March 15, 2026 Editor, The News-Gazette: The November midterm elections are being decided right now in Virginia. If our temporary redistricting referendum fails, MAGA could control congress for the rest of Trump’s term.
While the new Trump-triggered flood of red state gerrymanders is horrific, it is only adding to the deeper damage done after the 2020 census.
It was a long-standing political norm that the party not in the White House gains a significant number of seats in the midterms. In 2018, after two years of Trump’s first presidency, Democrats flipped 40 seats.
Now, even with pollsters forecasting a 5-point blue wave, Democrats could instead lose two. That’s because red states already gerrymandered so deeply.
According to Cook Political Report, Democrats should expect to win no more than 211 seats in November, just four more than the 206 expected for MAGA. Control of the House requires 218.
There are only 18 toss-ups, and even with the blue wave, those seats can tilt either way. If Democrats win half, they will have a bare two-seat majority. If they win only six, MAGA controls Congress.
Virginia voters are deciding whether to redraw our maps to add four Democratic seats to the House. Those seats will likely determine which party wins control.
The new maps are legally temporary. After the 2030 census, the redistricting commission is automatically reinstated. That can only be changed with another amendment and another referendum.
Virginia is deciding right now whether Trump will subvert U.S. democracy by installing a House of sycophants despite his historically low approval rating and in the face of a massive Democratic popular vote.
Vote yes by April 21. CHRIS GAVALER Lexington
