The Supreme Court on Friday unanimously rejected Virginia Democrats’ bid to revive a voter-approved congressional map they had hoped to use in this year’s midterm elections, according to NBC News.
The decision forecloses what would have been a significant gain for Democrats: if the new map had taken effect, the party could have picked up as many as four additional districts in a state that currently sends six Democrats and five Republicans to Congress.
The ruling lands as redistricting fights play out across the country, a dynamic set off after President Donald Trump called on Texas to redraw its congressional map in favor of Republicans. Virginia’s proposed map was drawn to maximize Democratic-leaning districts in response.
The legal fight had already lost most of its urgency before Friday. Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger said Wednesday that the deadline to use a new map in Virginia had passed regardless of what the court did.
Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones had argued the state court ruling implicated federal law, giving the U.S. Supreme Court a basis to intervene, but the justices declined without noted dissent.
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