Supreme Court delivers massive blow to Dems​' last-ditch gerrymander gambit

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday slammed the door on Virginia Democrats' last-ditch effort to revive a congressional map that would have handed them a commanding advantage in the 2026 midterms.

In a one-line order, the justices denied an emergency stay application filed by House Speaker Don Scott (D-Portsmouth), Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell (D-Fairfax), and other top Democratic lawmakers seeking to pause a Virginia Supreme Court ruling that struck down the voter-approved redistricting amendment.

The decision means the state's court-drawn 2021 map — which gave Democrats a 6-5 advantage — will remain in place for the November midterms. The voided amendment, ratified by 51% of Virginia voters on April 21, would have allowed the Democratic-controlled General Assembly to redraw the lines in a map projected to favor Democrats in 10 of the state's 11 districts.

The Virginia Supreme Court ruled 4-3 on May 8 that the General Assembly violated the state constitution's "intervening election" requirement when it first passed the amendment on Oct.31, 2025, by which point more than 1.3 million Virginians had already cast ballots in the 2025 general election. Justice Arthur Kelsey wrote that the violation "irreparably undermines the integrity of the resulting referendum vote."

Democrats had filed their emergency application with Chief Justice John Roberts on Monday, arguing the state court "fundamentally misread" federal election law. Behind the scenes, Democrats had also floated an audacious plan to oust Virginia's entire Supreme Court by lowering the mandatory retirement age.

Virginia's congressional primary has been pushed to Aug. 4.