Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates Don Scott (D) announced his party “respects” the decision of the Virginia Supreme Court to overturn a new congressional map passed by the legislature and signed off on by Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger (D), while others sounded off on the ruling.

“We respect the decision of the Supreme Court of Virginia,” Scott said in a public statement after Friday’s 4-3 decision.

He continued:

I’m proud that Virginians came out in historic numbers, made their voices heard, and sent a message not just here at home – but across the country – to Donald Trump and his administration.

Three million people voted in a free and fair election. We gave this decision to the voters – exactly where it belongs – and they spoke loud and clear. They voted YES because they wanted to fight back against the Trump power grab.

That truth doesn’t change because of a court ruling. This was always about more than one election – it was about whether the voices of the people matter. And no decision can erase what Virginians made clear at the ballot box.

We respect the court. But we will keep fighting for a democracy where voters – not politicians – have the final say. Because in Virginia, power still belongs to the people.

Democratic leaders in the state shared mix reactions to the Supreme Court’s decision, including Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones, and Lt Gov. Ghazala Hashmi.

“The Supreme Court of Virginia has told voters in the Commonwealth that their voices can simply be discarded. This decision does not exist in isolation. It comes amid years of assaults on fundamental civil rights, the battles for voting rights, escalating hyperpartisanship, and coordinated efforts to erode public trust in democratic institutions. These actions disenfranchise voters and weaken the very principles of our country,” Hasmi said.

Jones said the Republican-led majority court got it legally wrong and accused the judges of putting “politics” over the law.

“The consequences of their error are grave,” Jones said.

Kaine said the state’s Supreme Court threw Virginians’ votes “in the trash can.”

The new congressional map would have given Democrats an advantage in all but one of the state’s districts.

Governor Spanberger announced she was “disappointed” by the court’s ruling on Friday, saying voters “made their voices heard” and tried to “push back against a president who said he is ‘entitled’ to more Republican seats in Congress.”

“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,” she said in her statement.

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