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California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a victory for Democrats on Tuesday after Virginia voters approved a redistricting referendum that could reset the House battleground before the 2026 midterms, warning the Trump administration that Democrats intend to drive a stake in their power by taking back Congress.
“We’re winning across the United States and in statehouses in the courts and now in the court of public opinion,” Newsom said in a video posted to X. “But what’s at stake is putting a foundation at the heart of the Trump administration by taking back the House of Representatives and taking it back to the United States Senate.”
The ballot measure, passed Tuesday, gives Virginia’s Democratic-controlled legislature the power to redistrict temporarily through the 2030 election, replacing the current bipartisan commission — a change that could strengthen Democrats’ position in the fight for control of the House ahead of the 2026 midterms and broader national power.
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“MAGA dare not say that they are losing their game. They are on the defensive and they are afraid.” (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Newsom has been positioning himself as the leader of the Democratic Party as his national profile builds ahead of his 2028 presidential bid.
“MAGA dare say they are losing their own game. They are defensive and afraid,” said the California governor.
High-profile Democrats, including former Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Barack Obama, hailed the poll’s results as a midyear improvement and celebrated on social media.
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“Donald Trump and the Republicans have tried to consolidate the 2026 midterms,” Kamala Harris wrote on the X site. “Today in Virginia, voters sent them a clear message: Power is in the people,” she continued.
Obama congratulated Virginia after voters approved a redistricting referendum, saying citizens of the commonwealth had shown what it looks like to “stand up for our democracy” and “fight back.”
The referendum would result in a 10-1 Democratic victory in Virginia’s congressional delegation, up from their current 6-5 margin. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Photo)
“Congratulations, Virginia! Republicans are trying to swing the midterms, but they haven’t done it yet,” Obama wrote on X. “Thank you for showing us what it looks like to stand up for our democracy and fight back.”
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“Donald Trump wants to stay in power by all means. And his biggest obstacle in the midterm elections,” wrote Gov. JB Pritzker who is likely to be the president of X.
“House Democrats have crushed Donald Trump’s national agenda,” House Democrat leader Hakeem Jeffries wrote in X. “Big fights, everywhere, all the time.”
“Congratulations, Virginia! The Republicans are trying to swing the midterm elections, but they haven’t done it yet.” (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg)
The referendum would result in a 10-1 Democratic victory in Virginia’s congressional delegation, up from their current 6-5 margin. Democrats could pick up four left-leaning US House seats before the midterms as the party looks to regain control of the chamber from the GOP’s slim majority.
Democrats have long treated redistricting as a power struggle, pouring resources into map battles, lawsuits and organizations like the National Democratic Redistricting Committee in an effort to shape Congressional lines and the House battleground ahead of the Trump era.
The Virginia Supreme Court allowed the referendum to go forward after a lower court overturned it.
But legal challenges to the referendum, filed in part by the Republican National Committee, the National Republican Congress Committee and the state GOP, have not been resolved and are still before Virginia’s highest court.
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Republicans countered with former Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin asking the Supreme Court to respond. Former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II said there would be three challenges to the amendment process itself.
Cuccinelli argued that the first part of the referendum is invalid, saying that the election must take place between the first and second stages of the measure, and that enough time passed between the final passage and the vote on Tuesday.
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Fox News Digital has reached out to Gavin Newsom’s Office and the Republican National Committee for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Landon Mion, Paul Steinhauser, Jasmine Baehr and Charles Creitz contributed to this report.
