The Shape Of Things: VA-05

The district: Virginia's 5th Congressional District is the Commonwealth's largest and stretches from exurbs outside of Washington DC, through, and encompassing, Charlottesville, and then all the way down to the southern border. It is a behemoth that narrowly weaves in and out of urban centers in order to dilute voter representation and ensure a conservative incumbent. Gerrymandering has locked this in as a safely held Republican seat since the map was drawn in 2011.

What is the history of this district? As we entered redistricting in 2011, the district had a history of electing both Republicans and Democrats to Congress, with progressive Democrat Tom Perriello defeating four-term Republican Congressman Virgil H. Goode, Jr. in 2008. Perriello lost the seat in 2010 shortly after voting for the Affordable Care Act, ensuring expanded health care access for thousands of his constituents. Since a redraw designed to keep moderates like him out of representing the district, the seat has been firmly held by Republicans, despite Democrats winning each presidential and gubernatorial election in the state since 2012.

Our Shape of Things series raises awareness about the barriers to political representation in local communities like Charlottesville and provides an opportunity to support our fight for their representation. Will you consider adopting VA-05 with a recurring donation of any amount, to support our work in Virginia and other target states?

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Who is the rep? Denver Riggleman. He's no moderate, in fact, he has a record of voting with President Trump 93% of the time. And his support for the administration doesn't stop with his votes -- he also made sure to retweet the president's irresponsible support of armed protesters who gathered in Charlottesville this past weekend. In some gerrymandered districts like Riggleman's, primaries may sometimes be more competitive than general elections -- it's why two GOP groups in the district have since tried to censure him for officiating a same-sex wedding as someone who no longer was "representing their values."

What's next? While there is still work to do, our movement to end gerrymandering has seen tremendous progress in the Old Dominion. In 2016, a racial gerrymandering lawsuit paved the way for a new congressional seat in the state that gave African Americans the opportunity to elect the candidate of their choice. And in 2018, a separate racial gerrymandering lawsuit forced a redraw of the House of Delegates map, restoring the voting power of tens of thousands of African Americans across the state.

Now, with a more representative state legislature in session, elected officials have a chance to make truly meaningful redistricting reform a reality. Delegate Marcia Price has recently introduced a reform proposal that AG Holder calls the best and most viable path to independent redistricting in 2021 because it will block members from either party from unilaterally obstructing the redistricting process.

Our organization is working tirelessly to ensure redistricting reform like Delegate Price's is supported by a grassroots army of citizens who are fighting to restore our democracy. In order to restore fairness in districts like VA-05, it is critical that we fund these plans. Can you help our efforts by adopting VA-05 with a recurring donation?

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Thanks for reading,
Team AOTL



All On The Line is the grassroots advocacy campaign supported by the National Redistricting Action Fund.

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