On CNN’s State of the Union, the weekly panel discussion predictably veered to the redistricting war. Liberal panelists were still processing a brutal week for Democrats, and watched some of their arguments blow up in their face in real time.
Watch as Scott Jennings baits liberal CNN commentator Ashley Jennings into admitting that black people always have an enfranchised choice at the ballot box, regardless of whether they live in a racially gerrymandered district:
TWO-FER: @BradOnMessage points out Dems' hypocrisy on redistricting, @ScottJenningsKY gets his liberal co-panelist to concede there is no racial disenfranchisement resulting from redistrictings in TN and elsewhere pic.twitter.com/8dRMnljcBr
— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) May 10, 2026
BRAD TODD: This is selective outrage from Democrats. North Carolina has redrawn their lines about six times in the last six elections. Why? Because Democrats always go to court and always try to get new lines that are favorable to them. Sue 'til blue. That's the mantra that they use.
JAKE TAPPER: Sue 'til blue?
TODD: Sue 'til blue. Democrats will sue on any map until it's blue. They do their mid-decade redistricting in the courts. And we have seen it for many years.
And that is what's happening here. They've gone to Utah this cycle and sued to get the map drawn for themselves. Like, partisan redistricting is a fact of life. And now...
ASHLEY ALLISON: This isn't partisan.
SCOTT JENNINGS: What is it?
ALLISON: Racial redistricting.
TODD: On the campaign...
(CROSSTALK)
ALLISON: You literally are taking Memphis, which is a city that -- with black voters, and you split it in three, stretching 3,000 miles.
JENNINGS: Who's the current Democrat congressman there? What -- is it a black congressman?
ALLISON: Just because -- black people are allowed to elect people that don't look like them?
JENNINGS: Exactly.
And that is the point I wanted you to make, because just because you're not going to have a black congressman, why is it that a Republican can't do just as well representing black voters as a Democrat?
(CROSSTALK)
ALLISON: Because they aren't electing...
JENNINGS: Why does your race determine your politics?
ALLISON: It doesn't. It doesn't. No. Just be -- you're making my point, actually. The assumption is black people...
JENNINGS: I think you're making my point.
ALLISON: No, no, no.
The assumption is black people will only elect black people. No, black people are smart enough to elect...
(CROSSTALK)
ALLISON: No, let me finish.
(CROSSTALK)
TAPPER: Just let Ashley finish.
ALLISON: Black people will elect people who will actually represent them, who have their best interests at heart.
And what Republicans have done in Tennessee is dismantle the power for black people to have their voice. They did the same thing in Texas, because they said they thought Latinos were going to swing for Republicans.
There are black people that are represented. I'm black and I got a Republican president right now. Black people don't elect black people based on race. They elect people that are aligned with their morals, their belief in justice, and Republicans just took that away from them in Tennessee and in other states.
JENNINGS: I just disagree that the only person, the only kind of a politician who can elect black people in Congress must be a Democrat.
This is just an artificial...
ALLISON: That's not what I'm saying. That's not what I'm saying.
(CROSSTALK)
JENNINGS: ... for the Democratic Party. Black voters are still fully franchised and go vote for whoever they want.
ALLISON: That's not what I'm saying.
JENNINGS: It just doesn't have to be a Democrat.
It bears noting that On Message founder Brad Todd set this exchange up by pointing out the hypocrisy of Democrats who normally achieve their mid-decade redistrictings in the courts, citing the “sue till blue” strategy. It also bears noting that these efforts never get questioned by the Elitist Media. Instead, they cheer it as “defense of Democracy™”, unless Republicans do the same in which case it is covered as rank disenfranchisement. It’s (D)ifferent like that.
Also lost in this exchange is how Virginia sued the state Supreme Court into refusing to weigh in on the proposed constitutional amendment and referendum results until AFTER the special election, which per some estimates is turning out to be an $80 million decision. The focus of this panel was solely on Republicans.
Exit question: If this is how the left and the media are caterwauling now, what do you think the 2032 midterm is going to look like?
