Democrats facing new headwinds after a shocking Virginia court ruling that overturned their voter-approved congressional map vowed on Sunday to win the midterm elections in November and regain control of the U.S. House.
“We’re definitely going to try to keep fighting this battle,” Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”
The congressman predicted Democrats will go on to win two of the four House seats in play under their redistricting plan, which was approved by Virginia voters on April 21 and rejected by the state’s Supreme Court on Friday.
“If you look at the polling data and the results we’ve had in special elections this year as well as last year, we think the Republicans may have an advantage of anywhere between three to five additional seats,” Lieu said. “That is not enough for them to stop a Democratic blue wave coming this November. And the best thing to do when a court does something outlandish like the Virginia Supreme Court is to get back up and fight and make sure we win in the midterms.”
For those less optimistic, new and drastic efforts to push through the redistricting map are underway. One idea reportedly being floated is to send the Virginia Supreme Court into early retirement by lowering the mandatory retirement age for its justices, which under current law is set at 73.
The plan, which would require approval by the Democratic-controlled state legislature, was discussed during a private call on Saturday among top Democrats who included members of the Virginia U.S. House delegation and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, according to The New York Times. The proposal drew mixed reactions on the call, The Times noted, and it wasn’t clear if it was legally viable.
Following the court’s ruling, Jeffries said his party was “exploring all options to overturn this shocking decision.” He told MS NOW’s “Velshi” on Saturday, “We’re going to need nationwide judicial reform. We’re going to need nationwide electoral reform. We’re going to need nationwide campaign finance reform.”
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Former Republican Rep. Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania said on ABC’s “This Week” Sunday that he doesn’t see how his party can win in the current climate in which the party’s leader, President Donald Trump, seems detached from what voters want and need.
“I don’t see a path for Republicans to take back the House,” Dent said, adding that Trump talking about his White House ballroom and his proposed so-called Arch de Trump is turning off GOP voters.
The nationwide redistricting war began after the Republican-controlled Texas legislature last year passed a congressional map that heavily favored the GOP, at Trump’s direction. California’s Democratic-led legislature drew new and favorable districts in retaliation. Several other states with legislatures controlled by Republicans followed suit.
Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., warned his colleagues on the other side of the aisle on Sunday that they had better “be very careful what you pray for.”
“Because what I do believe is that when they finish with the redistricting, there will be the possibilities of at least three Democrats getting elected here in South Carolina to the United States Congress,” Clyburn said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Erum Salam is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW, with a focus on how global events and foreign policy shape U.S. politics. She previously was a breaking news reporter for The Guardian.