Virginians slightly leaning 'yes' on redistricting measure ahead of April 21 vote: WaPo/GMU poll

A slight majority of Virginians appear poised to vote "yes" on the Democrat-led measure to redraw the commonwealth's congressional districts in their favor, according to a poll from The Washington Post and George Mason University.

Democratic leaders say they are trying to counter Republican efforts to paint their maps with more red in states like Texas, Indiana, and North Carolina before the 2026 midterms — where control of the House of Representatives and aspects of President Trump's agenda are both at stake.

If the referendum passes on April 21, Democrats can redraw Virginia's congressional maps to give them an apparent 10-1 advantage, a possible pick-up of five seats. Currently, six Democrats and five Republicans represent the commonwealth in the House.

The GMU/WaPo poll was conducted from March 26 to 31. This poll is based on a total of 1,101 interviews with registered voters in Virginia and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.



https://www.wtkr.com/news/politics/virginians-slightly-in-favor-of-mid-decade-redistricting-wapo-gmu-poll

Chesterfield sheriff to add extra security at early voting locations

A series of verbal disturbances has led the Chesterfield County Sheriff’s Office to station deputies at the county’s two polling stations for the remaining days of early voting on the statewide redistricting referendum.

“We're just trying to temper that right now and create an environment where people do not have to fear that type of encounter,” said Sheriff Karl Leonard. “We're going to vote.”

Starting Monday afternoon, the CCSO started placing deputies in marked squad cars in front of the two stations, after people on both sides of the political divide started screaming at each other, Leonard said. The first such argument occurred last Saturday at the North Courthouse Road Library.

“Somebody had rented an electronic signboard, one of those box trucks you can rent, and just passed through the voting precinct, making loops through there,” Leonard said.




https://www.vpm.org/elections/2026-04-16/chesterfield-county-election-security-polling-places-redistricting-leonard-vera

Eric Holder Rallies Support for Voting YES on Virginia's Redistricting Referendum

Washington, D.C. – Ahead of the April 21 special election, Attorney General Holder joined a canvass kick-off event in Arlington, Virginia, with Congressman Don Beyer to support GOTV efforts and talk to voters about the importance of voting “YES” on Virginia’s redistricting referendum to level the playing field against Republicans’ egregious power grabs in Texas, Missouri, and North Carolina.

Ahead of the event, he spoke with Virginia Mercury and Amanda Nelson of Amanda’s Mild Takes about the stakes of the election. While there, he spoke with WUSA 9 and online content creators to highlight the stakes to their audiences, including Elizabeth Booker Houston of BookerSquared.

Attorney General Holder was an early endorser of Virginia’s redistricting referendum, and his latest visit to Virginia builds on the NDRC’s efforts to support the YES campaign. Just last month, President Barack Obama partnered with NDRC to urge Virginians to vote “YES” on the measure. Under AG Holder’s leadership, NDRC and its affiliates have continuously mobilized their grassroots networks to get out the vote and have worked to combat disinformation from MAGA-aligned groups. NDRC and affiliates have also deployed staff to go to Virginia to support get-out-the-vote efforts.



https://democraticredistricting.com/icymi-eric-holder-rallies-support-for-voting-yes-on-virginias-redistricting-referendum/

David Hogg celebrated Mary Peltola's 2024 loss but he wants to give Marjorie Taylor Greene 'a chance'.

Stricter abortion ban advances in SC Senate, months after previous plan rejected

COLUMBIA — Six months after senators rejected what would have been the nation’s strictest abortion ban, another panel of South Carolina senators advanced a bill that would still prohibit abortions from the beginning of a pregnancy but impose less severe penalties.

A subcommittee with a different composition of senators rejected a harsher version in November. But in a vote of 4-2 along party lines Wednesday, a panel advanced Sen. Richard Cash’s latest attempt to ban abortions without exceptions for rape or incest, or for fatal fetal anomalies. Four Republicans and one Democrat on the panel were absent Wednesday.....

Like the bill rejected six months ago, the proposal advanced Wednesday would ban abortion from the onset of pregnancy — as soon as it’s medically detectable — and criminalize women for getting an abortion.

The previously proposed punishment helped defeat that measure. It would’ve subjected women to up to 30 years in prison.




https://scdailygazette.com/2026/04/15/stricter-abortion-ban-advances-in-sc-senate-months-after-previous-plan-rejected/

ME-SEN: Senate candidate Graham Platner apologizes for using slur in interview

PORTLAND, Maine — Graham Platner, a candidate for U.S. Senate in Maine, offered an apology on Wednesday after he used a slur against people with intellectual disabilities in a recent interview.

