New congressional maps: Prince William remains split, while Stafford is solidly in new 7th District

According to new maps approved by the Virginia State Supreme Court on Tuesday, multiple congress members continue to represent Prince William County.

The state’s second-largest jurisdiction is split with residents in the county’s eastern portion, from Hoadly Road to the Potomac River, living in the newly-relocated 7th Congressional District currently represented by Democrat Abigail Spanbeger, who lives outside Richmond.

In addition to Prince William, the district now includes the counties of Stafford, King George, Culpeper, Caroline, Spotsylvania, Madison, Orange, and Greene. The city of Fredericksburg is also included.

Residents west of Hoadly Road now live in the redrawn 10th District. In addition to including more of Prince William County, the counties of Loudoun, Fauquier, and Rappahannock, and a portion of Fairfax County. The cities of Manassas and Manassas Park are also in the 10, currently represented by Democrat Jennifer Wexton.

A field of four Republicans aims to unseat Wexton in what will likely be a June 2022 Primary Election. Jeanine Lawson, who was elected to serve on the Prince William Board of County Supervisors in 2014, leads the pack in fundraising with more than $330,000.

“The lines are final. I live in Virginia’s 10th Congressional District and have represented parts of it as a Prince William County Supervisor for the last seven years,” said Lawson in a statement posted to Facebook. “I will defeat Nancy Pelosi’s Puppet Jennifer Wexton next November and restore common sense leadership to the people.”

Theresa Ellis, who serves on the Manassas City Council, is also running for the 10th District seat. Earlier this month, when it appeared Manassas was going to be included in the new 7th Congressional District, Ellis told PLN she would run in the political district in which she lives. She couldn’t be reached for comment for this story.

Meanwhile, in the 7th, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports Spanberger is exploring the possibility of moving from her home outside Richmond to a home in the new 7th in a bid to keep the seat. Congress members are not required to live in the district they represent. However, if they chose not to, their political opponent would likely use that fact to campaign against them, University of Mary Washington Political Science Professor Stephen Farnsworth said.

The prospect of all of Prince William County in a single congressional district — after being split between three congress members for the past 11 years — prompted many Democrats in the blue-leaning county to consider a run for the seat.

“The new maps have, unfortunately, divided Prince William County into two districts intentionally splitting a majority-minority community,” said Babur Lateef, the county’s School Board Chairman At-large who was also considering a run for the 7th District seat. “This effectively continues the gerrymandering that has weakened the second largest county in the commonwealth for way too long and making sure underrepresented minorities remain underrepresented.
The Virginia Supreme Court has failed miserably.”

The Virginia Supreme Court stepped in in November when the bi-partisan redistricting committee to redraw the political maps quit. The process, done every 10 years to account for population shifts, also redraws lines for the Virginia General Assembly seats.

You can see the Supreme Court’s order and links to the new maps here.