Earle-Sears and Spanberger Urged to Reject Return to Partisan Gerrymandering

Senate Republican Leader Ryan McDougle and Senator Mark Obenshain are calling on Lt. Governor Winsome Earle-Sears and Democratic gubernatorial nominee Abigail Spanberger to publicly oppose Democratic efforts to repeal Virginia’s bipartisan redistricting system. The senators warned that such a repeal would reverse hard-won reforms and return the Commonwealth to the era of partisan political map-drawing.

GOP Senators Decry “Reckless Partisan Power Grab”

McDougle said Democrats’ reported plan to call a special session to overturn Virginia’s constitutional amendment establishing a bipartisan redistricting commission amounts to “rewriting the rules” in the face of shifting political winds.

“Democrats see the political tide turning against them and now they’re trying to rewrite the rules before voters even finish casting their ballots,” McDougle said. “Calling a special session to undo Virginia’s bipartisan redistricting constitutional amendment is not about fairness or good government—it’s about power.”

The GOP leader emphasized that the bipartisan redistricting system was adopted to ensure transparency and end decades of back-room political dealmaking. He called on Earle-Sears and Spanberger to reject any effort that would place the redistricting process back in the hands of partisan politicians.

Redistricting Reform Approved by Voters in 2020

In 2020, Virginians voted overwhelmingly—by a two-to-one margin—to approve a constitutional amendment creating a bipartisan Redistricting Commission. The measure was championed as a landmark reform by members of both parties and supported by prominent Democrats at the time.

Among those praising the initiative were Senate Democratic Leader Mamie Locke, who said voters wanted legislators chosen by the people, not the other way around. Then-Senate President Pro Tempore Louise Lucas described it as “an equitable, transparent, and bipartisan process.” U.S. Senator Tim Kaine urged lawmakers to “keep going down the road to nonpartisan redistricting,” while Representative Don Beyer declared, “Gerrymandering is cheating.”

The commission was designed to remove partisan influence by requiring consensus between Republican and Democratic members. When the commission could not agree on final maps, the Virginia Supreme Court stepped in as a neutral backstop—producing the state’s current congressional and legislative boundaries.

Senators Say Repeal Would Betray Voters’ Trust

Senator Obenshain called the proposed repeal “a breathtaking act of cynicism.”

“Democrats and Republicans stood side by side and asked Virginians to adopt a bipartisan redistricting process with a Supreme Court backstop,” Obenshain said. “Voters overwhelmingly approved it. To tear it up after one use, just because Democrats didn’t like the outcome, is a breathtaking act of cynicism. It’s an attack on the voters’ trust.”

He added that abandoning the system after only one cycle undermines the democratic principles of fairness and accountability that Virginians supported at the ballot box.

A Test of Leadership for Earle-Sears and Spanberger

McDougle and Obenshain framed the moment as a test of integrity and leadership for both Lt. Governor Earle-Sears and Congresswoman Spanberger, the Democratic nominee for governor. They urged both to make clear public statements rejecting any attempt to reinstate a partisan redistricting process.

“This is a test of leadership,” McDougle said. “Lt. Governor Earle-Sears and Congresswoman Spanberger should publicly reject this return to reckless partisan political gerrymandering. No special session. No repeal. No return to partisan redistricting.”

The senators concluded that Virginians deserve “fair maps drawn in the open—not back-room deals designed to protect politicians.”