By a 4-3 margin Friday, members of the Supreme Court of Virginia issued a ruling voiding the results of the state’s April 21 redistricting special election—keeping in place the current congressional district boundaries, including the 1st Congressional District, which is where both Gloucester and Mathews are located.
The 1st Congressional District was one of several that were being redrawn in an attempt to turn the state’s 5-4 Democratic Party advantage into a potentially 10-1 Democratic Party edge.
In the case of Scott v. McDougle, the court found that the General Assembly, when it approved submitting the referendum to Virginia voters, had violated the state’s Constitution, which requires a 90-day minimum period between the legislature’s final approval and the voting process. Early voting on the referendum began on Friday, March 6, with the mid-decade redistricting map referendum receiving final approval by the Virginia Senate on Jan. 16.
Two days before early voting began, the state Supreme Court ruled that the election could proceed while the matter was still being considered. On April 21, Virginia voters narrowly approved the partisan redistricting plan, with “Yes” receiving 1.6 million votes (or 51.69 percent) and “No” getting 1.5 million votes (or 48.31 percent). Voters in Gloucester and Mathews overwhelmingly voted “No” on the referendum (71.99 percent of the vote in Gloucester and 72.86 percent of the vote in Mathews).
As a result of Friday’s court ruling, the State Board of Elections will take no further action in relation to the election. “Further, for the 2026 Primary and General Elections, no changes will be made to the congressional district boundaries that existed prior to the Redistricting Referendum Special Election,” a release stated.
Primary elections will be held on Aug. 4 for all offices in the 2026 election cycle, including local races, U.S. Senate as well as the U.S. House of Representatives. The 2026 general election will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 3. U.S. House of Representative candidates running for party nomination must file by May 26. Independent candidates must file by Aug. 4.
Friday’s court decision has, as expected, drawn praise from Republicans and condemnation from Democrats. “Today’s decision by the Supreme Court of Virginia affirms what we have said from the very beginning: this redistricting process was unconstitutional,” said Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Montross) in a statement released soon after the decision was announced.
“The court has made clear that you cannot cut corners on the Constitution, ignore required procedures, and mislead voters to force through changes of this magnitude,” he said. “The amendment was invalid from the start, and the attempt to rush it through outside the constitutional framework has been rightly rejected.”
“Last month, millions of Virginians cast their ballots and stood up against the Republican power grab,” said Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chair Suzan DelBene said. “Today, four unelected judges decided to cast aside the will of the voters. This is a setback that sends a terrible message to Americans—the powerful and elite will do everything they can to silence you.”
Several of Wittman’s Democratic challengers, including Shannon Taylor, Jason Knapp and Salaam Bhatti, also issued statements on Friday condemning the court decision and reaffirming their commitment to seek the Congressional seat.
On Monday, Democrats filed an emergency appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court to halt the state supreme court’s ruling, according to the Associated Press.