In an article published on Saturday by The Maine Monitor, Platner was quoted using the slur when talking about the controversy surrounding a tattoo he had that resembled a Nazi symbol. Platner had the tattoo covered up in October 2025, 18 years after he got it in Split, Croatia, while serving in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Platner also used the slur in a Reddit post that he made several years ago, which has since been deleted.

"I am sorry. I'm sorry that I said it. I am endeavoring to improve every single day. I am not a perfect person, and I continue to try to be better," Platner said. "I will say that my politics is one of inclusivity and one of showing up for everybody, and I will continue every day to represent that in our policies and in our campaign."



https://www.wmtw.com/article/graham-platner-controversy-r-word-maine-senate-candidate/71030038

Former Virginia Lt. Governor and Wife Found Dead

ormer Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax (D) and his wife, Cerina, were found dead by police in their home early Thursday morning in an apparent murder-suicide, the Washington Post reports.

In 2019, Fairfax faced sexual assault allegations dating to 2000 and 2004.

He denied the accusations and ran in the Democratic primary for governor in 2021, coming in fourth.



https://politicalwire.com/2026/04/16/former-virginia-lt-governor-and-wife-found-dead/

The Places We're Watching as Virginia Votes on a Pro-Democratic House Map

Next week, Virginia, the scene of one of the nation’s most closely watched 2025 races, will host another contest with national implications. Much like California did last year, Virginians will decide whether or not to replace their current map, which was approved by the state Supreme Court ahead of the 2022 elections and can be considered a “fair” plan, with an aggressive Democratic gerrymander.

If voters approve next week’s ballot measure, the Democratic-controlled legislature would be able to replace the court-drawn map, which has produced a 6-5 Democratic delegation since it has been in place with one that would have a good chance of producing a 10-1 Democratic advantage. (The current map is basically representative of the state’s partisanship, particularly because Democrats could net an additional seat or two on it in the context of 2026.)

That is, assuming the state Supreme Court doesn’t intervene in a major way. Republicans, and their allies, have sued the legislature, claiming that Democratic leaders didn’t follow the proper procedure when they initiated this whole process, shortly before the 2025 elections. Republicans got a couple of favorable rulings from a circuit court in Tazewell County but the state Supreme Court has at least agreed to let the statewide vote take place, although the latter has not actually issued a ruling on the merits of the case. This puts the commonwealth’s highest court in the odd—but, as Cardinal News’s Dwayne Yancey has found, not unprecedented—position of having to rule on the legality of a ballot measure after the vote has concluded. We could understand if judges on the court are privately hoping the ballot measure fails, if only so that this case is rendered moot.

In the abstract, there is likely an anti-gerrymandering majority in the state. For instance, something that the “No” side points to is that in 2020, the ballot measure that established an independent redistricting commission that was held in conjunction with the presidential election, passed with about two-thirds of the vote. Even while Democrats and their allies have enjoyed a financial advantage and are trying to sell a “Yes” vote as a means to push back against Donald Trump, as Semafor’s Dave Weigel describes in his dispatch, there is a degree of contrition in the Yes campaign’s tone. Something we’ve noticed is that surrogates from the Yes side are quick to point out that, if approved, the measure would be temporary—although, if the measure passes comfortably, it might encourage Democrats to take a crack at trying to eliminate the redistricting commission entirely ahead of the next census (that would also require going back to the voters).



https://centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/the-places-were-watching-as-virginia-votes-on-a-pro-democratic-house-map/

MI-SEN: Abdul El-Sayed and Mallory McMorrow Tied In Michigan

A new Emerson College survey of Michigan likely Democratic primary voters finds 24% support Abdul El-Sayed and Mallory McMorrow in the August U.S. Senate primary, while 13% support Haley Stevens.

Thirty-six percent are undecided




https://politicalwire.com/2026/04/16/abdul-el-sayed-and-mallory-mcmorrow-tied-in-michigan/

CA-GOV: California Race for Governor Still Fragmented

A new Emerson College poll of the California gubernatorial primary finds Steve Hilton (R) leading with 17%, followed by Chad Bianco (R) at 14%, Tom Steyer (D) at 14%, Xavier Becerra (D) at 10%, Katie Porter (D) at 10%, Matt Mahan (D) at 5% and 23% undecided.


https://politicalwire.com/2026/04/16/california-race-for-governor-still-fragmented/