Winsome Sears calls Virginia Dems’ surprise redistricting session a ‘coup’ to take her off the trail

Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears blasted Virginia Democrats after signaling plans to suddenly recall the Legislature in a last-minute special session to address possible redistricting before the election.

Virginia’s state redistricting commission is legally tasked with drawing new congressional maps after each decennial census, but state Democrats appear poised to try to stop that process, potentially through the constitutional amendment process.

“In a desperate political move, Democrats in the Virginia General Assembly are calling for a special session to remove Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears from the campaign trail,” Earle-Sears’ campaign said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

NEW POLL IN KEY CONFRONTATION FOR VIRGINIA GOVERNOR SHOWS SINGLE DIGIT RACE

As lieutenant governor, Earle-Sears is president of the otherwise Democratic-majority state Senate.

“The same politicians who participated in the ‘No Kings’ protests are now trying to proclaim themselves leaders of Virginia politics, abusing their positions to rig the calendar because they can’t win on ideas,” the campaign says.

Earle-Sears spokesman Peyton Vogel said the activity was “what panic looks like” for a party that is running out of new ideas and relies on such “stunts,” and suggested that Democratic challenger Abigail Spanberger — a former congresswoman — was somehow involved in the plan.

“(He) is leading the charge in cheap political stunts to slow Winsome Earle-Sears’ momentum. It’s pathetic. Voters see through it. They know that Winsome Earle-Sears is a Marine, a mother, and a fighter for Virginia every day – while Abigail Spanberger is a career politician who uses Washington-style dirty tricks to protect her power and her friends,” Vogel said.

EARLE-SEARS EXITS IN HAPPY DEBATE AS SPANBERGER AVOIDS QUESTIONS FROM JAY JONES

A Suffolk University poll released Thursday showed Earle-Sears trailing Spanberger by about eight percentage points, while fellow Democrats John Reid and Jason Miyares were either tied or just ahead of their Democratic opponents.

Democrats are hoping to expand their two-seat majority in the House of Delegates, targeting several districts in suburban and suburban Hampton Roads and Washington, D.C., where Republicans are on the knife’s edge statistically. No state Senate seats are available until 2027. The upper chamber also has a two-seat Democratic majority.

House Speaker Don Scott Jr., D-Portsmouth, and Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, D-Mount Vernon, did not respond to requests for comment. However, Surovell told The New York Times that plans to convene the Legislature in Richmond next week are intended to counter President Donald Trump’s push to pressure Republican-led states on redistricting.

Those states, like Texas, view their efforts as a drag on California Democrats’ likely successful plan for a mid-decade redistricting plan through Sacramento.

VIRGINIA VOTERS MAY PROSECUTE A VOTING DEMOCRATIC IN A DISTRICT THAT COULD DECIDE THE STATE HOUSE MAJORITY

“We are reversing the actions of the Trump administration,” Surovell told the Times.

At the federal level, Democrats hold six of Virginia’s 11 House of Representatives seats. Some of those held by Republicans are often considered “swing” seats that swing regularly – like Rep. Jennifer Kiggans’ in Cape Charles and Hampton Roads.

Loudoun County — once reliably Republican — has moved far to the left over the past decade, and there are no longer any Republican congressmen within 50 miles of Washington.

Rep. Yevgeny “Eugene” Vindman, D-Va., twin brother of Alexander Vindman, holds a once-vibrant district in Prince William County and suburban Washington, D.C., which was another long-term loss for the GOP.

WINSOME EARLE-SEARS REFIRMS SPANBERGER’S PLAN TO CANCEL VIRGINIA ICE PACT: ‘IT’S NOT DIFFICULT’

The Virginia State Capitol in Richmond. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

By contrast, Rep. Morgan Griffith’s, R-Va., district in far southwest Virginia is solidly Republican. The way Rep. Ben Cline’s neighboring district is drawn — along Interstate 81 and the Blue Ridge Mountains — also remains the same.

But Cline’s district could be targeted by Democrats’ redistricting — because carving out Republican John McGuire’s slender district and boundary apex and affixing the pieces to the state’s increasingly blue center could create several new seats designed in favor of Democrats.

Playing with the shapes of other districts like Vindman’s along I-95 and Republican Rep. Rob Wittman’s in the Northern Neck could also pay off for Democrats.

It was Democrats who spearheaded the initial constitutional amendment in 2020 that gave rise to the commission they now want to bypass, as introduced by then-Sen. George Barker of Fairfax. Some Republicans were also listed as co-signers of the resolution.

SPANBERGER DEFENDS ABORTION, CRITICIZES SEARS AFTER BERNIE WARNS AGAINST HIGHLIGHTING THE PROBLEM

The amendment was later approved by about two-thirds of Virginia voters, according to reports.

If they go for the constitutional amendment, passage before the November election would count as one session, so Democrats — betting on maintaining or increasing their numbers in the Legislature — would have to pass it one more time in the 2026 session before it comes up for a ballot after passage.

Whether Earle-Sears or Spanberger wins, the Constitution prevents the governor from intervening in the process.

On the other hand, following the regular legislative process would allow a governor to intervene; with the outgoing Youngkin ready to veto his first attempt.

Pennsylvania Republicans, led by 2022 gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano, enlisted the same process to circumvent then-Gov. Tom Wolf and end his onerous coronavirus stay-at-home orders, the process has seen recent success.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Virginia’s amendment would likely not create a new map, but rather authorize a new process to begin redistricting outside of the current system with the 10-year commission.

Fox News Digital has contacted Spanberger for comment on Earle-Sears’ claim.