Republicans have regained the advantage in the national mid-decade redistricting battle after the Virginia Supreme Court struck down a map that sought to expand Democrats’ control of that state’s House delegation.

Under a redrawn map proposed by Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger and state legislature Democrats, Republicans were projected to lose up to four seats in the upcoming midterms—a development that would have placed Democrats ahead in the national fight.

Following the approval of the map by Virginia on April 22, Republicans took the fight against the measure to the courts.

The state Supreme Court agreed with the measure’s critics, ruling that the Democrat-controlled General Assembly failed to follow constitutional procedures when advancing the measure.

The proposed map would likely have heavily favored Democrats, creating a projected 10-to-one advantage over Republicans in the state’s U.S. House delegation.

The decision bolsters House Republicans’ national position ahead of the midterm elections as the redistricting fight approaches its conclusion with the approaching 2026 midterm primaries.

Here’s what to know.

The national redistricting frenzy was kicked off in Texas, after President Donald Trump urged Republicans to redraw the state’s congressional maps in the wake of his sweeping 14-point win in the state in 2024.

Texas Republicans ultimately passed a measure to expand their control of the state legislature by five seats.

Since then, several other states have also approved redistricting measures.

In Ohio, lawmakers approved a bipartisan deal that Republicans hope will see them gain up to two new seats. Some state legislature Democrats who backed the deal expressed optimism that their party could retain one or both of the seats under the new maps.

In North Carolina, Republicans passed a map that aims to pick up the seat currently held by Rep. Don Davis (D-N.C.).

Likewise, Missouri Republicans passed a measure that they hope will help the party pick up one more House seat. The state Supreme Court has upheld the map against some challenges, though it will hear a few cases on the matter in May.

In total, Republicans could gain up to nine new seats from these districting changes.

Democrats have responded with successful redistricting efforts of their own in California, while the party gained an unexpected victory via a court ruling in Utah.

In California, voters in November 2025 approved a referendum to add five congressional districts that favor Democrats. Gov. Gavin Newsom sold the push as a short-term effort meant to respond to changes in Texas.

The U.S. Supreme Court denied an appeal from California Republicans—who claimed that the map unlawfully favors Hispanics—to overturn the map. The high court said the map could be used in this year’s election.

Meanwhile, Democrats are also on track to gain a seat in Utah.

In November, a Utah state judge ordered new House district boundaries be drawn to include Salt Lake City as a single district. Previously, the map split Salt Lake City into four separate districts, diluting its Democrat-favoring voter base.

The court found that lawmakers had sidestepped voter-approved anti-gerrymandering rules when drawing the previous map. In February, both a federal court panel and the state Supreme Court rejected Republican challenges to the court-imposed districts.

In total, Democrats could pick up six seats from these changes.

Before the state Supreme Court struck down Democrats’ Virginia redistricting push, Democrats had briefly led in the national redistricting fight with ten seats.

Now, Democrats stand at roughly a three-seat disadvantage compared to Republicans, if all districting changes pan out in the elections as planned.

With primary season fast approaching, Democrats have few other options for redistricting before the midterms, as some of the most critical blue states have already ruled out or rejected changes to the map.

Previously, several Democrats hinted at or pursued changes to their state maps.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker indicated that the state was musing on redrawing maps to further favor Democrats, no push to that end has gained momentum.

In New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul had pushed for the state to redraw its congressional boundaries, any such change has been blocked by the U.S. Supreme Court.

In March, the Supreme Court overturned a lower court order that had called on the state legislature to redraw Rep. Nicole Malliotakis’s (R-N.Y.) 11th congressional district seat.

In Maryland, Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, has pushed the state legislature to redistrict the state’s single Republican seat, but the push has so far failed to gain steam. A bill to that end stalled in the state Senate.

Florida, meanwhile, is pursuing a push to redistrict up to four congressional seats in favor of Republicans, a move that could bring the GOP’s advantage in the national fight up to seven seats.

—Joseph Lord

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