Networks Cheer Virginia Dems’ Gerrymander, ABC Ignores How Courts Could Kill It

ABC’s Good Morning America stood apart as, not only did it cheerlead the “yes” vote after ignoring it in the days leading up to it, they refused to tell viewers this could be all for naught if the state Supreme Court weighs in and declares the ballot initiative unconstitutional. “Also breaking overnight, a big win for Democrats in Virginia. We’re going to tell you what it means for their hopes to take the House in the midterm elections,” said co-host George Stephanopoulos in a tease. Tossing later to congressional correspondent Jay O’Brien, Stephanopoulos admitted it “could help them take control of the House in November’s midterm elections.” ABC’s ‘Good Morning America’ eagerly promoted the Virginia Democrats’ gerrymander and claimed they only did it “in direct response to a firestorm of redistricting that was really ignited by President Trump over the summer” with Texas then Missouri and North Carolina, leaving out pic.twitter.com/Evjjxb78Ny — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) April 22, 2026 O’Brien boasted “this was a major victory for Democrats” in this “bitterly fought referendum” to give Democrats “as many as four safe Democratic seats.” “This is in direct response to a firestorm of redistricting that was really ignited by President Trump over the summer, when he demanded that Texas Republicans redraw their maps for safe Republican seats. Other states like Missouri and North Carolina following suit,” O’Brien continued, only conceding “Democratic-controlled states like California” joined Virginia in “cancel[ing] out some of those redistricting gains” by the GOP. As numerous conservatives pointed out online and on liberal cable networks Tuesday and Wednesday, gerrymandering has been a long phenomenon with Democrats having repeatedly left the GOP hamstrung in states like Illinois and Maryland (which we explained in detail on Tuesday). But within the confines of this decade, the so-called redistricting fight began with New York shoving through a new map for the 2024 election that sank three Republican incumbents (and protected a Democrat who had flipped a seat in a special election). Later in the day, ABC’s World News Tonight had a 24-second news brief with anchor David Muir also engaging in revisionist history: Tonight, a major change to the congressional map in Virginia that could have a big impact on the midterm elections. Voters in Georgia — Virginia, I should say — overnight approving a plan to redraw the map, giving Democrats a better chance at winning ten of 11 congressional districts in Virginia. This measure, passed last night, comes in direct response to President Trump’s demand for Republicans in Texas to redraw their map. Some time ago, an effort to pick up more seats in the House for Republicans. NBC’s Today also didn’t cover the vote until their side had won. Co-host Savannah Guthrie admitted in teases that “Democrats score[d] a major victory in a high-stakes showdown” and “could give Democrats a big advantage in that state in the upcoming midterms.” Co-host Craig Melvin used the start of the report to describe Tuesday’s result as one “that could shake up the approaching mid-term elections” and “swing the balance of power in the House.” Senior White House correspondent Gabe Gutierrez called the “yes” vote’s triumph part of “an escalating fight over how and when the lines of congressional seats are drawn” that previously were done “every 10 years...but last year, President Trump pushed for Texas to do it early to give Republicans an advantage and possibly get more seats.” Thus, he argued, “Democrats are fighting back.” NBC’s ‘Today’ was also ready to tout the Virginia result, saying Tuesday’s result “could...swing the balance of power in the House” in “an escalating fight” started “last year” when “President Trump pushed for Texas to do it early to give Republicans an advantage and possibly get pic.twitter.com/n0E6baUCAL — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) April 22, 2026 Once again, with the New York example, that’s not entirely accurate. Further, all of these networks ignored what Trump 2024 political director James Blair told CNN’s Dana Bash on Wednesday, which was the 2020 Census dramatically undercounted red states and overcounted in blue states. Here was more from Gutierrez’s recap, conceding at the end the courts could undo this and return Virginia to a map currently made up of six Democrats and five Republicans (click “expnad”0; GUTIERREZ: The vote was narrow and it’s part of a larger battle across the country kicked off when President Trump last year called for Republicans to launch redistricting efforts in multiple key states to help them in this year’s midterm elections. Democrats countered with their own proposals in other states in Virginia, focusing their campaign on the President, who warned his supporters it could mean his opponents take over Congress. TRUMP: The great things that we did now on a national basis is going to be destroyed. GUTIERREZ: Trump has been hitting the road campaigning for his party. TRUMP: This November, we gotta win the midterms. GUTIERREZ: But the President’s approval rating is sinking and as low as the point of his second term in NBC News’s latest poll, partially driven by the unpopular Iran war. (....) GUTIERREZ: Virginia’s redistricting effort will likely face legal challenges going forward. The state Supreme Court has reserved the right to rule on questions surrounding the measure. But this Democratic victory in Virginia could motivate Republicans elsewhere to try to make changes. The GOP in Florida, for example, is now considering their own redistricting effort. Melvin had a news brief on the referendum in the second hour, which crucially included something the first hour ignored, which was the fact that the gerrymander was passed with a bare majority of 51 percent. CBS Mornings joined ABC in only giving this good news for their side a partial segment. Congressional correspondent Caitlin Huey-Burns said Virginia’s new Democrat seats could have “potentially a big impact” even though “this vote was narrow, just 51 percent[.]” She too concluded with the state courts (click “expand”): MATT GUTMAN: And, Caitlin, speaking about that balance of power, CBS News projects Virginia voters have narrowly approved a new congressional map that could give Democrats a huge advantage in that state. How big of an impact could this have on the midterms in November? HUEY-BURNS: Yeah, potentially a big impact, Matt. This vote was narrow, just 51 percent of voters in Virginia voted to change the congressional map just months before those critical midterm elections as you mentioned. But take a look at this right here, the new map gives Democrat an advantage in ten House districts, leaving just one Republican safe seat and that could boost the Democrats’ chances of winning four additional seats in the House of Representatives this November, so no question right now this is a major blow for Republicans who are already holding on to such a narrow majority in the House, as we just talked about. But, look, this is no done deal. Even though the vote happened last night from the public, the state Supreme Court in Virginia is going to weigh in on whether all of this is legal[.] To see the relevant transcripts from April 22, click here (for ABC’s Good Morning America), here (for ABC’s World News Tonight with David Muir), here (for CBS), and here (for NBC). Curtis Houck Wed, 04/22/2026 - 18:40 Marketing Timing Regular Search Engine Title Networks Cheer Virginia Dems’ Gerrymander, ABC Ignores How Courts Could Kill It CNS Commentary Off