Virginia's Supreme Court on Thursday (local time) invalidated a new congressional map drawn to shift four Republican-held House seats to Democrats.

This marks a significant legal victory for Republicans in the "map war" led by President Donald Trump.

In a 4-3 ruling, the Virginia Supreme Court rejected a Democratic-led ballot initiative approved by voters in April that would have redrawn the state's congressional districts to favor a specific party.

The court's majority, which sided with the Republican challenge, determined that Democratic lawmakers did not follow proper procedures in their rush to approve the ballot measure for a vote prior to last fall's elections.

The ruling strengthens Republicans' hold on a majority in the federal House of Representatives in the midterm elections. Conversely, it has sparked anger and frustration among Democrats, who face an uphill battle to regain the House majority.

"Huge win for the Republicans and the USA in Virginia," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "The Virginia Supreme Court overturned the Democrats' vile gerrymander. Let's Make America Great Again!"

Axios reported that some House Democrats privately called the ruling "disgusting" and acknowledged that it would significantly hinder the chances of Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries becoming Speaker of the House.

However, Democratic officials and allied activists quickly signaled their unwillingness to abandon the broader national redistricting fight.

The Washington Examiner reported that Virginia Democrats are considering further legal and political options, including federal appeals and new legislative actions. However, no new states are known to be pushing for maps that specifically favor Democrats, and it appears unlikely that Virginia will be able to change its congressional map through federal appeals or legislative action.

In the nationwide redistricting battle that began last year when Trump pressured Texas Republicans to redraw congressional maps and create new districts targeting five Democratic House members, Republicans now hold a clear advantage.

To summarize the situation so far, Republicans have altered or are successfully in the process of altering maps to increase their seats by a total of 19: four in Florida, two in Alabama, one each in Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Ohio, and five in Texas.

In contrast, Democrats, having failed to add four seats in Virginia, have only managed to add a total of six seats, including five in California and one in Utah.

Therefore, based on the current new congressional maps, Republicans are expected to gain an additional 13 seats compared to 2024. This would increase the Republican House seats from 220 in the 2024 election results to 233 after this year's midterm elections, while Democratic seats would decrease from 215 in 2024 to 202. The gap between the two parties would widen significantly to 31 seats.

Of course, these figures are based on the assumption that the redistricting will yield the intended results, and the actual election outcomes may differ somewhat.

Currently, with five House seats vacant due to deaths and resignations, Republicans hold 217 seats, Democrats hold 213 seats, and there is one independent.

On Monday, the federal Supreme Court issued an emergency ruling by an 8-1 vote that congressional maps could be changed before the November midterm elections because "racial gerrymandering" is unconstitutional.

This allowed efforts to redraw congressional maps in several states where early voting had already begun, with some states halting or postponing their election schedules.

By US NNP=Hong Seong-goo Chief Reporter / Special Dispatch NNP info@newsandpost.com