Democrats believed they scored a decisive win for the 2026 midterms with their gerrymandered map that gave them a 10-1 Democratic advantage. You never celebrate until the game is over. This was like dropping the football before crossing the goal line into the end zone. Instead of six points, it’s a touchback; Republicans get the ball. The state Supreme Court ruled that Democrats violated procedure when pushing the amendment to pass this new map. As such, it was struck down in a 4-3 decision written by a justice that Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) had appointed to the Virginia appeals court when he was governor.
Meanwhile, Florida and Tennessee approved new maps. South Carolina is on track to do the same, all within their state constitutional limits. The highlight was the meltdown. The second highlight was how Democrats believed they could appeal this to the Supreme Court. On what grounds? The Virginia Supreme Court was ruling on a matter entirely related to Virginia’s state constitution. There is no federal connection here, nor anything that would prompt the U.S. Supreme Court to step in. They recognize this, which is why they’re pushing this crazy move to challenge the Virginia Supreme Court (via NYT):
On Democrats’ new, deeply insane fever dream in Virginia, as reported by the NYT: pic.twitter.com/Kf3RvCiVxG
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) May 11, 2026
Note: state democrats are not currently supportive of this plan.
— Judicial Hub (@judicialhub) May 10, 2026
This is categorically insane.
— Caroline Wren (@CarolineWren) May 10, 2026
But also this level of insane is what I was looking for from @BrianKempGA.
The Democrats are always willing to cross the insane line while the GOP dances around “democracy” https://t.co/88C2gTeVtj
Democrats are struggling to respond to a major redistricting setback in Virginia, with some party leaders discussing an audacious and possibly far-fetched idea for trying to restore a congressional map voided by the court but showing little indication they have a clear plan.
During a private discussion on Saturday that included Democratic House members from Virginia and Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the minority leader, the lawmakers vented anger at their defeat at the Virginia Supreme Court, spoke about a collective determination to flip two or three Republican-held seats under the existing map and discussed a bank-shot proposal to redraw the congressional lines anyway, according to three people who participated in the call and two others who were briefed on it.
They did not land on a specific course forward, and Mr. Jeffries and the other members of Congress agreed to consult with their lawyers about the most prudent way to proceed, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe a private talk.
The conversation reflected the desperation and fury that have gripped the party after the state Supreme Court struck down a favorable map that had been ratified by voters. The most dramatic idea they discussed — which would involve an unusual gambit to replace the entire state Supreme Court, with a goal of reinstating their gerrymandered map — drew mixed reactions on the call, said the people, and it was not clear that it would even be viable, or palatable to Gov. Abigail Spanberger and Democrats in the Virginia General Assembly.
[…]
One key to the plan would be having Democrats in Richmond lower the mandatory retirement age for state Supreme Court justices, an idea that began circulating among state lawmakers and members of Congress after a column proposing a version of the idea was published on Friday night in The Downballot, a progressive newsletter.
Ms. Spanberger would have to sign off on any legislation that lowered the judicial retirement age. She has not been briefed on the proposal, the people involved in the discussion or briefed on it said. Her spokeswoman, Libby Wiet, declined to comment.
The first step in the process, as discussed on the delegation’s call, would be to invoke a January ruling by a circuit court judge in Tazewell County, Va., that said the 2026 constitutional amendment effort to redraw the maps was invalid because county officials did not post notice of it at courthouses and other public locations three months before a general election.
Democrats would aim to use that ruling to seek to invalidate the earlier constitutional amendment that created the state’s independent redistricting commission by arguing that courthouses across the state did not post notice of it at the time. That would give the legislature the authority to enact a map of its choosing.
Ensuring the plan proceeds would involve the General Assembly, which is controlled by Democrats, lowering the mandatory retirement age for Virginia’s Supreme Court from 75 to 54…
That’s insane: lowering the retirement age of the bench to sabotage the independent redistricting amendment. First, this isn’t just a simple move—it's the ultimate Hail Mary. Second, after this body blow, I doubt Gov. Abigail Spanberger wants any more drama from this fight. Her side lost. Third, Democrats aren’t smart enough to pull this off. Hakeem Jeffries, aka Temu Obama, isn’t the person who should be quarterbacking this operation. His side lost. He’s eaten a mountain of crow since the Virginia Supreme Court nuked his entire game plan here. He never had the bandwidth to pull this off, so why would Democrats back this cockamamie plan? Anything Jeffries pushes ends in disaster.
But this is next-level insanity and a glimpse into how Democrats handle losing. They’re desperate. They know the 2030 census will further weaken them, so they’re acting like they're ‘burning down the village to save it.'
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