President George W. Bush”’s White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer responded to Democrats in Virginia winning a vote Tuesday to enable the redrawing of the state’s congressional map, a victory that could potentially result in four additional House seats for Democrats.
Fleischer shared a post he wrote in August 2025 (below), when MAGA-aligned Texas Governor Greg Abbott started the redistricting fight by changing the Lone Star state’s map mid-cycle.
Fleischer wrote: “Tonight is a good night to repeat what I said last August when Texas started this mid-cycle redistricting chain reaction. Politics has to be more than a power grab. By either party. There have to be rules that everyone follows. Otherwise, it’s all about power and pretty soon there won’t be much left that holds our nation together.”
Tonight is a good night to repeat what I said last August when Texas started this mid-cycle redistricting chain reaction.
Politics has to be more than a power grab. By either party. There have to be rules that everyone follows. Otherwise, it’s all about power and pretty soon… https://t.co/jzuk4gQO9n
— Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) April 22, 2026
Fleischer added: “I should also point out that the GOP will now lose net seats across the country. If you’re going to pick a fight, at least win it. The other side will always fight back. All this was foreseeable and avoidable. We should not have started this fight.”
Prior to the vote, Kelly Hall, executive director of the Fairness Project, which spent more than $12 million backing the redistricting referendum, warned Dems: “We cannot bring a stick to a knife fight.”
[NOTE: Both Republicans and Democrats are guilty of gerrymandering when they hold state power — it’s not new or one-sided. Democrats controlled maps in states like Illinois (2011) and New York (2022) and drew aggressive pro-Democratic gerrymanders, which GOP leaders and groups widely criticized as unfair power grabs.]
Virginia, if you haven’t done it already, make a plan to vote YES on the redistricting referendum.
You can vote early by April 18 or on Election Day, April 21. Find your polling place at https://t.co/vsawTNnoax. pic.twitter.com/NiCTBpS10I
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) April 17, 2026
Former President Barack Obama, who had encouraged Virginia voters to vote yes on the new map, congratulated the state, and wrote: “Congratulations, Virginia! Republicans are trying to tilt the midterm elections in their favor, but they haven’t done it yet. Thanks for showing us what it looks like to stand up for our democracy and fight back.”