Even before Virginia voters decide on a new congressional map, Democrats are piling in to run for districts proposed under a redistricting plan that is designed to give their party a near sweep of the state’s U.S. House seats.

Even before Virginia voters decide on a new congressional map, Democrats are piling in to run for districts proposed under a redistricting plan that is designed to give their party a near sweep of the state’s U.S. House seats.

Voters walk outside the Fairfax County Government Center during early voting for the Virginia redistricting referendum, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Fairfax, Va. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Even before Virginia voters decide on a new congressional map, Democrats are piling in to run for districts proposed under a redistricting plan that is designed to give their party a near sweep of the state’s U.S. House seats.

The latest entrant is Olivia Troye, who was an aide to former Republican Vice President Mike Pence and has become a vocal critic of President Donald Trump. She announced Tuesday that she’ll run in Virginia’s newly created 7th Congressional District, joining an already crowded field.

Voters will decide April 21 whether to adopt a Democratic-drawn congressional map that could help the party win four more U.S. House seats, a rare and enticing prospect for ambitious Democrats.

“I just feel like we need people that are going to stand up and fight,” Troye said. “And I’m not seeing that right now, across the Democratic and Republican parties.”

The proposed district where Troye wants to run was designed to be an easy general election win for Democrats, taking in territory that is now part of six different districts.

About a half-dozen Democrats have announced plans to run in the district if voters approve the new boundaries. They include Dorothy McAuliffe, Virginia’s former first lady, and former federal prosecutor J.P. Cooney, who served as a deputy to special counsel Jack Smith and was fired by Trump.

The sprawling district would have a population center in the heavily Democratic northern Virginia suburbs of Washington and would stretch deep into rural areas that favor Republicans.