‘Fight fire with fire’: The Black lawmakers behind Virginia’s vote ‘Yes’ push

VA legislators Louise Lucas, Don Scott, and Charniele Herring took on redistricting and helped shape a pivotal political moment.

The campaign for Virginians to vote ‘yes’ on redistricting during yesterday’s special elections was a collective effort among Democrats as politicians like Barack Obama urged the state’s constituents to exercise their voting power to fight a conservative redistricting agenda that could have drastically changed the outcome of the upcoming midterm elections. But beyond the ads and banners, three Black Virginia legislators were working just as hard behind the scenes. In fact, it was Va. Sen. Louise Lucas who understood early on that an aggressive push would be needed to combat the Republican gerrymandering agenda.

“We’ve got to fight fire with fire,” Sen. Lucas recalled telling her Virginia House counterpart, Speaker Don Scott, in 2025, per CNN. “This is about pushing back on Donald Trump having what I consider unchecked control of the Congress because they don’t have backbone enough to push against him.”

The 82-year-old great-grandmother, who grew up in the Jim Crow South before becoming a prominent figure in Virginia politics, has grown a following for her no-nonsense, unyielding approach to politics, particularly when dealing with the Trump administration. 

And this year, she helped push through a 10-1 map that, if upheld by the courts, could help Democrats win 10 of Virginia’s 11 House seats in the midterm elections in November 2026. With a Democratic-controlled House, Trump’s legislative plans could be obstructed, and new inquiries into him and his policies could be initiated during the last two years of his presidency, thus explaining why Trump is urgently pushing Republican-led states to redraw their district maps, an act that is typically done once a decade. 

However, efforts to get the 10-1 map onto the ballot began in October 2025, when House Majority Leader Charniele L. Herring (D-Alexandria) introduced a procedural resolution that would allow the General Assembly to consider a proposed constitutional amendment granting lawmakers the authority to redraw Virginia’s congressional districts mid-decade.

“These priorities reflect what Virginians told us this November: protect our rights and freedoms and deliver an economy that works for working families,” Leader Herring said in a statement about the procedural vote. “Part of that work is making sure Virginians have a fair say in their government. As Donald Trump encourages Republican legislatures to manipulate congressional maps, we are making sure Virginia is prepared to protect fair representation and uphold the integrity of our democratic process.” 

Despite Republican attempts to dissuade Virginia voters from endorsing the ‘yes’ vote, the campaign led by Scott and Lucas triumphed with a narrow 51-49 margin. 

“Tonight, Virginians sent a message heard across this country: we will not let Donald Trump or MAGA Republicans rig our democracy. This started in Texas when Trump launched an unprecedented power grab to rig the midterms, and tonight Virginia voters ended it and voted YES to stop his power grab,” Speaker Scott shared a statement, per 13 News Now. 

And while these legislators are thanking Virginians, social media users are celebrating and thanking them for their work in bringing this issue forward. 

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