of choice is gerrymandering. |
| 0:45.4 | Democrats won the latest fight on Tuesday in Virginia by passing a referendum for new maps |
| 0:50.8 | that could flip as many as four seats away from Republicans. |
| 0:55.0 | The state's Democratic Governor Abigail Spanberger celebrated, saying the aggressive measure |
| 0:59.7 | was necessary to counter Republican-led gerrymandering in other states. |
| 1:04.0 | Here she is on MS now. |
| 1:05.7 | Virginians understood that it all began when President Trump said that he was entitled to additional congressional |
| 1:12.4 | seats and when Republican legislature after Republican legislature obliged him. |
| 1:17.5 | But President Trump called the vote rigged in a truth social post, and Republican House |
| 1:22.5 | Speaker Mike Johnson lashed out at the move too. |
| 1:25.1 | It's a hyper-partisan gerrymandering boondoggle. |
| 1:29.2 | Virginia is one of eight states where redistricting fights are taking place. |
| 1:33.3 | Some to favor Democrats, others to favor Republicans. |
| 1:36.6 | We'll talk about this strategy, whether it's fair, and how it factors into the already |
| 1:41.8 | tight midterms. |
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