Early voting begins in Virginia’s redistricting election, which could determine control of the House in midterms
The Virginia State Capitol in Richmond, Va., Jan. 17, 2026. (Kendall Warner/The Virginian-Pilot/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
(RICHMOND, Va.) — Early voting begins Friday in an unusual off-cycle election in Virginia that could have major implications for control of the House of Representatives in the 2026 midterm elections.
Voters in Virginia are heading to the polls for a statewide election, set for April 21, on a constitutional amendment that would allow their legislature to redraw the state’s congressional map.
This would let the Democratic-controlled legislature implement a new proposed map that would make four GOP-held congressional districts favor Democrats. Given the razor-thin margins of the House — where Democrats only need to net three seats in November to regain control — even flipping that many seats in Virginia could be decisive for control of the chamber.
It’s a gambit that Democrats both in Virginia and nationally say is necessary after Republican-led redistricting in 2025 gave the GOP nine redrawn seats that now favor Republicans across four states.
Former President Barack Obama, in a video released Thursday to promote a yes vote on the amendment, claimed that Republicans pursued mid-decade redistricting “for a simple reason: to give themselves an unfair advantage in the midterms this fall … This amendment gives you the power to level the playing field in the midterms this fall.”
Republicans have called the plan to redraw seats a political power grab, decrying the move as going against the will of voters in Virginia who previously voted in favor of a redistricting commission.
Rep. Ben Cline, one of the Virginia Republicans whose seat is among those targeted, wrote on X on Wednesday, that “The Democrats’ plan to steal Congressional seats and disenfranchise Virginians is unconstitutional, but we’re going to have to defeat it at the ballot box on April 21.”
Democrats in Virginia’s legislature have already passed their proposed congressional map through the legislature and it has been signed by the governor; it gets implemented if voters approve the amendment. While the map is technically not on the ballot, Democrats have argued that it’s important that voters see the new lines that they are essentially voting on.
Virginia’s Supreme Court ordered twice to let the election proceed in the face of legal challenges to how Democrats passed the amendment through the legislature, although litigation continues to play out.
President Donald Trump departs the White House, January 27, 2026, in Washington. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump on Tuesday touted the arrival of his border czar, Tom Homan, on a mission to Minneapolis — as he took personal charge of dealing with the backlash following the second fatal shooting of an American citizen by federal agents in the city.
The president, who had said Homan would report directly to him, sounded positive about his change in course so far, saying Homan had met with Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz and would do the same with Minneapolis Democratic Mayor Jacob Frey.
“I hear things are going very nicely,” Trump told reporters as he left the White House for Iowa, where he was set to deliver remarks on the economy. But there has been no apparent immediate change or pullback in the deployment of federal immigration enforcement agents — as Walz and Frey have demanded.
The White House has noticeably sought to put some distance between the president and the controversial words of his top officials in the immediate aftermath of the deadly shooting of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse.
Trump on Sunday declined to defend the agents involved, and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Monday said she hadn’t heard Trump characterize Pretti the same way as White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller or Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem — both of whom had quickly accused him of domestic terrorism without any evidence.
Trump on Tuesday also publicly broke with Miller, telling reporters he does not believe Pretti was an “assassin” as Miller had described him.
When asked if he believes Pretti’s death was justified, Trump said a “big investigation” is underway and suggested he would be monitoring it personally.
“I want to see the investigation. I’m going to be watching over it. I want a very honorable and honest investigation. I have to see it myself,” Trump said.
At the same time, Trump continued to criticize Pretti for having a gun on him, which state and local officials said he was lawfully carrying with a concealed carry permit, telling reporters: “You can’t walk in with guns.”
On what his message is for Pretti’s family, Trump told ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Mary Bruce: “Well, I’m looking at that whole situation. I love everybody. I love all of our people. I love his family. And it’s a very sad situation.”
Still, Trump stood by Noem on Tuesday and told reporters she won’t be stepping down.
“I think she’s done a very good job. The border is totally secure,” Trump said.
Noem met with Trump in the Oval Office on Monday as scrutiny grew over the shooting and the administration’s response, sources told ABC News. While sources saidNoem is expected to keep her job as of now, her focus is expected to shift to other priorities.
