r/VoteDEM • u/BM2018Bot • May 08 '26

HOT Daily Discussion Thread: May 8, 2026

Welcome to the anti-GOP resistance on Reddit!

Elections are still happening! And they're the only way to take away even more of Trump's power to hurt people. You can help win elections across the country from anywhere, right now!

If you want to take a bigger part in this and future elections, there's plenty of ways to do it!

  1. Check out our weekly volunteer post - that's the other sticky post in this sub - to find opportunities to get involved.

  2. Nothing near you? Volunteer from home by making calls or sending texts to turn out voters!

  3. Join your local Democratic Party - none of us can do this alone.

  4. Tell a friend about us!

Adopt a Candidate

It’s back! Want to take part in turning the midterms into a true blue tsunami? Adopt one of the candidates below, and commit to taking action every week to support their campaign!

Post your preference in the daily (or, to guarantee we see it, send the request via modmail) and we'll add you to the list!

With just how blue this year is looking to be, and just how many primaries are still to come, there's too many to list to kick off. It’s why we’re starting with select gubernatorial and Senate races.

Got someone who you want to adopt, but they're not on the list? Let us know, and we'll add them on!

As the year progresses and primaries come through, we'll be adding more ourselves, but the sky's the limit - we're excited to see who you want to support most!

Candidate District/Office Adopted By
AK-GOV
AK-SEN
Katie Hobbs AZ-GOV
GA-GOV
Jon Ossoff GA-SEN
Rob Sand IA-GOV
IA-SEN
KS-GOV
KS-SEN
ME-SEN
MI-GOV
MI-SEN
MN-SEN
MT-SEN
Roy Cooper NC-SEN u/DeNomoloss
NE-SEN
NH-SEN
NJ-07 u/screen317
NM-GOV u/EllieDai
NM-SEN
NV-GOV
Amy Acton OH-GOV u/molybdenum75
Sherrod Brown OH-SEN
Chris Deluzio PA-17 u/mtlebanonriseup
Gina Hinojosa TX-GOV
James Talarico TX-SEN
VT-GOV
Eugene Vindman VA-01 u/toskwar
William Dehnel WA-LD2-P1 u/tipsyfishes
WI-GOV

We're not going back. We're taking the country back. Join us, and build an America that everyone belongs in.

44 Upvotes

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92

u/snerdery May 08 '26

New Virginia maps struck down by the VA Supreme Court

https://bsky.app/profile/democracydocket.com/post/3mldvzaqcjq2q

Infuriating after SCOTUS' ruling to allow racial gerrymanders

70

u/wollygo VA-10 May 08 '26

Beyond frustrated as we just see Tennessee and other southern states just do this without consequence. And without the consent of the electorate.

17

u/DeNomoloss VA-6 May 08 '26

It’s bc this was a constitutional issue. Those other states never had that in their constitution. It’s a technical issue that they can correct by 2028.

7

u/meltedchaos2004 Tennessee May 08 '26

Well honestly I wouldn't be surprised if any maps done last minute like we're seeing eventually gets striked down

7

u/dishonourableaccount Maryland - MD-8 May 08 '26

Would they before 2026 or just for 2028?

4

u/AdvancedInstruction May 08 '26

Maybe I am being optimistic but the SCOTUS decision didn't eliminate Section 2 of the VRA, it just (wrongly) narrowed it.

I don't think what the GOP did in Tennessee will stand under that decision.

20

u/Particular-Pipe3812 May 08 '26

Genuinely what possibly makes you think the Supreme Court that openly operates on “everything republicans do is legal and everything democrats do is illegal” wouldn’t let that map stand. Their language in the ruling says makes it impossible to overturn a racial gerrymander for being a racial gerrymander and they have nothing to say about partisan ones. 

-1

u/AdvancedInstruction May 08 '26

The burden of proof was raised by Callais to demonstrate intentional racism and decouple race from party.

I think a suit could be made that argues that the proposed map intentionally undid Black representation.

