Trump's USA The Congressional Map Debate

Republican Discontent: "We Should Have Done More"

Many Republicans are venting their discontent after a new electoral map that favors Democrats was voted through in Virginia, writes Politico. Several Republican politicians believe that the party should have made more of an effort to stop the proposal, not least considering that the Democrats won the referendum by a narrow margin.

- It's probably hard to find a single Republican who doesn't think we should have done more. And it hurts even more that it was so close, says a person in the party.

The victory in Virginia means that the Democrats have now overall emerged victorious from the battles over the new electoral maps that Donald Trump started last year, by urging Texas to redraw its map prematurely.

The pressure is thus also increasing on Florida's Republican governor Ron DeSantis to try to redraw the electoral map in his state, writes Politico.

Virginia Says Yes to New Electoral Map – Setback for Trump

In the US state of Virginia, residents have voted yes to a proposal to redraw the country's electoral districts in a way that benefits the Democrats, several media outlets report. The new map is believed to give the party four more seats in the House of Representatives.

Before the proposal becomes a reality, it must be approved by the state's Supreme Court.

The result is a setback for President Donald Trump, who last year started the battle over electoral maps by urging Republicans in Texas to redraw the map there. Subsequently, Democrats in California, among others, have responded by redrawing their map.

Analysis: The map war was not a Republican success

The Republican strategy of redrawing electoral districts to gain advantages in the upcoming midterm elections has not been the success the party hoped for a year ago. This is what CNN's Aaron Blake writes in an analysis, after the Democrats won a vote last night to redraw the districts in Virginia in their favor.

The result means that the Democrats have currently earned one more seat than the Republicans when all the new electoral maps in different states are added together, he notes. But he points out that the Republicans could still earn a few seats if Florida's map is redrawn, which has not yet been decided.

"But it is clear that this battle has not given the Republicans the advantage they were hoping for," Blake writes.

SvD's Göran Eriksson writes that most people expect the Republicans to lose control of the House of Representatives in the election in 28 weeks. And more and more Democrats are now openly talking about the party's potential to win the Senate as well, as the Iran war causes Trump's popularity to decline.

"Over the years, many have made a mistake by counting Donald Trump out too early. But it now looks as if the Republicans' chances of success in the midterm elections are diminishing with each passing day," he writes.