Sens. Warner, Kaine: VA Redistricting Targets 'Women in our Delegation'

Virginia’s two Democrat senators, Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, say a “heavy weight” is being placed on “the three women in the delegation,” after a new proposed congressional map removes two of the Commonwealth’s female U.S. Representatives from their districts and significantly alters another’s district.

In a letter sent to the clerk of the Supreme Court of Virginia, Warner and Kaine wrote that they “believe it is possible to spread the burden of changing district lines across the entire delegation,” and ensure the court that their letter “is not intended to be a partisan critique.” All three women in Virginia’s congressional delegation are Democrats.

Reps. Abigail Spanberger and Elaine Luria, the senators point out, “would no longer live in the districts that they have now been elected twice to represent,” while Rep. Jennifer Wexton’s district was “significantly redrawn.”

The maps, which were submitted by two special masters, one nominated by each party and approved by the Commonwealth’s Supreme Court, would essentially erase Spanberger’s Seventh Congressional District, and redistribute its geography among several other districts.

The proposed maps, Warner and Kaine write, are “asking the women in our delegation to shoulder a disproportionate burden.”

But as the Washington Post pointed out, the map “still gives Democrats an edge,” despite leaving Spanberger “nearly 50 miles away” from the border of her current district.

Indeed, under the special masters’ proposal, six of Virginia’s 11 congressional districts would benefit Democrats, while four would benefit Republicans. The last one, Luria’s Second Congressional District — which is already fairly competitive — would become even more of a toss-up.

The special masters said they did not consider or even know any representatives’ — federal or state — address when drawing the maps. Further, in their memo to the Supreme Court submitting the maps, the bipartisan pair said they “agreed on almost all issues initially, and the few issues on which we initially disagreed were resolved by amicable discussion.”

Democrat election lawyer Marc Elias posted a list to Twitter on Sunday placing Virginia as the number three most likely state to look for “new voting rights, redistricting and pro-democracy litigation.”

Breccan F. Thies is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow him on Twitter @BreccanFThies.