U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) holds a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 5, 2026 in Washington, DC.
Joe Raedle | Getty Images
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., on Monday promised a “massive Democratic redistricting counteroffensive” and said House Democrats would huddle Thursday on the ongoing partisan gerrymandering wars ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
Jeffries, in a letter to the House Democratic caucus, called the meeting after a series of blows to the party in the last two weeks on the redistricting front. On Friday, the Virginia Supreme Court struck down a referendum that would have allowed new congressional maps in the state that could have netted Democrats as many as four additional seats. Virginia Democrats on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to halt that ruling.
A week earlier, the Supreme Court weakened a section of the Voting Rights Act, paving the way for GOP-led states across the South to redraw their congressional maps and eliminate Democrat-controlled, majority-minority districts.
Democrats had been widely favored to regain the U.S. House this November, but taken together, the decisions have bolstered Republican hopes of maintaining their majority. Jeffries’ letter is the latest proclamation from Democrats that they intend to fight back, either in the courts, via legislation, or by pursuing their own aggressive redistricting agenda
“Even after being aided and abetted by blatantly undemocratic court decisions, the failed GOP majority will not be able to gerrymander themselves back into power,” Jeffries wrote. “Democrats will take control of the House of Representatives in November.”
Rep. Joe Morelle, the top Democrat on the House Administration Committee, which has jurisdiction over federal elections, will help lead the caucus-wide briefing on Thursday. Jeffries also deployed Morelle, a fellow New York lawmaker, to their home state last week to talk to Gov. Kathy Hochul and state legislators about the possibility of redistricting for the 2028 elections.
In his letter, Jeffries named New York, Colorado, Washington and Maryland as states that “are taking steps to decisively respond to what the U.S. Supreme Court has unleashed.”
But in this election year, Republicans now have a decisive edge in the partisan gerrymandering wars, with as many as 12 additional House seat pickups thanks to mid-decade redistricting, according to an analysis by Issue One, a bipartisan group that seeks to reduce the influence of money in politics.
Last week, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, signed a new map for the state that eliminated its lone Democrat-held district. Other Southern states, including Alabama, Louisiana and South Carolina have also taken steps to de-draw their maps in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Voting Rights Act decision.
Despite these setbacks, Jeffries and Democrats continue to point to President Donald Trump’s tanking favorability ratings and growing frustration over the war in Iran and rising prices as reason for optimism.
“Donald Trump is deeply unpopular and Republicans have failed to make life better for the American people. Instead of changing direction, GOP extremists are scheming to change the electoral composition of districts throughout the country,” he said.
States normally redraw their congressional lines every 10 years following the U.S. Census.
Trump began the push for mid-decade redistricting last year, urging Texas and other GOP-led states to draw more favorable maps as Republicans faced significant headwinds heading into the midterms.
Democratic-led states California and Virginia began their own redistricting efforts as a counter measure. In both states, voters passed referendums to allow the new maps.
In a 4-3 ruling, the Virginia Supreme Court found that state Democrats did not follow the proper procedure when placing the constitutional amendment on the ballot. The referendum passed by three percentage points in April.