A person familiar with the planning said Homan is likely to focus on more targeted immigration enforcement efforts.
Homan’s arrival also comes as Customs and Border Protection commander-at-large Greg Bovino is set to leave Minneapolis to return to El Centro, California, and resume his duties as chief of that sector, multiple sources told ABC News. Some Border Patrol agents are also leaving Minneapolis.
Earlier Tuesday, in a radio interview on “Sid & Friends In the Morning,” Trump said that if Minneapolis officials give the federal government “their criminals” then it “all goes away” when asked about the possibility of some federal forces leaving the state.
“What we need is their criminals. You know, they have criminals. And all I said, ‘just give us your criminals’ and if you give us the criminals, it all goes away,” the president said.
Trump also recounted calls he had with both Walz and Frey on Monday amid growing tensions in Minneapolis.
“Actually, they were both great conversations,” Trump said. “So, let’s hope that turns out to be so.”
Walz, who was critical of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in an op-ed on Monday, said he and Homan agreed to an “open dialogue” after their meeting on Tuesday.
“Governor Walz met with Tom Homan this morning and reiterated Minnesota’s priorities: impartial investigations into the Minneapolis shootings involving federal agents, a swift, significant reduction in the number of federal forces in Minnesota, and an end to the campaign of retribution against Minnesota,” Walz’s office said in a statement.
“The Governor and Homan agreed on the need for an ongoing dialogue and will continue working toward those goals, which the President also agreed to yesterday. The Governor tasked the Minnesota Department of Public Safety as the primary liaison to Homan to ensure these goals are met,” the statement read.
Frey called his meeting with Homan “productive” in a series of posts on X.
“I reiterated that my main ask is for Operation Metro Surge to end as quickly as possible. Public safety works best when it’s built on community trust, not tactics that create fear or division,” he said.
Frey added he made it clear to Homan that “Minneapolis does not and will not enforce federal immigration laws.”
Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, appears on ABC News’ “This Week” on April 5, 2026. (ABC News)
(WASHINGTON) — Republican Rep. Mike Turner defended the U.S. war with Iran on Sunday and said that he doesn’t believe an American ground force would be required to restore freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.
“I don’t think U.S. ground troops are going to be necessary in any direct conflict,” Turner told ABC News’ “This Week” anchor George Stephanopoulos after being pressed on whether troops on the ground would be needed to reopen the strait.
“The straits are going to be open,” Turner told Stephanopoulos, but said that the U.S. cannot allow Iran to continue developing missile technology or nuclear weapons that could threaten the American homeland and Europe.
“You have to be able to address this … great sponsor of terrorism, this … global power ambition that Iran has,” he said.
Turner’s comments come as President Donald Trump has repeatedly indicated that the Strait of Hormuz is not the U.S.’s problem.
“The United States imports almost no oil through the Hormuz Strait and won’t be taking any in the future. We don’t need it. We haven’t needed it and we don’t need it,” Trump said Wednesday in a prime-time address to the nation, adding that it was the responsibility of other countries to secure the strait.
“We will be helpful, but they should take the lead in protecting the oil that they so desperately depend on,” he said.
Turner said that despite the impact of the war on global oil markets, the consequences of inaction from the U.S. against Iran would have been greater.
“Certainly, you know, Iran is going to have some things that they’re going to be able to do during the conflict,” Turner said. “But if you don’t undertake the conflict, if you just step back and watch, as the Obama administration was going to do while Iran became a nuclear power and they became North Korea, we wouldn’t be looking at the Strait of Hormuz,” he added, claiming that if Iran had developed nuclear weapons the world would be “held hostage by a terrorist state.”
“They still are being significantly diminished,” Turner said, “and their ability to be able to be marching toward a nuclear state is being eliminated.”
(WASHINGTON) — House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune announced on Wednesday the Republican-controlled Congress “in the coming days” will fully fund the Department of Homeland Security through both the appropriations process and reconciliation process.
“In following this two-track approach, the Republican Congress will fully reopen the Department, make sure all federal workers are paid, and specifically fund immigration enforcement and border security for the next three years so that those law-enforcement activities can continue uninhibited,” the top Republicans said in a statement.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