Click “expand” to view the full transcript of the aforementioned segment as aired on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday, May 10th, 2026:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK WARNER: Today, justice was not served. We have to recognize that they will use every tool, legal or illegal, to try to stop Americans from saying this is not the direction we want to go. If there's ever a time for us to double down and speak up and stand up louder and more forcefully, it's now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JAKE TAPPER: Democratic Senator Mark Warner of Virginia on the Virginia Supreme Court's decision to strike down the redistricting plan voters had just passed. It would have given Democrats four new House seats, taking it from a six-to-five Democrat to Republican House representation tool, 10 to one. Now it's back to six to 5.
Kate Bedingfield, it does look like Republicans are definitely winning these redistricting or gerrymandering wars, maybe anywhere from one to 11 seats, depending on, A, how everything susses out, and then also, B, whether or not things actually go as projected.
For example, in Texas, the idea was Latino voters are going to go Republican. We don't know that that's actually going to happen.
KATE BEDINGFIELD: Right. Well, I think we're looking -- based on where things stand right now, we're looking at potentially R-plus five netting out from all of this, so significant at a time when the House is decided by two or three seats. But I do think it's important to recognize that we are in a political environment that is very challenging for Republicans. There are 13 House Republicans who won their districts by fewer than five points. Democrats have won special elections since 2024 at a plus-13 rate.
So, if you're looking -- if you're somebody who won your district by five points and you're looking at the environment, it's not a great one for you if you're a Republican. So I think the other kind of piece of this, while I would not dispute that the court decision in Virginia was not a good one for Democrats, I do think across the board this issue broadly, this redistricting issue, has been driven by Trump.
It's been tagged to Trump. It is not popular. And it contributes, in an environment where Republicans -- where people are not eager to vote for Republicans because they're frustrated with the president for any number of reasons, this is another kind of albatross political issue around his neck.
And I think Democrats can drive that as they're working to turn their voters out.
SCOTT JENNINGS: Kate, I hate to ruin your morning, but it's going to be more like R-plus 10.
BEDINGFIELD: I assure you, you will not ruin my morning, Scott Jennings.
JENNINGS: It's going to be more like 10 or 11, I think, after all of this, because not only do you have the Virginia case. You have got Louisiana redrawing, Tennessee.
(CROSSTALK)
TAPPER: Let's put up the map, if we can there, just to show the redistricting push. We calculate that Republicans have figured out a way to pick up about 14 seats, Democrats about six. So that's in net eight.
JENNINGS: But you haven't -- but Louisiana is still yellow. That's going to be another.
TAPPER: Yes. Yes. It's all in flux.
JENNINGS: Alabama is another one. South Carolina mayor -- we will see what happens in South Carolina
So the point is, this is -- and, look, don't take it for me, "Washington Post," "New York Times," the math and the map totally upended. So, just a few days ago, Republicans were in the doldrums about the midterms. Now, because of Virginia, because of the redraws after the Voting Rights Act case, you have got Republicans feeling resurgent.
The map looks good. The money looks good. The candidates look good. So we actually have a real race here, where just a couple of weeks ago Republicans were in despair.
BEDINGFIELD: But Republicans still have to win those seats.
ASHLEY ALLISON: Yes, I mean, the political map, like, you all are cheating. OK, just accept it.
JENNINGS: How is it cheating?
ALLISON: Let me just finish. Let me finish. You're cheating, and because you -- politically, are not favorable right now. And so this is the only way you would actually win the House is by drawing maps. But let's say you were politically favored. The reality is, these maps, from the origin story of when Texas was being redrawn and hurting one group of voters, and that is black voters, black voters were losing power in Texas.
The Voting Rights Act was gutted. In less than a week, you all took power away from black people in Tennessee and South Carolina and Louisiana. So perhaps maybe this cheating might work out in your favor.
