How Henrico’s congressional districts would change if Democrats’ redistricting plan takes effect

One half of Henrico County would shift to a new congressional district, while most of the other half would remain in its existing district if a redistricting proposal put forth by Democrats in the Virginia General Assembly is approved by voters in the coming weeks – and ultimately upheld by the Virginia Supreme Court.

The court ruled Feb. 13 that voters will be permitted to cast their ballots for or against the proposal during a public referendum April 21 (with early voting beginning March 6). But the court intends to make a ruling after that date on the legality of the redistricting process – meaning that it could negate the vote after the fact. If the vote ultimately is allowed to stand, a simple majority either way would decide the outcome.

Democrats crafted the new “10-1” congressional map in a way that they believe would give them control of 10 of the state’s 11 congressional districts (four more than they currently control), as a way to combat efforts by several other states to skew their own districts in favor of Republicans before November’s mid-term elections.

They've termed the effort "temporary," saying that the typical redistricting process undertaken every decade would resume after the 2030 U.S. Census.

Their effort, unsurprisingly, has sharply divided elected officials along party lines, with most Democrats arguing that Virginia must respond to the actions of the other states and most Republicans arguing that the move would be unjust regardless of what other states have done.

Here’s how the proposal – if approved and upheld by the court – would affect Henrico:

Western Henrico moves from the First District to the Fifth District

As part of the plan, Henrico’s western half – most of which is currently part of the First District – would move into a newly structured Fifth District, along with a portion of Northern Henrico that is currently in the Fourth District. Most of the West End had just shifted from the Seventh District to the First in 2021.

Western Henrico lies along the western line of the the existing First District, which also includes western Hanover and Chesterfield but primarily encompasses the Northern Neck to the east.

But as part of the redistricting plan, that section of the county (generally from Lakeside west) would become the easternmost section of the new-look Fifth District, which also would retain western Chesterfield, a portion of Richmond's West End and would stretch west to the outskirts of Lynchburg and south to the outskirts of South Boston, encompassing towns like Farmville, Appomattox, Crewe, Victoria and Blackstone.

Some of the existing Fourth District in Henrico – generally land between the West Broad Street/Parham Road intersection to the west, Hungary Road to the north, Richmond Raceway complex to the east and the city/county line to the south – also would shift into the new Fifth District as part of the plan. That would pull a significant chunk of the county’s Fairfield District – an overwhelmingly Democratic district – into the new Fifth.

The current First District narrowly favored Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger (51% to 49%) in November’s election, but voters within the boundaries of the new Fifth District gave her 58% of the vote, according to an analysis by the Virginia Public Access Project.

The shift would mean trouble for the two Republicans who represent the current First and Fifth districts.

First District Rep. Rob Wittman would be moved from his district into the new-look Eighth District, which gave Spanberger 63% of the vote in November, while Fifth District Rep. John McGuire would be redistricted into the new-look Seventh District, which gave Spanberger 58% in the vote in November, according to VPAP’s analysis.

Henrico Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor, who has been considered a favorite to win the Democratic Party nomination to challenge Wittman in the current First District, announced Feb. 6 that she would also seek her party’s nomination in the new-look Fifth District if the redistricting plan passes and is upheld.

Taylor has raised more than $860,000 since announcing her First District bid in September and has received the endorsements of U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, former Virginia governors Terry McAuliffe and Ralph Northam, as well as Rep. Eugene Vindman (VA-07), Rep. Don Beyer (VA-08), Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (VA-10) and Rep. James Walkinshaw (VA-11).

Eastern Henrico remains in a new-look Fourth District

The rest of the Henrico County (generally all land to the east of Richmond Raceway) would remain in the Fourth District, whose boundaries also would see significant changes.

In addition to ceding portions of western Henrico, Hanover and Chesterfield to the new Fifth District, the new-look Fourth District also would expand in two spots to the east – picking up a swath of land extending to Williamsburg and another to the south extending toward Franklin – and massively to the west along the North Carolina border, to encompass South Hill, Chase City, South Boston, Danville and a portion of Smith Mountain Lake.

The overall changes would make the district slightly less of a stronghold for Democrats but still comfortably so, according to an analysis of the new boundaries by VPAP. Spanberger won more than 70% of the current district’s vote in November, but under its new boundaries would have earned just about 61%, according to VPAP.

Current Fourth District Rep. Jennifer McClellan, a Democrat, won 74% of the district’s vote in a special election to claim the seat in 2023, then won 67% of the vote in 2024 to earn re-election. She would remain a heavy favorite to reclaim it in November under the new boundaries.

First District boundaries shift to the north

The boundaries of the First District would be removed from Henrico, shifting also to remove the majority of the Northern Neck while adding a longer, narrower stretch of land from Hanover County through Fredericksburg and north into Alexandria. The rest of the Northern Neck currently located in the First District would shift to the Eighth District, which similarly would add a new section running north to Alexandria.

The Democrats’ plan would capitalize on their party’s majority in Northern Virginia by dividing that region up into parts of six of the state’s 11 congressional districts; it currently comprises parts of four districts.

Background – and what’s next

Last July, President Donald Trump urged Texas to redraw its House of Representatives districts in order to give his party a better chance at retaining its majority in the House after this November’s mid-term elections. That triggered responses from other states – some trying to do the same thing, others trying to counter the potential effects of those efforts.

In October, Democrats in the Virginia General Assembly joined the latter group, introducing their plans to redraw the state’s congressional maps to boost the likelihood of their party gaining seats in Congress.

But in January, a Tazewell County judge ruled that the process must stop, opining that Democratic lawmakers had violated state law and their own rules to implement their plan. Democrats appealed the decision to the Virginia Supreme Court, which ruled Friday that it would hear the case – but after the April 21 statewide referendum, meaning that voters can begin casting their ballots on the matter March 6.

The question on the ballot will ask voters: “Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended to allow the General Assembly to temporarily adopt new congressional districts to restore fairness in the upcoming elections, while ensuring Virginia’s standard redistricting process resumes for all future redistricting after the 2030 census?”

Republicans have pushed back on that language, as the Washington Times reported Feb. 16, arguing that the proposed redistricting process is inherently unfair.

Initial briefs in the case must be filed with the state supreme court by March 23, and final documents must be filed by April 23. The court then will hear the case afterwards, meaning that even if voters approve the redistricting plan, the court still could strike that vote down afterwards.