Judge blocks Virginia lawmakers' bid for pro-Democrat

A Virginia judge on Tuesday blocked a bid ​by state Democrats to enact a more pro-Democratic electoral map, dealing a setback to the party ahead of upcoming congressional elections. The ruling by Judge Jack Hurley, Jr. of the Tazewell ⁠County Circuit Court comes amid a nationwide battle over redistricting between Republicans and Democrats ‌before November's midterm elections, ⁠when control of the closely divided U.S. House of Representatives will be at stake. Democrats need to flip only ‍three Republican-held districts to win a majority in the 435-seat U.S. House, making every seat critical. Don Scott, the Democratic Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates, ⁠said in a social media post that the party would appeal the ruling. Virginia's Democratic-controlled legislature earlier this month approved a constitutional amendment that, if backed by voters, would permit lawmakers to redraw the ‌state's congressional lines, potentially netting Democrats up to four U.S. House seats. H

urley in his ruling said the process that state Democrats used to introduce the ⁠proposed amendment was invalid and happened too close to the state's election last November. The legislature had been expected to schedule a special election this spring, and lawmakers have said they would release a proposed new map before ⁠then so voters can make an informed decision. Democrats currently hold six of the state's 11 seats, but a new map stood to give them as much as ‍a 10-1 advantage. Redistricting typically occurs at the start of each decade to incorporate new U.S. Census data. But President Donald Trump, a Republican, ignited a rash ‌of redistricting ​fights last summer, when he successfully ‌urged Texas Republicans to draw a new congressional map taking aim at five Democratic incumbents. In response, California Democrats advanced a new map targeting five Republicans there. ‌Other states, both Republican- and Democratic-led, followed suit.