'Rigged the ballot question': Mike Johnson as Virginia votes for congressional map favoring Democrats

U.S House Speaker Mike Johnson lambasted Democrats on Tuesday in a post on X, as he claimed that the blue party was breaking the law, waging warfare, and disenfranchising millions of voters so that they could "force their radical, unwanted agenda down the throats of every American." The Speaker’s comments come after voters in Virginia voted in favor of a new congressional map, which would give Democrats a huge advantage in the midterm elections.

Dubbed one of the most extreme political gerrymanders of the year by CNN, the redrawing of Virginia's congressional map would lock out Republicans entirely, as Democrats would gain control of 10 of the state's 11 districts. "Tonight's result only proves how egregious Democrats' gerrymander is in a state where almost half of voters (46%) backed President Trump!” Speaker Johnson wrote, adding, "That is why Democrats relied on rigging the ballot question in order to win. We fought this effort with money, manpower, and in the courts - and those fights will continue."

Speaker Johnson also cited the Democrats' redistricting of New York mid-cycle in 2024. He claimed that Democrats would "throw open our borders, let crime run rampant in our streets, project weakness on the world stage, make life more expensive for every family, and flood our elections with non-citizens."

Johnson ended the post with a rallying cry for Republicans, claiming that the GOP would emerge victorious in the midterms. Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger, however, disagrees. In a recent interview with MS Now, Spanberger said that President Trump's "poor leadership" and the "chaos that he's created" would propel a blue wave, which would see Democrats in control of the House next year.

"I believe that there will be yet another wave election because people recognize the broken promises and lies coming out of this White House," she said. Spanberger also claimed that the President "ordered states to draw more Republican seats in Congress because he knows he cannot win with his record." Spanberger also attacked the campaign launched against the redistricting referendum and accused it of "misrepresentation."

"You know, certainly we were out and about encouraging people to vote ‘yes,’ but the ‘no’ campaign was strong. It was ample. It featured millions of dollars worth of television ads and mailers, you know, misrepresenting my position and President Obama's position, trying to trick people," she said, as per a report in The Hill. Both she and former President Barack Obama have been vocal supporters of the redistricting referendum. "But in the end, Virginia voters understood that the legislature and we had given them the power to make this choice, and I think they made the right one," she added.

The redistricting battle began in 2025 when President Trump forced the Republican legislature in Texas to redraw the state's congressional map to remove five Democratic House lawmakers. In response, the Democratic legislation in California approved new maps that could flip five Republican seats, followed by Virginia, which could flip four.