Darkish Cash Propels VA Dems’ Gerrymandering Scheme To Victory
Democrats moved one step closer to disenfranchising millions of rural Virginians on Tuesday night — and for that, they have tens of millions of dollars in out-of-state dark money to thank.
According to The New York Times, preliminary results show the constitutional amendment that grants the Democrat-run General Assembly the power to redraw the state’s congressional map passing by 2.8 points, with more than 95 percent of votes tabulated as of publication. More than 3 million ballots were cast in the race.
As The Federalist previously reported, Virginia Democrats’ legally suspect and deceptively worded referendum now gives their allies in the legislature the ability to redistrict the state ahead of the 2026 midterms. The party’s proposal seeks to remake the commonwealth from a six Democrat-five Republican map to a 10 Democrat-one Republican map and effectively disenfranchise millions of rural Virginians in the process.
In addition to dishonest ballot language about “fairness,” the referendum also enjoyed heavy support from the left’s dark money network. A Federalist analysis from earlier this month discovered that more than 90 percent of the funds being poured into the left-wing group backing the amendment (Virginians for Fair Elections) came from outside the state.
According to the Virginia Public Access Project (VPAP), Virginians for Fair Elections received more than $38 million from D.C.-based House Majority Forward (HMF). HMF notably boasts ties to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and House Democrat leadership.
Virginians for Fair Elections also garnered substantial donations from the leftist Fairness Project ($12.4 million) and the Soros-linked Fund for Policy Reform Inc. ($5 million). The former is based out of D.C., while the latter is based in New York.
Virginians for Fair Elections received more than $64 million to pass the gerrymandering amendment, according to VPAP.
Meanwhile, the group tasked with leading the “No” campaign against the referendum didn’t receive nearly as much support from right-wing donors.
VPAP records show that Virginians for Fair Maps received approximately $21.8 million to defeat the amendment. The group only had a reported $3 million roughly a month after early voting began on March 6.
Whether the General Assembly can move forward with advancing its new gerrymandered map will ultimately come down to the Supreme Court of Virginia, however.
Despite the seemingly unlawful process Virginia Democrats used to get the measure on the April ballot, the commonwealth’s highest court effectively deferred ruling on its legality until after the referendum. It’s currently unclear how SCOVA will handle the matter.
Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He is a co-recipient of the 2025 Dao Prize for Excellence in Investigative Journalism. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics and RealClearHealth. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood