A top Virginia Democrat’s support for his state’s redistricting referendum ironically backfired after a judge he previously appointed helped torpedo his party’s bid to redraw the state’s congressional districts.
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., who endorsed the referendum and appeared at pro-referendum events, gave $100,000 to the campaign behind Virginia Democrats’ redistricting effort, which voters approved in April. On Friday, a judge Warner appointed when he was governor in 2002, D. Arthur Kelsey, was among the four justices who voted to strike the referendum down on constitutional grounds. In fact, Judge Kelsey authored the 4-3 prevailing opinion.
The voter-approved ballot measure was poised to give Democrats a major advantage heading into November’s midterm elections, and they vastly outspent Republicans in their bid to get it passed. However, Kelsey wrote in the prevailing opinion that the sequencing in which Democrats held the referendum vote violated the state’s Constitution, which requires an intervening election between the state legislature’s mandatory first and second passage of the proposed constitutional amendment.
Warner, who was the Governor of Virginia from 2002 until 2006, previously appointed Kelsey, then a Circuit Court judge, to the Virginia Court of Appeals. Kelsey served two terms before a GOP state legislature elevated him to the state’s Supreme Court, where Kelsey has been serving since 2015.
When Warner appointed Kelsey to the Virginia Court of Appeals in 2002, he praised the then-Suffolk circuit judge as having shown “a keen intellect, a strong work ethic and a commitment to equal justice,” according to a report from Virginia Lawyers Weekly at the time.
“Although I had not met Judge Kelsey before this process began, I have spoken to him at length, reviewed his numerous opinions and consulted with those who know him well,” Warner added in 2002.
Following the ruling by Virginia’s Supreme Court, Warner put out a statement in a news release saying he respected the decision, but added that “it’s impossible to ignore that more than three million Virginians already cast their ballots on the amendment and deserved to have their voices heard.”
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Fox News Digital reached out to Warner to inquire whether he felt the ruling was fair, but a spokesperson for the senator only referred Fox News Digital to the news release with his public statement.
“Donald Trump assumed he could tilt the playing field and lock in political advantage before a single ballot was cast. But Virginians are paying attention,” Warner also said in his public statement. “They want leaders who will protect their rights, defend their freedoms, and actually focus on lowering costs and getting things done. Democrats will still show up this November, we will still compete everywhere, and when the votes are counted, Virginians will send a strong message about the kind of leadership they want.”
The prevailing opinion written by Kelsey said that Democrats’ proposed map would have replaced Virginia’s current 6-5 congressional split “with a highly partisan gerrymandered map” expected to create a 10-1 advantage for a single party.
Kelsey went on to highlight that under Democrats’ proposed new map, roughly 47% of Virginians who voted for one political party during the last congressional election would end up being represented by just 9% of Virginia’s delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives, while 51% of Virginians who voted for the other major political party would be represented by 91% of Virginia’s congressional delegation.
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger said Friday she was “disappointed” with the Supreme Court’s decision and, along with other Democrats, blasted the state’s High Court for invalidating the will of voters.
“More than three million Virginians cast their ballots in Virginia’s redistricting referendum, and the majority of Virginia voters voted to push back against a President who said he is ‘entitled’ to more Republican seats in Congress with a temporary and responsive referendum. They made their voices heard,” Spanberger said after the ruling.
“I am disappointed by the Supreme Court of Virginia’s ruling, but my focus as Governor will be on ensuring that all voters have the information necessary to make their voices heard this November in the midterm elections because in those elections we — the voters — will have the final say.”
Virginia Democrat who helped lead state’s redistricting push also played part in killing it 2026 IUSTITIA.BG – Investigations 2009-2025 2026-05-08 21:30:08 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law
