– The Washington Times
An organization drumming up opposition to Virginia’s April 21 referendum on Democrats’ gerrymandering plan ran its first TV ad.
Virginians for Fair Maps launched the new ad Thursday. It featured previous anti-gerrymandering remarks and actions of the state’s Democratic lawmakers, who now want voters to support the district map recently approved by the Democratic-controlled General Assembly.
The ad opens showing a map of Virginia and a voiceover saying, “In 2020, 66% of Virginians voted to end partisan gerrymandering. We voted for fair maps, and both parties supported it.”
The ad cuts to a 2020 video clip of Democratic State Sen. Louise Lucas, who said, “We want a fair, nonpartisan commission to draw the lines.”
The voiceover continues: “Now the Democrats want to shred the nonpartisan commission and rig our maps. Why? It’s a power grab to create districts only one party can win. … It’s a power grab that takes choices away from voters. Say no to partisan gerrymandering.”
Conservatives in the state have been anxiously awaiting Republicans and their allies to begin airing campaign ads that push back against Democratic lawmakers’ attempt to wipe out four of the five Virginia congressional districts now held by Republicans.
Democrats have been airing statewide TV ads, one of which features former President Barack Obama advocating for the new map designed to give Democrats 10 of the state’s 11 U.S. House seats.
The current map has five Republican districts and six Democratic districts.
Democrats and their allies are outspending Republicans by tens of millions of dollars, urging Virginians to vote yes on the mid-decade redistricting.
Early voting has been strongest in Republican districts, though Democrats expect to close that gap when they open more satellite polling sites in Democrat-heavy Northern Virginia.
Early in-person voting continues until April 18. Election Day is April 21.
New gun rights ‘freedom index’ created
The Firearms Policy Coalition recently launched the 2026 FPC State Freedom Index, a state-by-state scorecard for gun rights as of the end of 2025.
It gives gun owners an online tool to clearly see “exactly how their state is failing them—and the ammunition to demand their elected officials fix it,” the organization said.
FPC said the 2026 Index shows that many GOP-led states are “failing their own constituents,” with only solid red Kansas and swing-state New Hampshire earning a perfect 100% score.
Unsurprisingly, California finished last with 4.55%.
Some of the most conservative states were criticized by FPC, including Florida and Ohio, which both scored 81.82%, and Nebraska, which scored 77.27%.
“Every state other than Kansas and New Hampshire has had every opportunity to get to 100%, but instead they chose not to,” said FPC President Brandon Combs. “That’s not a minor oversight — it’s a betrayal of the People and our fundamental rights. These states need to get their act together and fix their laws to fully respect the right to keep and bear arms.”
The FPC State Freedom Index objectively evaluates all 50 states and the District of Columbia across 22 specific yes/no criteria in four categories:
• Arms — What firearms can you legally own?
• Acquisition — How can you obtain firearms?
• Carry — Where can you carry firearms?
• Other — Registration and other regulations.
Businesses want no new tariffs
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce called on the White House to put the brakes on imposing additional tariffs after the White House announced new tariffs on pharmaceuticals and adjusted duties on steel and other metals.
“We share the administration’s commitment to American workers, U.S. manufacturing, and national security. But after a full year of higher tariffs, the costs are unmistakable. Tariffs have increased prices, disrupted supply chains, and added uncertainty for the very families and businesses they are meant to help,” said Neil Bradley, executive vice president and chief policy officer of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Mr. Bradley said that a new complex tariff scheme on pharmaceuticals will raise health care costs for American families, and changes to metals tariffs will also raise prices for consumers and add pressure to manufacturing, construction and energy.
These industries, he said, are already feeling pressure from higher input costs and ongoing supply‑chain challenges.
“The U.S. Chamber urges the administration to pursue policies that drive sustained 3% economic growth, strengthen business investment, and help families keep up with rising costs,” Mr. Bradley said.
GOP pressed to pass long-term funding for immigration force
The Federation for Immigration Reform said the GOP must ignore Democrats’ demands and ram through a party-line bill that provides long-term funding for immigration enforcement.
“For nearly seven weeks, congressional Democrats have recklessly endangered national security, needlessly inconvenienced the American public and forced hundreds of thousands of workers to miss paychecks by refusing to fund the Department of Homeland Security,” said Dale Wilcox, executive director and general counsel of the Federation for American Immigration Reform
“They did so in pursuit of radical demands that would effectively prevent Immigration and Customs Enforcement from removing illegal aliens from the country.”
House and Senate leaders last week reached an agreement to fund all agencies within DHS except for ICE and Border Patrol, which have enough funding from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that President Trump signed on July 4.
Republicans said that they will use another reconciliation bill to fund the immigration force through the remainder of Mr. Trump’s term.
Under reconciliation, full and unconditional funding for ICE and Border Patrol can be passed with a simple majority in the Senate, where the GOP has 53 seats.
“Democrats have failed to achieve anything, except causing massive lines at airports and creating hardships for DHS employees,” said Mr. Wilcox.
• The Advocates column is a weekly look at the political action players who drive the debate and shape policy outcomes in Washington. Send tips to theadvocates@washingtontimes.com.
