Former Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) is intensifying his opposition to a proposed state constitutional amendment on redistricting, urging voters to reject what he describes as a “gerrymandered grab of power” ahead of the vote on Tuesday.
Youngkin argued the measure would undo the state’s 2020 constitutional reform that established an independent redistricting process. That amendment, approved by roughly two-thirds of Virginia voters, created a bipartisan commission designed to limit direct political control over the drawing of congressional and legislative maps.
“Virginia in 2020 held a constitutional referendum, amended our constitution to have nonpartisan independent redistricting,” Youngkin said on Fox News’s America’s Newsroom on Monday. “Two-thirds of Virginians said we want politicians out.”
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The proposed amendment, introduced by current Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), would effectively replace the current commission process with a new map-drawing approach that would heavily favor Democrats.
“Now we have Abigail Spanberger saying she will ignore the voice of people in Virginia, override them, and try to adopt the most gerrymandered map in America,” Youngkin said. “Today, we have what is assessed as the fairest map in America. I don’t love it. Six Democrats and five Republicans, but it is fair. She wants to turn it into the most gerrymandered map in America. It is wrong. People in Virginia should stand up and vote no tomorrow.”
If the proposal passes, it would disenfranchise rural voters in Virginia by diluting their representation, a concern that has fueled frustration and heightened political engagement in rural communities across the state.
Virginia’s vote is unfolding amid a larger national redistricting push. In 2025, President Donald Trump encouraged red states, notably Texas, a Republican stronghold, to revisit congressional maps mid-decade, prompting counter-efforts from Democrats in other states, including California and Maryland.
Youngkin argued the redistricting battle actually began with Democrats years prior.
“Let’s just start with the truth,” he said. “This started back in 2016 when [former U.S. Attorney General] Eric Holder, when he got out of the Obama administration, started the Democrat redistricting commission. And in 2022 and again in 2024, they pressed to pick up seats in New York.”
Earlier in April, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) raised half a million dollars as Republicans fundraised to stop the ballot measure. Democrats have raised over $50 million in efforts to pass the measure, with a recent George Mason University Schar School of Policy and Government poll showing the amendment leading by 5 points.
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“They’ve poured $70 million into this,” Youngkin said. “More than they spent on the governor’s race in a very short period of time to try to fool, deceive, and trick people in Virginia.”
Youngkin is scheduled to appear at a rally in Fauquier County Monday night alongside former Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares (R), where they are expected to make a final appeal to voters on the eve of the referendum.
