The top House Democrat guaranteed a victory for his party in the November midterms in a message to lawmakers Monday, seeking to settle nerves after a pair of redistricting-related court decisions threatened to hand several seats to Republicans.
“Democrats will take control of the House of Representatives in November,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries wrote in the “Dear Colleague” letter.
Jeffries also announced a Thursday House Democratic Caucus meeting to discuss “the steps Democrats are taking to advance the largest voter protection effort in modern American history.” Rep. Joe Morelle of New York, the top Democrat on the House Administration Committee, will help lead the briefing.
“Given the highly unfavorable political environment confronting House Republicans, the extremists will not meaningfully benefit from their scandalous gerrymandering scheme,” Jeffries said. “Quite the opposite. Democratic enthusiasm and resolve have grown more intense.”
The Virginia Supreme Court on Friday struck down a new voter-approved map that would have created four Democratic-friendly districts. The Supreme Court earlier this month limited the effect of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that gives Republicans leeway to redraw majority-minority districts in the South.
Jeffries called these “blatantly undemocratic court decisions” but added that “the failed GOP majority will not be able to gerrymander themselves back into power.”
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