There is some new polling out of Virginia that isn't exactly chock full of good news for Democrats. According to the data released Monday by Roanoke College, voters in the Old Dominion like the current method of congressional and legislative redistricting that empowers a non-partisan panel to draw the boundaries. And it's not looking like the commonwealth's new governor, Democrat Abigail Spanberger, is getting much of a honeymoon period from Virginians.
Before we delve in, let's state that all the usual polling disclaimers apply here: polls are great; polls are garbage; you can't trust polling; you only write about polls that favor your side; the polls never favor my side. Yes, all that's true. However, since this is the first polling that captures the sentiment around the Democrats' attempt at an extreme gerrymander in Virginia, it bears analyzing.
Here's a quick recap: Virginia Democrats are in the process of trying to cram through a new congressional map that would strip Republicans of four of the five U.S. House seats they currently hold. If the Democrats get their way, the 6-5 D-R count of today would turn into 10-1 this Election Day. To get there, they need to override a current voter-approved amendment to the state constituent that created the non-partisan redistricting panel and replace it with a new amendment giving boundary-redrawing responsibilities to state lawmakers – and Democrats control both houses of the General Assembly. An April 21 referendum on the new amendment has been halted as a Republican lawsuit against the state Board of Elections works its way through the courts.
READ ALSO: It Begins: Major Defense Contractor Bails on Virginia Just One Month Into Spanberger's Term
Democrats' Newest Radical Darling Picked for State of the Union Rebuttal
Okay, on to the results.
The poll of 800 Virginia residents was conducted by phone and text between February 9 and February 16, 2026; quotas were used to ensure all areas of the commonwealth were represented. That last bit is important because the northern part is overrun with leftists whose extreme views are not held in other parts of the state.
When it comes to the Democrats' plan to nuke the balanced congressional map into oblivion, the majority of respondents weren't on board with the plan, with 62 percent saying they like the current method for redrawing boundaries.
A majority of respondents (62%) support the current method of mapping electoral districts. When asked how they would vote in a referendum to amend the state constitution and change that method, most (52%) said they would vote to keep the current process while 44% said they would vote to adopt the change proposed by the General Assembly.
Democrats may want to pay attention to this number, since it's a close match to the nearly 66 percent of voters who approved the current redistricting method back in 2020. This means, even if the attempted gerrymander successfully makes its way through the judicial gauntlet, voters just aren't into the idea of the new amendment.
The news for Governor Spanberger wasn't all that good, either. Just one month into her term, Virginians actually give her a lower approval rating than they did her predecessor, Republican Glenn Youngkin, as he finished out his term. Youngkin left office with a 54 percent approval rating, but Spanberger scores a surprisingly low 53 percent early on in her tenure. She appears to have destroyed her chance at enjoying a honeymoon period when she, among other things, killed off cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), increased the minimum wage (companies like Boeing are already planning their withdrawals from the state), and promised a slew of tax increases despite having campaigned as a "moderate."
And then there's this:
Governor Spanberger once said gerrymandering "weakens the individual voices that form our electorate."
— No Gerrymandering Virginia (@nogerryva) February 23, 2026
She was right. Rigged maps hurt all of us - no matter who's in charge.
Keep our maps honest. Vote NO on April 21st. pic.twitter.com/96Q5GoKxxy
Despite the unpopularity of many of her policies and her rather tepid approval rating, Spanberger has been picked to give the official Democrat Party rebuttal after President Trump gives his State of the Union address on Tuesday night. Her selection could be a sign that the party sees her having a national role come 2028, and they're certainly doing everything they can to elevate her status ahead of the next presidential election.
Speaking of the State of the Union, RedState will be liveblogging the entire thing, so mark your calendars right now and be sure to join us. The fun will kick off shortly before 9:00 p.m. ET.
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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