GOP navigates 'regret' and recriminations after redistricting loss in Virginia

2026 ElectionGOP navigates 'regret' and recriminations after redistricting loss in VirginiaDemocrats have managed to counter the Republican-led states that redrew their maps last year at Trump's urging in an attempt to shore up the narrow House majority. Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00Add NBC News to GoogleKornacki: Virginia Republicans 'put up a fight' but Democrats stayed 'loyal' on map referendum14:38Get more newsLiveonShareAdd NBC News to GoogleApril 22, 2026, 5:35 PM EDTBy Henry J. Gomez, Melanie Zanona, Kyle Stewart and Jonathan AllenRepublicans were awash in recriminations Wednesday, following their latest setback in a redistricting battle that their party started ahead of the midterm elections but has struggled to win.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.The fallout came after a day after voters in Virginia approved a plan yesterday that could enable Democrats to gain as many as four new congressional seats in this fall. The results there brought the overall mid-decade redistricting back-and-forth to a draw, if not a slight advantage for the Democrats. “You have to be very careful when you start breaking tradition to try to create an advantage,” Rep. Steve Womack, R-Ark., said. “I’ve been very public in my criticism long before Virginia that we got to be better chess players than that. We have to understand that for every action, there are second and third order effects that we could live to regret. I don’t think it was well thought out in the people pushing it.”Congressional redistricting typically happens once every 10 years, following a census, but President Donald Trump last year initiated a scramble by urging GOP-led states to redraw their maps ahead of schedule — an effort to pad Republicans’ three-seat House majority. The result has been a flurry of hyper-partisan gamesmanship that could end without a clear edge for either party. Repu...