by Paul Goldman

Have Democratic Speaker Don Scott and Democratic General Assembly leaders thrown Democratic Attorney General nominee Jay Jones under the bus? Talk about the proverbial October surprise: Scott has announced an unprecedented move to do a super-partisan redrawing of the state’s congressional districts.

Is this legal under the new Virginia Constitution redistricting provisions enacted a few years ago? NO. At least Scott admits as much. He says he wants to change the constitution to allow his unprecedented power play. His plan will require a special statewide constitutional amendment referendum election next April

Yet the people of the Commonwealth voted 2-1 in a 2020 statewide referendum to ban any partisan redistricting. The two new constitutional provisions stripped the General Assembly of its traditional role in redistricting. Giving the power instead to a nonpartisan Virginia Redistricting Commission. If the VRC proved unable to draw the new districts, the new constitutional provisions gave the power to the Virginia Supreme Court. 

Then-Delegate Scott and his Democratic house colleagues mostly opposed the proposed constitutional change. I actually sued to block the statewide referendum needed since there were clear problems with the proposed change and the fairness of the referendum process. I predicted the new Virginia tradition commission would be unable to do what the public wanted. But I got no help from the Democratic leadership. The Court said No. In Democratic cities like Richmond, the referendum passed overwhelmingly. 

As predicted, the VRC proved unable to produce a constitutionally sound redistricting plan. The Virginia Supreme Court therefore stepped in and drew the new election maps. 

Bottom line: Whether creating the VRC was a good idea or not, or whether the referendum process was as fair as it should have been, Is water under the bridge. The people have spoken. Donald Trump may be willing to shred the federal constitution. But if we’ve reached a point where two wrongs make a right, then Donald Trump has won.

Precisely why Scott and Democratic leaders decided to announce this unprecedented move less than two weeks before the general election is baffling to me. This October surprise means the remaining days of the statewide election will be dominated by Scott’s unprecedented power move.  And for what, I ask: The plan requires state voters, in special statewide constitutional amendment referendum held in April, 2026, to do a 180 U-Turn and endorsing what they overwhelmingly rejected just a few years ago. 

To repeat: Voters are increasingly pulling away from both political parties because they believe their super partisan way of governing being highlighted by President Trump is hurting America. Just read the polls. 

If the Democratic Party of Virginia wants to put all its chips on Scott’s plan -– and force a new Democratic governor to walk that plank — then they’re making a very bad bet.

Based on the historic trajectory of Virginia voting statistics, I don’t believe the people of Virginia will go from overwhelming support of non-partisan redistricting to support for super partisan restricting in six years’ time. 

As a former chair of the Virginia Democratic Party — I understand that Democrats never quite liked the fact Governor Wilder appointed me since, gosh forbid, I was the only white guy who would help him when he needed it — naturally I’d like to see more qualified Democrats in office. Moreover, as indicated, I had problems with VRC ‘s creation. But this two-wrongs-make-a-right theory, which seems to be President Trump‘s legal standard as applied by the DOJ, is eating away at the moral authority of our democratic institutions. His bulldozing the East Wing of the White House is symbolic of a rule-or-ruin mindset.

As I read the Virginia Constitution, Speaker Scott and the Democratic leadership could’ve waited until after the election to announce this political bombshell. Their decision to announce the plan prior to the November election suggest they feel it will be helpful to the Democratic statewide ticket, and those Democratic candidates running for the house delegates.

Having run or been the chief political strategies for a few successful statewide campaigns in my time, their mindset strikes me as high risk. As a general rule, if you feel you’re winning, you don’t change the narrative of an election by introducing such a high-profile, last-minute surprise.

Which brings us lastly to Jay Jones. Historical election statistics suggest there’s no way he should lose the 2025 election. 

We’ll know the outcome shortly. But if he loses a race he never should’ve lost, Speaker Scott might find himself being blamed. Is that fair? Most often politics is perception.

Paul Goldman is former Chair of the VA Democratic Party, a former candidate for mayor of the City of Richmond, and author of “Remaking Virginia Politics.”