Virginia just delivered the moment Hakeem Jeffries has been waiting for.
Voters approved a new congressional map that adds up to four Democratic-leaning districts, handing the party a stronger chance of retaking the House. The minority leader is leaning in, taunting Republicans and vowing “maximum warfare, everywhere, all the time.”
“Democrats defeated Donald Trump’s gerrymandering scheme in Virginia tonight,” Jeffries said in a statement Tuesday evening. “We will crush the DeSantis Dummymander in Florida next.”
Jeffries has staked much of his credibility as a party leader on the effort, pouring time, money and political capital into a nationwide push to create new blue districts as Republicans rush to do the same in red states.
Tuesday night’s narrow win marks a major feather in Jeffries’ cap that will help burnish his reputation in the Democratic caucus as an operator and foil to Trump. It’s also a signature win for a rising leader who is often compared to his iconic predecessor, Nancy Pelosi.
Democrats are reading the success as a promising bellwether ahead of the midterms and a sign of mounting voter frustration with Trump and the GOP trifecta.
Yet Tuesday night’s buzz could quickly become a political hangover, as a handful of Democratic primaries spring up in new seats and Republicans take a fresh look at other newly competitive districts.
“We don’t take anything for granted,” Democratic Rep. James Walkinshaw said in an interview. “All of the districts will get a little bit more competitive.”
Walkinshaw listed five districts, including his own in Northern Virginia, that he thinks could require renewed attention from Democrats to hold. He said Democrats are bracing for the likelihood that “strong Republican candidates” may be waiting in the wings.
But House Republicans aren’t exactly projecting confidence about sudden pick-up opportunities, and they seem to be more focused on the sudden need for defense. All five Virginia Republicans — Ben Cline, Morgan Griffith, Jen Kiggans, John McGuire and Rob Wittman — skipped votes Tuesday.
Notably, Wittman serves as vice chair on the Armed Services Committee. A loss in his new district — which Kamala Harris would have won by over 17 points in 2024 — throws a wrench into his not-so-secret plan to become the panel’s next top Republican.
NRCC Chair Richard Hudson said in an interview Tuesday that he hopes the state Supreme Court “will step in and stop” the new map.
Pressed on whether NRCC strategy or funding will change at all, Hudson did not offer any specifics — just that he believes Kiggans, who Republicans saw as their most vulnerable Virginia member, “can win either map.”
What else we’re watching:
— Vote-a-rama time? Senate Republicans are preparing to start a marathon voting session as soon as Wednesday to kick off consideration of Trump’s $70 billion immigration enforcement funding bill. It may slip to Thursday.
— FISA latest: House GOP leaders are exploring bipartisan options for extending Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, as Republican hard-liners dig in over privacy concerns with the spy program. Speaker Mike Johnson met Tuesday evening with Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick and Darin LaHood, who have been talking with Democrats including Rep. Jim Himes, the ranking member on House Intel.
Jordain Carney, Jennifer Scholtes and Mia McCarthy contributed reporting.
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