But let me tell you, there is one group of voters that will not be silenced in this moment. There is one group of voters that always have realized what that make America great was. And you have really erupted the sleeping giant that has passively been looking and seeing what this administration is doing, not even, like what I say Trump administration always does a Whac-A-Mole.
They have surgically attacked black voters since day one, from cutting DEI and now to the Voting Rights Act. And I want to see what they do in November.
BRAD TODD: Well, let's rewind the tape. In 2018, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, which is partisan and elected at the ballot box and majority Democrat, redrew Pennsylvania's map to help Democrats take over Congress in 2018. Democrats were not outraged by that. Mark Warner, who just decried this Virginia decision, the decision was written by Justice Arthur Kelsey. You know who put him on the appellate bench? Governor Mark Warner. This is selective outrage from Democrats.
North Carolina has redrawn their lines about six times in the last six elections. Why? Because Democrats always go to court and always try to get new lines that are favorable to them. Sue 'til blue. That's the mantra that they use.
TAPPER: Sue 'til blue?
TODD: Sue 'til blue. Democrats will sue on any map until it's blue. They do their mid-decade redistricting in the courts. And we have seen it for many years.
And that is what's happening here. They've gone to Utah this cycle and sued to get the map drawn for themselves. Like, partisan redistricting is a fact of life. And now...
ALLISON: This isn't partisan.
JENNINGS: What is it?
ALLISON: Racial redistricting.
TODD: On the campaign...
(CROSSTALK)
ALLISON: You literally are taking Memphis, which is a city that -- with black voters, and you split it in three, stretching 3,000 miles.
JENNINGS: Who's the current Democrat congressman there? What -- is it a black congressman?
ALLISON: Just because -- black people are allowed to elect people that don't look like them?
JENNINGS: Exactly.
And that is the point I wanted you to make, because just because you're not going to have a black congressman, why is it that a Republican can't do just as well representing black voters as a Democrat?
(CROSSTALK)
ALLISON: Because they aren't electing...
JENNINGS: Why does your race determine your politics?
ALLISON: It doesn't. It doesn't. No. Just be -- you're making my point, actually. The assumption is black people...
JENNINGS: I think you're making my point.
ALLISON: No, no, no.
The assumption is black people will only elect black people. No, black people are smart enough to elect...
(CROSSTALK)
ALLISON: No, let me finish.
(CROSSTALK)
TAPPER: Just let Ashley finish.
ALLISON: Black people will elect people who will actually represent them, who have their best interests at heart.
And what Republicans have done in Tennessee is dismantle the power for black people to have their voice. They did the same thing in Texas, because they said they thought Latinos were going to swing for Republicans.
There are black people that are represented. I'm black and I got a Republican president right now. Black people don't elect black people based on race. They elect people that are aligned with their morals, their belief in justice, and Republicans just took that away from them in Tennessee and in other states.
JENNINGS: I just disagree that the only person, the only kind of a politician who can elect black people in Congress must be a Democrat.
This is just an artificial...
ALLISON: That's not what I'm saying. That's not what I'm saying.
(CROSSTALK)
JENNINGS: ... for the Democratic Party.
Black voters are still fully franchised and go vote for whoever they want.
ALLISON: That's not what I'm saying.
JENNINGS: It just doesn't have to be a Democrat.
TAPPER: Kate.
BEDINGFIELD: Well, I think, Brad, to your sue 'til blue, were Republicans not just celebrating a Supreme Court decision that gutted the Voting Rights Act on racial grounds, but also embraced partisan gerrymandering?
That was part of the actual reasoning given behind the decision, was that districts should be drawn from a partisan perspective.
(CROSSTALK)
TODD: Partisan districts have always been allowed by the Supreme Court. It's always been a criteria allowed. We delegate this responsibility to the states.
Now, by the way, it wasn't always the case. We used to elect some members of Congress statewide. You could go back to that if you wanted to do that right now; 1967 is the Single-Member District Act that you could repeal.
But we have always allowed courts, majority liberal courts, majority conservative courts have always allowed partisanship as a criteria.
TAPPER: All right, everyone stick around.
