Virginia’s proposed congressional map has been made public.
The new lines leave Democrats with a fighting chance to retain control of the majority of the Commonwealth’s congressional districts.
But at least one Democrat has been stranded.
As POLITICO reports:
Virginia’s new potential congressional map would give Democrats a fighting chance to hang onto their current share of seven of the state’s 11 districts, but it erases the suburban Richmond district of one of the party’s rising stars: second-term Rep. Abigail Spanberger.
The draft, crafted by two special masters appointed by the state Supreme Court and released on Wednesday, largely preserves Virginia’s current political split. There still are four deep-red seats, six Democratic-leaning seats and one sharply contested swing district, currently held by Democratic Rep. Elaine Luria.
“It looks like a status quo kind of map, consistent with the partisan divide of the state,” said Democratic Rep. Bobby Scott, the dean of the delegation, who represents Hampton Roads. “The lines look a little more compact and contiguous, so the numbers speak for themselves.”
The parties’ fortunes likely won’t change if these lines are adopted: Republicans will still be underdogs in a majority of the blue-leaning state’s districts, except in a wave election. But some Democrats are frustrated with how the mapmakers handled the three women in the delegation: Spanberger, Luria and Democratic Rep. Jennifer Wexton.