Soros-backed group among liberal orgs pumping eye-popping cash into Virginia gerrymandering effort

A group fighting to get Virginia voters to approve an April 21 referendum to let Democrats in the state redraw its congressional maps is being pumped with liberal cash, receiving over $38 million from less than a dozen left-wing entities over the last three months, including from the George Soros-backed Fund For Policy Reform Inc.

The Virginia Public Access Project (VPAP) tracks state spending in Virginia and, according to its database, Virginians for Fair Elections has received $5 million from the Soros-funded and founded entity, which is within his Open Society Foundations Network of groups known for pushing liberal causes. 

Soros' latest cause is a massive gerrymandering effort in Virginia, where the state's congressional delegation could go from effectively 6 Democrats and 5 Republicans, to 10-Democratic-leaning districts and one Republican-leaning district, per VPAP. Virginians for Fair Elections is one of the main vehicles pushing Virginia voters to vote "yes" on April 21 to redraw the state's maps. Virginia's decision to redraw its maps came after mid-decade redistricting efforts by Republicans in Texas, which significantly changed the state's electoral maps.

VIRGINIA DEM ADMITS REDISTRICTING PUSH AIMS TO 'STOP TRUMP', NOT ABOUT 'FAIRNESS'

Tens of millions of dollars have been pumped into the state of Virginia ahead of the April 21 referendum vote, with the vast majority going to the Democratic side of the issue.

Besides money from Soros' network, in 2026, Virginians for Fair elections received $20 million from the nonprofit counterpart of House Democrats' House Majority PAC, $100,000 from Sen. Tim Kaine's, D-Va., leadership PAC, a little over $10 million from the progressive nonprofit that funds ballot initiatives nationwide, The Fairness Project, almost $500,000 from the Democratic Party of Virginia, $1 million from the Global Impact Social Welfare Fund, $1 million from a group called American Opportunity Action, and then several other smaller donations from wealthy liberal backers.

The main group opposing redistricting, Virginians For Fair Maps, has only raised a little over $3 million from just two donors in 2026. $560,000 came from the Republican Party of Virginia while the remaining $2.5 million came from a group by the same name, Virginians for Fair Maps, according to VPAP. 

OBAMA ENDORSES VIRGINIA REDISTRICTING CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT THAT COULD HELP DEMS GAIN 4 SEATS

Despite the fundraising advantage, the referendum is still expected to be close. Since polls opened March 6 for early voting, turnout in Republican-heavy counties has been high compared to the state's election turnout in November, when Democrats performed very well and Spanberger took over the Governor's mansion, while Jones took over the attorney general's Office.

Democrats in the state have reportedly been urging Spanberger to get more assertive in the redistricting effort.

Democrat Beth Macy, who is running for Congress in one of the five House districts currently held by Republicans, said Virginia Democrats "gotta stop bringing a spork to a knife fight," according to Politico. She added that it would be "helpful" for Spanberger "to be the spokesperson on redistricting because she did so well and won by so much."

Soros' network of groups and PACs has also been a powerful force behind supporting dozens of far-left district attorneys, such as the formerly recalled San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin, Chicago's Kim Foxx, and L.A.'s George Gascon. In 2022, 1 in 5 Americans were represented by a Soros-linked prosecutor, according to data from the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund. 

In Virginia, Soros' Democracy PAC donated at least $500K to help Spanberger become governor and to help Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones, who fantasized about killing his Republican rival and his family, get elected. His PACs have also donated millions to the campaign coffers of far-left district attorneys in Virginia.

Fox News Digital reached out to Soros' Open Society Foundations and the other top donors pumping millions into the redistricting battle, but did not receive a response from Soros' group ahead of publication.

"No one wanted to take this action, but in a democracy, we can’t let entire states rig their congressional maps just to bend to the will of one person. We have to respond. This amendment is a temporary, one-time exception that gives Virginia voters a voice and meets the needs of the current moment, while ensuring Virginia’s bipartisan redistricting process will resume after the 2030 census," Alexis Magnan-Callaway, a spokesperson for The Fairness Project, told Fox News digital. 

"The ballot measure allows Virginia voters, not politicians, to decide for themselves whether they want new, temporary districts," she continued. "This isn’t about favoring one party over another. This is about restoring fairness across the board by temporarily changing Virginia’s congressional districts."