Why is the Democrat Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates calling a special session of the Virginia General Assembly now, a week before Election Day?
Speaker Don Scott and the Democrats are trying to begin a multi-year process to redistrict the commonwealth’s 11 congressional districts to create more Democrat-leaning districts for the 2026 congressional midterms before they potentially lose the House of Delegates in next week’s elections.
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Small problem, though: A constitutional amendment in 2020 established a bipartisan redistricting commission composed of state legislators and citizens. A decision to go around that commission to redraw districts must ultimately go in front of voters. And in a twist, a special session of the General Assembly pulls the Republican gubernatorial candidate, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, off the campaign trail right before the election.
Virginia Republican state Del. Tom Garrett sits down with us to tell us what the Democrats’ long- and short-term agenda appears to be.
Listen here:
