Virginia Narrowly Approves a 10-1 Democratic Gerrymander

WSJ Opinion: Potomac Watch

The Wall Street Journal

News, Society & Culture

4.2 • 2.8K Ratings

🗓️ 22 April 2026

⏱️ 26 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Donald Trump won 46% of the vote in Virginia in 2024, yet Republicans might soon control only 9% of the House seats. How can Democrats seriously argue this is a win for "fairness"? What else did the GOP expect, after it started this gerrymandering race to the bottom in Texas? And what can fed-up voters do about it? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:32.6	From the opinion pages of the Wall Street Journal, this is Potomac Watch. Virginia voters narrowly approve
0:40.8	a new gerrymander that could give Democrats 10 of the state's 11 seats in the House of Representatives,
0:47.2	wiping out Republican redistricting gains elsewhere. But is this race to the bottom the new normal?
0:52.7	And if voters decide that they're the ones losing out,
0:55.1	what can they do about it?
0:57.0	Welcome, I'm Kyle Peterson with the Wall Street Journal.
1:00.1	We're joined today by my colleagues on the WSJ's opinion pages,
1:04.1	Matt Contenetti, columnist for the journal's new Free Expression
1:07.5	Newsletter, and editorial board member Kate'Dell. Speaker Mike Johnson currently holds
1:13.7	the House of Representatives with a four-vote majority 217 to 213, but in one special election in
1:20.9	Virginia on Tuesday, Democrats might have gained that many seats after the November midterms.
1:27.1	Voters narrowly approved a House map that will give Democrats an advantage in 10 of the
1:31.7	state's 11 districts, which Democrats argue is needed to respond to President Trump's new
1:36.6	gerrymander in Texas.
1:38.8	Let's listen to the new governor Abigail Spanberger celebrating this vote last night on MS now.
	...

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