By Ted Hesson and Ryan Patrick Jones
WASHINGTON, Feb 15 (Reuters) – The Democratic Party is willing to spend tens of millions on a Virginia redistricting effort that could gain the party four more seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, the chamber’s top Democrat said on Sunday.
Democrats will do “whatever it takes” to ensure a Virginia ballot initiative succeeds in an April voter referendum, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told CNN’s “State of the Union” program.
Their push for new voting maps in Virginia and Maryland to pick up more seats in Congress and offset similar Republican efforts is part of an increasingly partisan approach to redistricting ahead of November’s midterm elections.
Republicans, who currently hold a narrow majority in the House, have passed redistricting plans in Texas, Missouri, Ohio and North Carolina.
Voters in California approved a Democratic-backed redistricting measure. Some Democrats also hope to redraw the congressional map in Maryland to eliminate its sole Republican-held seat, but the state Senate president, Democrat Bill Ferguson, said there is not enough support in his chamber and that he does not plan to hold a vote on the bill.
Jeffries on Sunday said he had not recently spoken to Ferguson, but would have a conversation with him “at some point” if he continues to oppose the redistricting proposal.
The effort to redraw districts comes months ahead of November midterm elections where Democrats will try to wrest control of the U.S. Congress from Republicans. In response to a question about what Democrats would spend on the Virginia effort, Jeffries told CNN the party will do “whatever it takes” to win that April referendum.
The U.S. Supreme Court in 2019 stripped federal courts of their power to police partisan voting maps, opening the door to state-by-state battles to craft congressional districts. Last year, Republican President Donald Trump demanded that his party redraw the maps to their benefit, sparking a battle with Democrats who in turn adopted a more aggressive approach to the issue.
The Virginia Supreme Court said on Friday it would allow a Democratic-backed redistricting effort to head to a voter referendum in April.
“We’re striking back,” Jeffries told CNN. “We’re going to make sure that there’s a fair national map.”
U.S. Senator Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina, said on CBS News’ “Face the Nation” that he worried about his party’s ability to maintain control in the House, partly because of redistricting.
(Reporting by Ryan Patrick Jones in Toronto and Ted Hesson in Washington; Editing by Sergio Non and Matthew Lewis)
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