Virginia congressman says Spanberger wants to ‘turn us into New England’

Less than a week before head to the polls to decide the fate of the states congressional map, a representative from a district at the center of the controversy pushes back. 

In an interview with the Ruthless Podcast released on Thursday morning, Rep. Ben Cline, R-Va., rebuffed the efforts by to change the layout of the congressional districts ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. 

“Their goal is the long game,” Cline said of the Democrat-backed . “It is the short game of the next election, but its also the long game of trying to turn rural Virginia into either a non-impact on politics or convert. You either assimilate or youre destroyed.”

Under the proposed map, Clines district in the western part of the state would be divided into five new seats. Josh Holmes, a co-host of the podcast, explained that this would dilute the impact of rural voters.

“They are attempting to split into five different districts to minimize a rural vote that they can overcome with Northern Virginia suburban NGO defense contractors,” Holmes said during the interview. 

Virginia Democrats are following a national trend. Cline noted how this redistricting playbook has been used by Democrats across the country. 

“They definitely want to turn us into New England,” the congressman first elected in 2018 said. “Massachusetts used to have Republican members of Congress, a much more balanced delegation. Now its 9-0. But Republicans vote, what, 40 percent of the population there. They do it in Illinois. Most of the states where they control, theyre trying to just draw Republicans completely out.”

Clines comments come as the polling on the referendum is tightening.  A recent poll from the Washington Post showed support for redrawing the states maps, leading by only 5 points. The projections show a closer race than last years gubernatorial election, where Democrat Abigail Spanberger defeated Republican Winsome Sears by more than 15 points.

Voters will get their chance to weigh in on the redistricting fight on Tuesday. Virginians will decide whether to approve a constitutional amendment enabling the General Assembly to redraw the states congressional map. 

Democrats claim that creating new maps would  to apportionment. Republicans argue that this is a gerrymander by turning the delegation from a six-five Democrat-majority to a  in a state where Kamala Harris only beat Donald Trump by . 

, R-Va., who currently represents the Southwest part of the state, would likely become the only Republican remaining in Virginias delegation. 

Cline appeared on Ruthless as a part of the Ruthless Midterm Interview Series, an ongoing initiative to interview major GOP candidates. The hosts have already interviewed candidates in 12 states, with more scheduled as primaries across the country take place ahead of the November midterms. 

After Tuesdays election on the