Virginia redistricting lesson: Republicans ignore blue cities at their peril
Virginians narrowly approved a ballot measure that would redraw congressional lines to favor Democrats, despite concerns about long-term gerrymandering risks. The opposition's failure stemmed in part from insufficient outreach to moderate and urban voters who might be open to conservative arguments. The author argues that Republicans must invest more in engaging voters in blue cities to avoid future electoral losses.
- ▪Virginians approved the redistricting measure by a slim 3-point margin.
- ▪Opponents of the measure were outspent three-to-one, $62 million to $20 million.
- ▪Swinging 5% of voters in Virginia’s seven largest localities could have defeated the ballot measure.
- ▪A small investment in urban outreach could have closed the gap in the election.
- ▪The author led the 'vote no' ballot committee, Your Vote Matters.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
On Election Day last week, I stood outside of my polling station in suburban Richmond, urging everyone who passed to vote against unfair gerrymandering. Most people nodded politely as they walked by, but one young man stopped to talk. He said he was a Democrat but planned to vote against the ballot proposal, which would redraw Virginia’s congressional lines to all but guarantee the election of Democrats in 10 of the state’s 11 seats. Intrigued, I asked him to explain his thinking.
…
Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Washington Examiner.
Discussion
0 commentsMore from Washington Examiner
