After a bruising redistricting ruling, some advocates still see upside for Democrats heading into the midterms.
The Supreme Court of Virginia overturning the special election on redistricting was a big loss for Democrats, but advocates looking to push back on the Trump administration still see some upside heading into November’s midterm elections.
Lynlee Thorne, political director with Rural GroundGame, a group focused on helping elect Democrats in rural Virginia, called the state Supreme Court ruling “a pretty brutal gut punch,” but the referendum passing showed that a lot of voters supported Democrats fighting back against the Trump administration.
“They were here to take this unprecedented action with us,” Thorne said of voters. “And a lot of them were really grateful to hear Democrats are going to fight. They’ve been really waiting for that.”
Thorne said she knew of a volunteer for the “Yes” campaign who phonebanked while getting treatment in the hospital. She said this volunteer exemplified the passion of many Virginia voters looking for ways to push back on the Trump administration. Thorne said the referendum showed voters that Democrats are in fact willing to take bold steps.
“We are capable of fighting,” Thorne said. “And I think there is now an appetite for that that is even stronger.”
While the ruling is disappointing, Democrats learned a lot about how to talk to voters about the issues and strengthen the case they were making about Trump’s threat to the country, Thorne said. Those are skills that will come in handy as Democrats campaign on three more constitutional amendments this fall, she added.
“I think we got to flex the muscles that maybe we haven’t flexed ever,” Thorne said. “I think that was important.”
Rhena Hicks, co-executive director with Freedom Virginia, an advocacy group focused on affordability policies that supported redistricting, agreed. She said that voters want to see leaders fight hard battles even if sometimes they lose. That’s in part because of widespread frustration with the rising cost of living as gas prices spike because of Trump’s war in Iran.
“We need a better federal government, and if they’re not doing what they need to do to bring down costs, then we need to do everything in our power to change that,” Hicks said.
Despite the setback of the state Supreme Court ruling, Hicks thinks many voters are still fired up to see changes to the status quo.
“I think defeat is sometimes a good motivator,” Hicks said. “And I wouldn’t even really call this a defeat because, again, the votes speak for themselves.”
For some groups, the outcome of the referendum hasn’t done much to change their focus heading into the midterms.
Emily Yeatts is the campaign director at Affordable Virginia, an advocacy organization focused on getting US Rep. Jen Kiggans of Virginia’s 2nd congressional district to support policies that bring down costs.
Yeatts said Affordable Virginia is still mostly focused on letting more people know about the impacts of Kiggans’ votes in Congress. For example, Kiggans supported the One Big Beautiful Bill that cut Affordable Care Act subsidies and has led to tens of thousands of Virginians losing their healthcare.
“Regardless of what happened, we still would have been focused on that,” Yeatts said. “She was going to be representing this area no matter what, so our goals have remained the same.”
