Most of the four congressional districts that touch Hampton Roads remain close to the same under Virginia Democrats’ proposed mid-decade redistricting plan that requires a state constitutional change.
But the plan would drastically change the demographics and geography of a district where Republicans have held power for decades.
Of Hampton Roads’ congressional districts, the 1st District stands to change the most under the Democrats’ proposal. Republican Rep. Rob Wittman has held office there since 2007. Before him, Republican Jo Ann Davis held the seat from 2001 to 2007.
Under the Democrats’ plan, most of the existing 1st District would become a newly configured 8th District that would capture more localities beyond the Northern Neck to the state’s northern border with Washington, D.C..
Wittman did not respond to WHRO’s request for comment on the map.
Right now, Republicans hold five of Virginia’s congressional districts and Democrats hold six. Two of those - Hampton Roads’ 2nd District and central Virginia’s 7th District - are considered competitive swing districts that have been known to switch party representation.
Democrats want a map designed to make it easier for fellow Democrats to get elected in 10 of Virginia’s congressional districts. The 11th district in Southwest Virginia would remain politically friendly to Republicans.
Voting map designers can do this by examining various data points, such as previous election results or racial demographics.
Virginia Democratic Party leaders aren’t shy about their motivation for redrawing the maps. Party leaders, including Speaker of the House Don Scott, made clear during elections Democrats would pursue a redistricting amendment if the party secured a legislative majority in the General Assembly, and if Texas pursued redistricting that favored their state’s Republican Party.
The amendment is giving leaders the same flexibility other states took advantage of at President Donald Trump’s direction, Democrats have said.
“If these other states don’t follow Trump’s direction, we won’t need the … amendment,” Sen. Lamont Bagby (D-Richmond) told WHRO before Election Day.
Currently, the 8th Congressional District is firmly in Northern Virginia and encompasses Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax and Falls Church.
Democratic Rep. Don Beyer represents that district now and said in a statement that he plans to run in the redrawn 8th.
"Last year, I announced that I would seek reelection to Congress to protect our community against attacks from the corrupt Trump administration and fight for fairness, justice, and affordability across the Commonwealth and the country. I remain unwavering in that fight, and will seek reelection in Virginia's 8th Congressional District,” Beyer wrote in a statement.
"The 8th District in the proposed redistricting map, if adopted, would make significant changes to this district and to my constituency. Many of its voters will be people I know well and have long represented, while others live in communities I served as Lieutenant Governor. I will work hard to earn the trust of Virginians from Arlington to Yorktown, to be an effective advocate for their interests, to defend the vulnerable, show up, listen, and offer top-notch constituent services to everyone I represent."
The proposed 1st District would move further inland, encompassing Spotsylvania, Stafford, Hanover, and King William counties.
The goal of the proposed changes was to shift district lines to encompass more voters who would likely support Democratic candidates in each, which means considering racial makeup and voting patterns when making new districts.
The most significant racial demographic changes among the four proposed congressional districts in Hampton Roads are in the 1st District. In total, the new maps increase the percentage of minority voters in the district by almost 15 percentage points.
In the competitive 2nd District, which includes Virginia Beach and the Eastern Shore, the percentage of minority voters only increases by 1 percentage point under the proposed maps.
The 3rd District, a Democratic stronghold already that includes Norfolk, Portsmouth, Newport News and Hampton, increases minority voter representation by 5 percentage points. The 4th District stretches from Richmond to the North Carolina border and would see minority representation grow by 7 percentage points.
In the new 8th District, which would include the Middle Peninsula and much of the Northern Neck, minority voters would comprise 42% of voters. Nineteen percent of those minority voters are estimated to be Black and 14% are estimated to be Hispanic or Latino.