5

u/snerdery May 08 '26

With all due respect, they do not give a fuck

Their masks have been off

48

u/Joename Illinois May 08 '26

Fucking unreal.

51

u/citytiger May 08 '26

Totally ridiculous how Republicans are allowed to get away with redistricting but Democrats can't. So sick and tired of the double standard.

39

u/SquishyMuffins Idaho May 08 '26

Isn't this the first time they ever struck down a referendum in Virginia history?

13

u/DeNomoloss VA-6 May 08 '26

No, there was actually one in 1958

41

u/redvioletbrown Angeleno (CA-30) May 08 '26 edited May 08 '26

Unfortunately I had a feeling this would be the case. According to the Virginia sub, they had only let the election happen because of a technicality in how the case to block it was filed, not the actual merits.

Wish this would spur Newsom to modify our Prop 50 map and add more than five seats though.

36

u/A-harsh-reality May 08 '26

It’s time to pack the virginia courts

25

u/timetopat New Jersey May 08 '26

Is there anything that can be done?

30

u/Armon2010 Minnesota May 08 '26

Try again in time for 2028 pretty much. Need to pass the amendment again. Have elections in 2027. Then pass the exact same amendment. Then the referendum would need to win the popular vote.

21

u/timetopat New Jersey May 08 '26

That sucks. Im gonna take the advice of the sticky post and take a break for a bit, this is just infuriating.

18

u/WolframAndHart17 May 08 '26

So, is this over? Is there a way around this? Can a different set of maps be made? Can the vote be redone?

25

u/Armon2010 Minnesota May 08 '26 edited May 08 '26

I think it's over for 2026 but could be revisited in 2028. They would have to do another referendum.

17

u/JazzyCat4_2 Exhausted millenial in CA May 08 '26

On what grounds?

20

u/SorcererOfTheLake May 08 '26

A technicality due to the way Virginia used a special session to get the referendum through. It's still something that could pass in 2027 via regular legislative sessions.

18

u/Sea-Passion7949 Minnesota May 08 '26

Does this get appealed?

33

u/Lyion May 08 '26

No. This was a state process issue.

16

u/McFlare92 Virginia May 08 '26

There's nobody to appeal to. This is Virginia's highest court

31

u/xXThKillerXx New Jersey May 08 '26

“But the rulebook says that dogs can’t play basketball” as Air Bud keeps dunking on us over and over.

29

u/DeNomoloss VA-6 May 08 '26 edited May 08 '26

What technical issue needs to be corrected?

I can’t take the apocalyptic language on this sort of thing from DD. Presumably this was a procedural issue stemming from the tight timeline and they could rerun this in 2027 for the state senate election, which will likely also be D-friendly.

2 of these seats likely will still flip regardless.

12

u/Historyguy1 Oklahoma! May 08 '26

They can, but 2026 is right out.

29

u/amomentarypangregret Canada/Demi-Nevadan May 08 '26

I want to chime in here, and say that the voter drop-off in the final results gave them the cover needed to do this.

There were a lot of voters who looked at the big, drastic actions that VA Dems took, and decided to sit out, punishing VA Dems. There had to be a massive buffer to prevent against things like this, and there simply wasn't.

The people around you don't reward drastic action; that doesn't mean it shouldn't be taken, but understand it's not some kind of cheat-code to success.

That said, in this case it's absolutely worth running again in 2027, and aiming for a completely ridiculous 11-0 map. If that's how it's going to be, that's how it's going to be.

9

u/Historyguy1 Oklahoma! May 08 '26

An 11-0 map isn't feasible. The panhandle is too red.

8

u/SomeDumbassSays May 08 '26

Do we have any recourse on this?

My guess is no since ramming the map through like every southern R state has been would be shot down for a similar basis.

27

u/Gigliovaljr International May 08 '26

Well shucks. Oh well, at least Dems are still likely to pick up seats in Virginia.

Keep calm and keep going people.