Transcript: Trump Seethes as Plot to Rig 2026 Suddenly Goes Off Rails
The question on Virginia, the question on Florida, the question in so many of these places is how fast does the process move and how… what is the impact of how they bump up against deadlines? And that, I think, is going to be the thing that we’re going to continue to look out for and hear more about—what is the implication of the next step in the 2026 elections: candidate-filing deadlines, primaries that will have an impact on when maps can be changed in order to have the 2026 elections?
Sargent: Well, I got to think of the size of the victory in Virginia [where] Abigail Spanberger won the gubernatorial race by 15 points. There’s a trifecta and there was a really big pickup on the state legislative level as well. I got to think that really emboldens Democrats to say we’re going to do this. We can’t let them outflank us with Florida, right? I mean, is there any, is there any doubt that Virginia will move forward? I would expect that they will. Right. And how many seats do you think Democrats can add from there?
Williams: Yeah. So Virginia, it looks like maybe a two to four seat are in play in this process. They are again in a constitutional process, so it has to pass the legislature. again, and then it has to go to the people. So there’s some steps involved and again, some deadlines that they’re working through. I think the other thing that is happening that is [a] complimentary and less processed piece is that Democrats are honing in on what this electorate wants. And the takeaway from Virginia that I think is actually applicable in this context in 2026 is that we won in Trump districts. So the idea that all of these gerrymanders are unreachable for Democrats or that there is not a path to the majority is just fundamentally not true. So while the process takes place on mid-cycle redistricting, there is also efforts, of course, around the campaign side to ensure that we’re maximizing opportunities in this electorate and reaching voters where they are.
