Washington, May 9 Virginia's Supreme Court has struck down a Democratic-leaning congressional map, dealing a major blow to the party's efforts in the battle for control of Congress.
The new map, approved by a slim majority of voters in a statewide referendum last month, would have allowed Democrats to increase their share of Virginia's US House delegation by as many as four seats, reports Xinhua news agency.
In its opinion, the court on Friday (local time) found that the Virginia General Assembly failed to follow constitutional procedures and that the legislature improperly submitted the referendum to voters, rendering the results "null and void."
The court restored the map adopted in 2021, which resulted in Virginia's current House delegation of six Democrats and five Republicans.
The decision comes amid an escalating redistricting war between Democrats and Republicans across the country, in which both parties are aiming to build an advantage in the narrowly divided House in the midterm elections.
The ruling could dim Democrats' hopes of regaining control of the House, give Republicans a clear lead in the gerrymandering fight, and strengthen the GOP's chances of defending its narrow House majority amid expected midterm headwinds.
"Huge win for the Republican Party, and America, in Virginia," US President Donald Trump said in a social media post on Friday.
Yet, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, the top Democrat in the lower chamber, vowed the fight was far from over.
"We are exploring all options to overturn this shocking decision," he said in a statement. "No matter what it takes, House Democrats will win in November so we can help rescue this nation from the extremism being unleashed by Donald Trump and Republicans."
US congressional maps are drawn once a decade, after the census, to account for population shifts. Trump kicked off the nationwide redistricting battle last year, urging Texas Republicans to redraw congressional lines to seize more red seats. California countered with a map favouring Democrats. Other red and blue states followed.
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor