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Republicans Try To Overturn Election After Virginia Makes Trump's Gerrymander Backfire

First, Trump screamed fraud about the Virginia special election and then Republicans found a conservative judge who invalidated the will of the voters, but an appeal is coming.

Jason Easley's avatar
Jason Easley
Apr 22, 2026
∙ Paid

The cynical Republican approach to election results is on full display in Virginia.

After voters supported redrawing the state’s congressional map to counter Donald Trump’s effort to rig the 2026 midterm election, Republicans immediately went court shopping and found a conservative judge in the state who tossed out the election and refused to certify the results.

Virginia AG Jay Jones vowed to appeal the ruling, “My office will immediately file an appeal in the Court of Appeals. As I said last night, Virginia voters have spoken, and an activist judge should not have veto power over the People’s vote. We look forward to defending the outcome of last night’s election in court.”

It is a dangerous game and terrible for democracy when any party attempts to invalidate elections and the will of the voters.

The Republican Party under Trump invalidates any election that they lose.

While conservative media is in a tizzy over the ruling blocking the redistricting, there doesn’t appear to be much, if any, concern from Democrats who expect that the state Supreme Court will uphold the will of the voters.

There is also an expectation that the case will be resolved fairly quickly. Republicans aren’t going to be able to drag this out for months and run out the clock on the midterm election.

What stands out is that the Republican contempt for democracy when they lose appears to be limitless.

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