Updated February 22, 2026 at 10:12 AM EST
This story was reported and written by VPM News.
Amendments to the state budget drawing a potential new congressional map for Virginia passed out of the General Assembly Friday, with only Democrats voting in favor of the bill.
HB29 passed 59–35, with five Democratic delegates abstaining.
The map would give Democrats an advantage in 10 of Virginia's 11 congressional seats and set an Aug. 4 primary date — moving back the initial primary date of June 16 to accommodate the redistricting timeline. Candidates for the US House of Representatives would need to file by May 25.
Gov. Abigail Spanberger approved the legislation Friday night. The redistricting-related provisions would kick into effect should voters approve a constitutional amendment on April 21, which allows the General Assembly to redraw congressional districts in the middle of the decade. (Redistricting is typically done following a decennial census, through an independent commission.)
Friday's passage from the House of Delegates means Virginia Democrats have cleared another key step in their hurried effort to meaningfully counter President Donald Trump's push to give Republicans an advantage in the 2026 midterms. The maps passed the state Senate on Thursday.
House Speaker Don Scott (D–Portsmouth) told reporters after Friday's vote that Virginia's redistricting effort was a necessary pushback, accusing Trump of trying to rig this fall's election in favor of the GOP.
"Virginia has to fight back," Scott said. "We can't stand by and do nothing but to do everything in our power to level the playing field."
The legality of the redistricting effort is being considered by the Supreme Court of Virginia, which allowed the referendum to move forward while it considers arguments in a case that Republican state legislators brought in in Tazewell Circuit Court. Judge Jack Hurley ruled last month that Democrats violated state law to get the redistricting amendment in front of voters.
Hurley also issued an order Thursday in a separate case, raised by US Reps. Ben Cline and Morgan Griffith and national Republicans, saying that members of the state board of elections cannot "prepare or take action on the referendum on the amendment."
The order — which Attorney General Jay Jones has said he would appeal — is temporary and expires on March 18. Voting in the referendum is scheduled to begin Friday, March 6.
House Minority Leader Terry Kilgore (R–Gate City) told reporters before Friday's vote that Republicans believe Hurley's rulings should stand. He called the redistricting effort an unconstitutional "half-baked idea" that puts voters in limbo, referencing late tweaks Democrats made to the proposed districts before approving them.
"Right now, the voters of Virginia, some of them don't even know where they're going to vote, what congressional seat they're going to vote for, because they're still changing it," Kilgore said.
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