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Voters in rural Virginia are weighing a Democratic-backed referendum on redrawing congressional district lines, as early balloting begins ahead of an April 21 vote, according to reporting from Louisa and Goochland County. In Augusta County, Michael Shull said he never expected a Democrat from the wealthy suburbs of Washington to represent his rural community in Congress, but he is now among the people watching the referendum closely.
The measure is designed to reshape Virginia’s congressional districts so that conservative rural areas would be paired with liberal suburbs, a shift supporters and critics say could change how many House seats Democrats are able to win in November. Shull, a Republican member of Augusta County’s board of supervisors, described the stakes in terms of representation, saying, “Politicians should be elected to be their people’s voice,” adding, “Not their party’s voice.”
If voters approve the constitutional amendment and it survives a court challenge, Shull’s area within Augusta County would be split between Virginia’s 7th and 9th Congressional Districts. Supporters describe the new 7th District as stretching from Democrat-dominated Arlington through a “long tail” that reaches south into rural communities, while saying the 9th District would remain the state’s lone Republican stronghold.
The referendum is part of a nationwide wave in which Democrats and Republicans have been redrawing congressional lines to improve their chances in midterm elections, the reporting said. Congressional districts are typically redrawn once a decade, but the current efforts follow President Donald Trump’s encouragement to Republicans in Texas to design a new map, a chain reaction that has fed similar political strategies in other states.
Virginia Democrats are also trying to make inroads in rural areas as part of their broader electoral efforts. Abigail Spanberger, who campaigned for governor last year by reaching out to oyster towns and agrarian communities, had previously represented a district that mixed city suburbs, exurbs and adjacent rural areas. Spanberger said that “Anyone who’s doing their job will be responsive to the communities that they seek to represent,” though the reporting described mixed results in rural counties compared with her performance in less rural areas.
At a protest and campaign activity in Louisa County, some rural Democrats urged a “yes” vote. Organizers posted signs reading “Fight Back, Vote Yes,” and “Vote Yes. Stop ICE. No Kings.” State Del. Dan Helmer, who helped spearhead the redistricting effort and is now one of multiple Democrats running in the 7th District, greeted protesters and told the crowd that Republicans underestimate the knowledge of residents in areas like Louisa.
Helmer said Republicans “think that in red areas like Louisa and in rural areas, that people don’t know what’s going on.” He continued, “But I’m looking around right now, I see strong, proud patriots who know exactly what is going on, who know that we have an aspiring dictator who is trying to take away our democracy.” Jennifer Lee, who has lived in Louisa for 33 years, said she was eager to support the district lines and argued that Republicans apply different standards to claims about the 2020 presidential election and the use of gerrymandering in districting.
Other rural Democrats were more conflicted. Anthony Flaccavento, a former congressional candidate and co-founder of the Rural Urban Bridge Initiative, said the referendum can feel like postponing deeper work to win back rural and working-class voters. Bruce Silverman, a nephrologist who was voting “yes” at a Democratic town hall in Goochland County, said, “I’m sorry, morality just goes out the door right now. We have to do what it takes for us to survive,” while others raised questions about how they would explain the decision to their neighbors.
At that town hall, Roberta Thacker-Oliver, who votes in the rural 9th District, which she said would become “bigger and redder,” asked what she would tell her community about “why they need to take one for the team.” The reporting described the debate as voters and party activists discussed whether the referendum crosses a moral line even as they weighed what is at stake for future congressional representation.
Associated Press writers Maya Sweedler, Ashlyn Still and Joey Cappelletti contributed to the report.