Virginia Supreme Court strikes down new congressional map that gave Democrats 10 House seats, Republicans just 1

Virginia congressional map.

The Virginia Supreme Court on Friday nullified the results of the congressional map redistricting referendum last month, delivering a major blow to Gov. Abigail Spanberger's effort to pick up more seats in the U.S. House of Representatives for Democrats, and ruling that the process by which the measure was brought to voters was unconstitutional. 

The ruling comes after a county judge issued an injunction the day after the measure narrowly passed with voters on the grounds that the state failed to follow proper procedures and that the language on the ballot was unclear, making the vote unconstitutional. The state Supreme Court agreed, writing in its opinion, "We hold that the legislative process employed to advance this proposal violated Article XII, Section 1 of the Constitution of Virginia. This constitutional violation incurably taints the resulting referendum vote and nullifies its legal efficacy." 

The state Supreme Court ruling means Virginia will revert back to its previous congressional map, which gave Democrats six seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and Republicans five seats. The new map would've given Democrats 10 seats in the House and Republicans just one, a district covering the western portion of the state.

Gov. Abigail Spanberger campaigned on a promise to not gerrymander the state's congressional map, but then made it a key initiative of her agenda after taking office earlier this year. Although, D.C. insiders report that, behind the scenes, Spanberger was skeptical that the gambit would hold up if it were challenged in court. Not only was the failed attempt to redraw the congressional lines politically expensive, Democrats reportedly sank more than $80 million into rallying support for the measure. Spanberger hadn't publicly commented on the ruling as of early Friday afternoon.

News of the ruling was welcomed by a chorus of Republicans and conservatives, including President Trump. "Huge win for the Republican Party, and America, in Virginia. The Virginia Supreme Court has just struck down the Democrats’ horrible gerrymander," Trump said in a post on Truth Social. Read the complete ruling from the Virginia Supreme Court here.

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