Trump accidentally handed Dems massive gerrymandering win: analysis

The Virginia redistricting referendum that passed on Tuesday and could give Democrats a leg up came on the heels of a "vote yes" campaign that relied on anti-Trump ads, a report by the New Republic highlights.

The Virginia "vote yes" campaign pushed images of Trump in its advertising in areas of the state that could have swung the election. Democrats could have four more seats in the House, and Trump "is perhaps the primary reason that the referendum passed," the New Republic journalist Greg Sargent noted in an article, "How Trump accidentally handed Dems their big win in Virginia."

Trump arguably kicked off a redistricting arms race last summer by urging Texas Republicans to gerrymander the state. Sargent mentions a source familiar with the "vote yes" ad buying who said, "Trump’s name and face were plastered all over the mess he made.”

"In the 'vote yes' campaign’s final days, 100 percent of the ads that aired in Northern Virginia markets heavily emphasized or featured very prominent imagery of Trump," Sargent wrote. "It was largely Northern Virginia that put the referendum—which passed by a narrow three points—over the top. The most heavily populated areas there—Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William, Arlington, Alexandria—all voted for it by big to enormous margins, contributing nearly 600,000 of the “yes” side’s total of nearly 1.6 million votes."

Anti-Trump "vote yes" ads also aired to Black voters in Virginia areas that voted in favor of the referendum, the New Republic reported. The "vote yes" ads accused Trump of "rigging elections" and calling on Virginia to "stop him."

Trump said that gerrymandering "is not good" during a conference call on Monday, just ahead of the vote, the New York Times reported. Sargent concluded that Trump's comments on Monday confirmed that message.

"And so, when Trump suggested Monday that gerrymandering is good when he and Republicans do it but unacceptable when Democrats do, he neatly confirmed the 'yes' campaign's main anti-Trump message."