First Draft: Good News for Democrats – and democrats
The referendum result was narrow but the Dems are set to redraw the Virginian map from purple to deep blue, a 10-1 split offsetting Republican gerrymanders in red states. Game on for the midterms.
On this day in 1954, four years into the vicious and repressive “Red Scare” in American politics, Senator Joseph McCarthy began hearings into supposed communist infiltration of the US Army. Televised, the hearings exposed the far-right Wisconsin Republican to public revulsion, ultimately causing his downfall. How times have changed…
Good morning, friends. Prem here. Wishing you a wonderful Wednesday wherever you are. We have just published our long-awaited profile of Hasan Piker – one of the most prominent left-wing commentators in the US who is now becoming one of the most targeted. I traveled to Los Angeles to spend time with Piker and gain a better understanding of him, beneath all the outrage. The result was a deep, meticulous, and fair profile you will not find anywhere else. Read it here.
In today’s ‘First Draft,’ Virginia voters punch back against the GOP in the redistricting arms race, another Democratic candidate flip-flops on Israel’s genocide, and Republicans desperately try whipping up another faux-outrage cycle while the Trump administration fumbles Iran war negotiations… again.
Game of Zones
On Tuesday night, Virginians voted to approve a redistricting measure that will likely help Democrats flip multiple Republican-held seats in the upcoming midterms.
The measure, which voters passed by a roughly two-point margin, will, if approved by the state legislature a second time, allow lawmakers to redraw congressional districts before the midterm elections in November. The redrawn maps may shift Virginia’s congressional delegation from 6-5 to a whopping 10-1 in favor of Democrats.
Nearly $100 million of largely dark money was spent on the election, much of it in support of the measure.
The new maps are part of an array of redistricting battles set off nationwide last year, after President Donald Trump urged Republican states to carve out more GOP-friendly districts in order to hold onto the party’s narrow House majority. Texas, Missouri, and North Carolina answered Trump’s call, while Ohio was already in the process of creating new maps that will likely favor Republicans even more.
California legislators and voters punched back, creating new maps that could at least counter new Republican seats in Texas.
Florida is up next. Governor Ron DeSantis has invoked a special legislative session this month, focused on redistricting. After Tuesday night’s result, House Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries issued a warning to DeSantis.