❓WHAT HAPPENED: Virginia’s House Speaker has suggested redrawing Congressional maps to favor Democrats with a 10-1 advantage.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Virginia House Speaker Don Scott (D) and President Donald J. Trump.
📍WHEN & WHERE: Wednesday, December 3, 2025, at the UVA Center for Politics.
💬KEY QUOTE: “He’s bullying folks in these states to change the rules, and we have an obligation to stand up and do something different.” – Don Scott
🎯IMPACT: The proposed maps could shift the balance of Virginia’s Congressional delegation, though given the state’s population distribution and close partisan party registration, a 10-1 congressional map is unlikely to be realized.
Virginia House Speaker Don Scott says he’s considering a plan to redraw the state’s Congressional maps in a way that could give Democrats a significant advantage, potentially shifting the current 6-5 delegation in favor of Republicans to a 10-1 Democratic majority.
Speaking at the UVA Center for Politics on Wednesday, December 3, Scott outlined the proposal as a response to what he described as “bullying” by President Donald J. Trump in states like Texas. “He’s bullying folks in these states to change the rules, and we have an obligation to stand up and do something different,” Scott said.
The suggestion comes amidst ongoing efforts by both major political parties to redraw state maps ahead of upcoming elections, including the midterms next year. Scott indicated that such a dramatic shift in the delegation’s composition “was not out of the realm” of possibility under the new maps.
However, given that Democrats only enjoyed a slight advantage in state-wide elections, and Virginia‘s population distribution—with a bulk of Democrat voters living in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. in the north of the state—Scott’s idea of a 10-1 map appears more of an exaggerated threat than a possible reality. Redrawing congressional lines in a manner that gives Democrats such an advantage would likely draw considerable legal challenges, as the districts would likely lack compactness, contiguity, and equal population.
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