Ted Lieu says Republicans face weak advantage as redistricting fight intensifies

Rep. Ted Lieu tried to recast a bruising Virginia setback as a narrower fight, arguing that Republicans did not really hold the nine-seat House advantage many operatives were discussing. Speaking from Los Angeles as vice chair of the House Democratic Caucus, Lieu said that figure rested on prior-term data and insisted the Trump coalition had “completely collapsed” under “skyrocketing gas prices” and “surging inflation.”

Lieu told Margaret Brennan that Democrats believed Republicans might instead have “three to five additional seats,” a margin he said would not be enough to block a Democratic “blue wave” in November. The message was an attempt to keep the party focused on a larger national map even after the Virginia Supreme Court voided the state’s redistricting referendum and closed off one of Democrats’ most promising paths to netting seats.

The Virginia ruling landed just two days earlier, on May 8, after voters had approved the April 21 referendum with 51.7% support. Virginia election officials said the decision meant no changes would be made to congressional district boundaries for the 2026 primary and general elections, wiping out a map that would likely have shifted four congressional seats toward Democrats. In practical terms, it removed a major advantage in a year when control of the House is expected to hinge on a handful of districts.

Lieu did not hide the scale of the loss, but he argued Democrats should keep fighting. When Brennan pressed him on whether the party had spent more than $60 million on the effort and whether that money would have been better deployed elsewhere, Lieu called the court’s action “not only wrong” but “disgraceful.” He said the justices should have blocked the election before voters spent taxpayer money on a special election, rather than invalidating the result after the fact.

He also sought to narrow the spending criticism, saying much of the Democratic outlay was not hard money needed for midterm races. Still, the episode underscored the stakes of the party’s redistricting strategy, especially with Democrats already trying to defend vulnerable seats and build a broader anti-Republican message around the economy.

Lieu, who represents California’s 36th congressional district and serves on the House Judiciary and Foreign Affairs committees, said Democrats would “look at all available options” and keep fighting the battle in court. For a party still trying to map a path to the House majority, Virginia’s loss made the road steeper, but Lieu’s argument was that it had not become impassable.