VA state senator says he knows about rural America because he watched Dukes of Hazzard, The Waltons, and The Andy Griffith Show

Democrat Virginia State Senator Lamont Bagby, speaking in the Senate chamber on Thursday regarding the results of Tuesday’s redistricting vote, said, "listen, I almost took issue with the other side saying that we don’t understand. But I grew up watching The Waltons; I grew up with Opie. I even watched Dukes of Hazzard. I think I know a little bit about rural America." His comment was met with laughter in the chamber.

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"And, when I think about why we are here, we’re not just here—I’m not just here for Theo, I’m not just here for Arnold, or Willis. I’m here for Opie, John-Boy … Topanga."

The statement comes after a measure narrowly passed at the ballot box in Virginia on Tuesday that would see the state redistrict in a way that would likely gain the Democrats four seats in the US House. It would turn the makeup of the state in the chamber for 6-4 Democrats to Republicans, to favoring Democrats 10-1.

In the wake of the vote, a judge placed a pause on the effort, saying that the plans cannot go into effect ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. The judge took issue with the framing of the question, saying "the ballot language proposed in HB 1384 submits to the voter a flagrantly misleading question to the voters, and because the ballot language did not accurately describe the proposed amendment as it was passed in the General Assembly."

The question as framed asked voters to answer "yes" or "no" to the following: "Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended to allow the General Assembly to temporarily adopt new congressional districts to restore fairness in the upcoming elections, while ensuring Virginia's standard redistricting process resumes for all future redistricting after the 2030 census?"

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