Virginians for Fair Maps

Virginians for Fair Maps generated over $17 million in funding, with most donations coming from a PAC of the same name. ³

Constitutional Amendment

As of early 2026, the Virginia legislature redraws the state’s 11 Congressional districts every ten years under the direction of the Virginia Redistricting Commission, a group made up of four Democratic and four Republican legislators established in 2020 by a constitutional amendment. The next appointed redrawing year is 2031. ⁴

Virginians for Fair Maps opposes the passage of a new amendment to the Virginia Constitution that would permit the Virginia state legislature (known as the General Assembly) to redraw one or more of the state’s U.S. Congressional districts prior to 2031 under “limited circumstances,” including other states redrawing their districts. After 2030, the state’s redistricting power would revert to the Virginia Redistricting Commission. ⁴

The redistricting map that could be implemented if the ballot initiative is passed has already been designed and publicly disclosed. The map would likely result in shifting Virginia’s districts from a six-to-five narrow Democratic-controlled majority, to a ten-to-one Democratic majority. ⁵

Virginians for Fair Maps describes the ballot initiative as an attempt at “gerrymandering” and a “power grab” based on circumventing the “nonpartisan” Virginia Redistricting Commission, which the group points out was established in 2020 by a referendum which received 66 percent of the vote and bipartisan support. ¹

Funding

As of April 12, 2026, Virginians for Fair Maps had raised $17,045,000 in funding. Its largest donor is also called Virginians for Fair Maps, an affiliated PAC, which donated $16.5 million. The group’s other donors include American Potential ($250,000), Jon M. Peterson ($100,000), the National Shooting Sports Federation ($50,000), Thomas J. McInerney ($50,000), Michael Patrick Kehoe ($45,000), Haulover Creek Development Co ($25,000), Todd Aaron Copeland ($15,000), and Sky Surgical Inc ($10,000). ^{3 6}

According to the New York Times, as of March 25, 2026 the Democratic Party-aligned Virginians for Fair Elections “has heavily out-raised” Virginians for Fair Maps, with the Democratic-aligned support campaign spending 14 times more on advertising than the Republican-aligned opposition campaign. ⁷

Leadership

Former U.S. Representative Eric Cantor (R-VA) is the co-chair of Virginians for Fair Maps. He is managing director at Moelis and Company, an investment bank. From 2000 to 2014, Cantor served as a Republican U.S. Representative for Virginia’s 7th district and as House Majority leader from 2010 to 2014. Earlier, Cantor served in the Virginia House of Delegates for nine years. ⁸

Jason Miyares is also a co-chair of Virginia for Fair Maps. Miyares previously served as the Attorney General of Virginia from 2022 to 2026 and was a Republican member of the Virginia House of Delegates from 2016 to 2022. ⁸

Activity

Virginians for Fair Maps sent out a mailer comparing the proposed ballot initiative to Jim Crow Laws and efforts to fight the Civil Rights Movement. Virginians for Fair Elections, the campaign supporting the constitutional amendment, denounced the mailer as “offensive and deceptive,” and claimed Virginians for Fair Maps sought to “rig the 2026 midterms” by scaring voters. ⁹

Virginians for Fair Maps co-chair Jason Miyares has gone on a speaking tour around Virginia to promote opposition to the proposed amendment. In early April, Miyares publicly accused Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger (D) of violating her campaign promise to not engage in redistricting by supporting the promised amendment. In a social media post, Miyares referred to Governor Spanberger as “Governor ‘Bait and Switch.’” ^{10 11}

Also in April, former Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin (R-VA) and U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) began campaigning against the proposed ballot initiative. ¹²