Name: Top Dem Jeffries goes all in on gerrymandering: ‘Whatever it takes’
Uploaded: 2026-02-15T17:04:39.000Z
Duration: 10 min
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Adverbs of manner

So you clearly think that you now have an advantage in this gerrymandering race that we've really seen play out in unprecedented ways across the country this cycle.

Do you think that Democrats are going to gerrymander their way to the majority?

Well, we're not going to gerrymander our way to the majority.

We are going to win the majority because the American people know that Republicans have gone way too far.

They're rejecting the extremism of Republicans and embracing the fact that Democrats have made clear we're going to work hard to, to lower the high cost of living, to fix our broken health care system, to reform the out of control ICE situation and to clean up corruption.

So there was a big ruling in Virginia that just came down the pike here.

Potentially this will go as a ballot referendum in April to voters in Virginia to decide whether or not to give you guys up to four more seats.

This will be a 10:1 difference between Democrats and Republicans in a pretty purple state.

Is this overreaching on the Democrats part?

Republicans started this redistricting war and Democrats have made clear we're going to finish it.

We're going to make sure that there is a fair national map.

So at the end of the day, it's the voters who get to decide who's in the majority after the November midterm elections and not Donald Trump.

That's the Democratic approach and the Republicans are feeling it.

I mean, when they go low, you're going lower.

We're going to make sure that there's a fair national map.

Donald Trump is the one who instructed five different Republican states to gerrymander the national congressional map.

And the reason why he did that is because he wanted to rig the midterm elections.

And for whatever the reason, they didn't think that Democrats were going to forcefully respond.

They thought we wouldn't respond in California.

They thought we wouldn't respond in Virginia.

They thought we wouldn't win the litigation in Utah.

They thought we wouldn't force a referendum in Missouri.

They thought we wouldn't successfully push them back in Ohio.

And now they're feeling the consequences.

So do you think that you have the advantage here come November on this issue of gerrymandering?

The best case scenario for Republicans at this point is status quo, which is very different than what they were claiming when they were beating on their chests last year saying they were going to gerrymander our opportunities out of existence.

In fact, some of them said, we're going to pick up 10 or 12 or 15 seats.

So you said they tried to rig the elections.

The other side may say, well, that's exactly what the Democrats are doing.

They're trying to rig the elections now, too.

No, we're forcefully making sure that the overall national map is free and fair.

And so whatever advantage Republicans thought they were going to obtain by gerrymandering in red states across the country, we are making sure those advantages are completely and totally wiped out.

How much money are you guys willing to spend on Virginia now?

This is going to go to a ballot referendum in April.

Could have a huge impact on the midterms.

How much money are you guys willing to put in to get this ballot initiative through?

It could be several multimillion dollar campaigns.

We will spend tens of millions of dollars to make sure that the Republicans do not successfully manipulate voters in Virginia and that voters have all of the information necessary to make a decision around whether they want Donald Trump to rig the midterm elections and halt the ability for the American people to decide who's in the majority, or whether the people of Virginia and the people of America should be the ones to decide.

Do you worry about the cash situation with these outside groups?

I mean, the DNC, we're sitting in the DNC building right now.

The RNC had $100 million more than the DNC at the beginning of this year.

Well, it's not surprising that when one party has the White House, that the rnc, of course, is going to be in a somewhat stronger position financially than the DNC in the off year.

Let's talk about Maryland, because it's a fight within your own party.

The governor, Wes Moore, is backing this plan to redraw the one Republican essentially out of his district.

it's being held up in the state Senate by one man, the State Senate president, Bill Ferguson.

Bill Ferguson, who's not bringing this to the floor for a vote.

What are the implications if he continues to stand against you and your party?

Well, I'm not convinced that he's going to be successful.

Governor Moore has been incredibly strong, resilient, patriotic, and visionary on this issue.

I'm very thankful to the Maryland House of Delegates who decisively passed this legislation, which, by the way, is going to give voters the opportunity in Maryland to make a decision about the future of this map.

That's the difference between Democrats and Republicans.

They are passing maps that they are intentionally gerrymandering, often wiping away black or Latino districts in the dead of night legislatively because they're petrified of taking these things to the voters.

That was done in California, that's being done in Virginia, and

that also is the legislation that is being undertaken and considered in Maryland now.

If he stands firm, could he cost you the majority, this Democratic State Senate president in Maryland?

Well, he'd have to live with that if that's the outcome at the end of the day.

But I don't think that's gonna be the outcome because we know we have majority support right now as we speak in the Maryland State Senate.

And all we're asking President Ferguson to do is allow democracy to prevail.

One man shouldn't stand in the way of the people of Maryland, through their representatives in the State Senate, being able to decide, should we go in this direction or should we not?

Answer Donald Trump's continued efforts to rig the midterm election.

He seems to be concerned that this could lead to legal challenges and it could even backfire for your party.

I haven't spoken to Ferguson in several weeks.

Well, at some point I'm gonna have to have a conversation with him if he continues to stand in the way of an up or down vote.

But hopefully over the next few days, he'll change his mind.

Okay, so there's also the possibility that the Supreme Court could really change things on the Voting Rights Act.

Does that worry you that the Supreme Court could come in and really undermine your chances to take back the majority?

I think it's important for the Supreme Court to stay consistent.

And just two years ago or so in the Alabama case, Justice Roberts and Justice Kavanaugh affirmed the continued importance of section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.

So I have no idea why two or three years later they would overturn their own decision.

Particularly in this environment where Donald Trump has launched an all out assault on civil rights, on, on voting rights, on black history, on these principles of diversity and equity.

And why, in this environment where we're seeing a resurgence of racism and oppression, could the Supreme Court possibly conclude that the Voting Rights act is outdated but if they do, what does that mean for your chances to take back the House?

Well, I think the interesting thing is that if for whatever the reason, they allow certain states in the Deep south to reopen the congressional map, that doesn't mean that every other state in other parts of the country, including the north, the Midwest and the west can't do exactly the same thing.

So I would caution Republicans, be careful what you wish for.

They've already gone down this road once before and they've seen the outcome.

This whole gerrymandering scheme has completely and totally backfired on them.

Do they want to double down on that failed effort?