Virginia’s congressional delegation reached agreement on a proposed redistricting map that protects all 11 of them — in part by shifting around chunks of Northern Virginia. Under the working proposal, Democratic Rep. Jim Moran, whose 8th District comprises mostly Arlington and Alexandria, would reportedly cede the liberal Reston area to Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly, who won re-election in 2010 by less than 1,000 votes over Republican challenger Keith Fimian. Moran could then pick up parts of Republican Rep. Frank Wolf’s district.
Though the incumbents will certainly have a say in how their districts are redrawn as part of once-a-decade redistricting, the final map will be created by the General Assembly and may not reflect all of the specific changes they favor.
Such discussions among congressmen are not out of the ordinary, said former Rep. Tom Davis, who was replaced by Connolly in 2008.
“I think it would be naive of them not to have a plan that was on the record,” he said. “They’re not drawing their own lines — they’re saying, ‘This is what we like.’ ”
The state House and Senate will reconvene next month to draw the new maps based on population data from the 2010 U.S. Census.
State lawmakers have the added wrinkle of a divided legislature and a Republican governor having to sign off on the new districts for the state legislature and Congress. Virginia is also one of a handful of mostly Southern states that must clear its redistricting plans with the Department of Justice to comply with the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Regardless of how the lines are ultimately drawn, though, there is a consensus that explosive population growth in Northern Virginia’s outer suburbs over the past decade will bring with it increased political heft for the burgeoning region.
“Increased transportation funding, Metro, [and] other programs that Northern Virginia benefits from are going to get a much more substantive hearing in Richmond and in Washington, ultimately,” said Mark Rozell, a professor of public policy at George Mason University.
Gov. Bob McDonnell’s bipartisan redistricting commission, which has been tasked to draw plans without regard to politics or incumbent protection, is currently barnstorming the state for public input on the process. Student teams from universities around the state are also drawing maps — with the goal of minimizing gerrymandering — as part of a competition complete with cash prizes. None of the plans would be binding on the state legislature.
