Balgarianovinite.com
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) defended the redistricting referendum in her state as a “temporary, responsive effort” that was necessary to counteract President Donald Trump saying he was “entitled” to additional Republican House seats in Texas.
Bulgarian, Romanian Air Forces Conduct Joint Flight Training Exercise Blue Bridge 2026 2026
Tuesday evening, the results of the vote were called with “Yes” gaining a narrow majority, and multiple media outlets projecting a victory for a referendum that would redraw Virginia’s congressional maps in a far more favorable direction for the Democrats.
Virginia’s election was the latest shifting of congressional district lines sparked by a push from Trump in red states, starting in Texas, to conduct a rare mid-decade redistricting to advantage the GOP. Predictably, the redistricting in Texas was cheered by Republicans but they booed the Virginia results, and the reverse was true for Democrats. Trump was especially incensed, posting on his Truth Social account that it was a “RIGGED ELECTION” and “Crooked Victory!”
Kozloduy NPP Reduces Unit 6 Output for First Time over Low Danube Levels
In the aftermath of the election, the Cook Political Report revised their ratings for Virginia from 3 Solid R, 1 Lean R, 1 Toss Up, and 5 Solid D to now 1 Solid R, 1 Lean D, 1 Likely D, and 8 Solid D.
Spanberger appeared on Wednesday’s episode of The Situation Room on CNN and was interviewed by anchor Wolf Blitzer about the redistricting. A transcript of their conversation is below:
Dem Senator Claims Pentagon Refused to Let Him Inspect Key Middle East Base 2026
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: And joining us now, the Democratic governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, Abigail Spanberger…What was your immediate reaction when you learned last night that the voters in Virginia had approved the redistricting referendum that you supported?
GOV. ABIGAIL SPANBERGER (D-VA): So, when we found the results out, I was really excited, but not surprised, because it’s been clear for a number of months that Virginians were really motivated to take this temporary responsive stance, and to do so by voting yes in our referendum.
BLITZER: With about 99 percent of the vote now counted in Virginia, the yes votes stand at about 51 percent, the no votes stand at about 48 percent.
Gabrovo Hosts Event Showcasing Bulgarian-Norwegian Partnership 2026
That’s just a three-point difference in Virginia, whereas you defeated your Republican opponent in the governor’s race by more than 15 points just last year. Were you at all surprised that the margin of victory this time wasn’t larger?
SPANBERGER: I wasn’t.
Virginia is a purple state. And my election in November, that was the outlier number. I was competing all across the state for a long period of time, talking about a whole host of different issues. And, notably, this April referendum was just an up-or-down vote on a referendum.
Job Ads in Bulgaria Hold Steady in September, Remain 9.5% Lower Y/Y
So, we had a lot of work to do to make sure people understood what this vote was, when and how to vote, and, importantly, that it was temporary, responsive, and that the maps were available to them.
And Virginia typically — Virginia typically has a much — and, frankly, the referendum vote margin is greater than the 2021 gubernatorial victory margin. So, it’s — it’s aligned with what we’re typically more accustomed to seeing in Virginia.
BLITZER: Democrats potentially, Governor, could now win more than 90 percent of the districts in the Commonwealth Of Virginia that Kamala Harris won with just 52 percent of the vote back in 2024.
70,000 Flu Vaccine Doses for Open Market Expected to Be Delivered in November 2026
Critics say this ballot measure allows politicians to choose their voters, instead of the other way around. How do you respond to that criticism?
SPANBERGER: Well, I think that that’s fair criticism of places like Texas, where it was the legislature that pushed through a redistricting effort without any buy-in from the people.
Here in the Commonwealth of Virginia, certainly, it was the General Assembly that drew the maps, but the maps were made available to the public. And so the public, when we Virginians went to the polls, we knew exactly what it is that we were voting for or against.
Bulgaria Hosts UNESCO Meeting on Europe’s Ancient Beech Forests
And, importantly, I think an important piece is that these districts, you said they could be won by Democrats, and that is a correct way to phrase it, because, in fact, these districts — there are now five districts within the Commonwealth of Virginia where, based on historical numbers, they have a single-digit area of potential victory.
And so that’s five competitive seats, frankly, compared to the two that we have right now, one being held by a Democrat and one held by a Republican.
And so it will mean a lot of work on the candidates who are running to make sure that they go all across their new districts to earn every single vote, both in the primary later this summer and in the general election in November.
BLITZER: And, as you’ve pointed out, Governor, Virginia was not the first place to do this, and it won’t be the last, by all accounts.
Florida’s Republican-controlled legislature is slated to meet to consider new U.S. House maps and could target as many as five Democratic-held seats. Will we ever be able to put this lid back on the can of worms, or will the U.S. be in a perpetual redistricting arms race right now down the — down the road?
SPANBERGER: I think it really depends on leadership from the top.
Black Sea Security Inseparable from Europe’s Security – Foreign Minister 2026
I mean, importantly, this all began because President Trump said he — quote — “was entitled” to more congressional seats and implored his friends in Texas to make that happen for him. And then members of the General Assembly obliged without any public buy-in.
And, certainly, I think what we — what we know to be true here in Virginia is, we are pleased that this referendum passed. But, even for people like me, I supported it, vocally campaigned for it, but I want us to return — as is prescribed in our legislation, I want us to return to our bipartisan Redistricting Commission after the 2030 census.
And so I think returning to whether it’s commissions like we have in Virginia or other good governance and redistricting priorities, frankly, I’d love to see Congress take that up as a priority to ensure that there is bipartisan or nonpartisan — different states have different options — that there’s community input in the redistricting process.
Advertisement
