A political committee tied to U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has pumped $20 million into a redistricting fight in Virginia.
House Majority Forward, a political committee tied to Democratic leadership, gave $20 million to Virginians for Fair Elections. That’s the political campaign supporting a constitutional amendment and effectively implementing a new congressional map in the state that would give Democrats a greater advantage in this year’s Midterms.
An election will be held on April 21.
The $20 million donation, done over multiple contributions in February and March, represents more than half of the $38.4 million raised by Virginians for Fair Elections in favor of the referendum. Another group called The Fairness Project has donated $10 million.
Other members of Democratic U.S. House leadership, including House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar and House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark, each made $25,000 donations.
The map would shift district lines in Virginia significantly, creating 10 districts where Democrat Kamala Harris carried the vote for President and just one where a majority of voters backed Republican Donald Trump.
By comparison, the state is currently represented in the U.S. House by six Democrats and five Republicans, based on a map that currently has three Republican-favored districts, three swing districts and five favoring Democrats, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.
The redistricting effort has the support of newly elected Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger, who already cast her vote in favor of the amendment, she told press earlier this month.
Coming off successful state elections in November, Democrats hold majorities in the House and Senate in Virginia, which has already approved the proposed congressional map.
In comparison to the campaign pushing for a new map, Virginians for Fair Maps, which opposes the amendment, has reported just over $3 million in contributions.
Virginia’s map-making quest is in response to red states pushing for new maps more favorable to the GOP, including Texas where new maps are being challenged and in Florida where a redistricting push is underway.
