2026年4月1日 美国东部时间11:49 / 福克斯新闻
两党反操纵选区划分组织也致信斯潘伯格，要求在4月21日投票前举行电视辩论
作者：查尔斯·克赖茨
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弗吉尼亚州州长阿比盖尔·斯潘伯格的资深共和党前任挑战她，就她和弗吉尼亚州民主党人极力支持的选区重划公投展开公开辩论，而她合作的一个反操纵选区划分组织也代他向斯潘伯格发出了相关提议。
斯潘伯格与里士满的参众两院领导层一道，在4月21日的全民公投中明确站在“投赞成票”阵营，该公投将对弗吉尼亚州的国会选区进行重新划分，此举可能会让该州仅存的一名共和党国会议员之外的所有共和党议员都丢掉席位。
曾在1994年至1998年担任州长、曾在联邦众议员和联邦参议员任期之间任职的共和党人乔治·艾伦在一份声明中表示，如果现任州长的观点是正确的，她应该公开为其辩护。
“弗吉尼亚州选民期待对相关议题进行充分且透明的讨论。因此，我邀请斯潘伯格州长与我一同参与一系列公开辩论，直面弗吉尼亚民众，解释此次公投投票的双方立场。”艾伦说道。
众议院的争夺将取决于弗吉尼亚州，法院批准高风险选区重划投票
弗吉尼亚州州长阿比盖尔·斯潘伯格（左）；乔治·F·艾伦（右）。（迈克·克罗普夫/盖蒂图片社；道格拉斯·格雷厄姆/盖蒂图片社）
“我准备好讨论我为何反对弗吉尼亚州乃至全美各地的操纵选区划分行为。”
艾伦的父亲曾是当时的华盛顿红皮队最成功的教练之一，艾伦表示，弗吉尼亚州民众正被政治广告“狂轰滥炸”，已有2800万美元用于投放“充其量具有误导性、旨在迷惑选民”的商业广告。
“让我们为弗吉尼亚民众提供他们应得的、关于操纵选区划分问题的诚实且透明的讨论。”他说。
为此，由包括艾伦在内的两党前弗吉尼亚州议员和官员牵头组织的“弗吉尼亚州反操纵选区划分”组织，向斯潘伯格在国会山的办公室寄去了一封请求举行辩论的信件。
“如果你坚信自己的理念和候选人足够优秀，那么你就不应该惧怕民众。”艾伦在接受里士满全国广播公司附属台采访时表示。
他补充道，操纵选区划分是一个关乎个人的议题，他推动参与州长竞选的部分动机源于阿尔伯马尔县——他曾在该县拥有“一条碎石路上的木屋”——在一次选区重划中被拆分进了多个选区。
“弗吉尼亚州反操纵选区划分”组织的信件称，4月21日的投票是“弗吉尼亚州的一个关键时刻”。
共和党领导的县抵制民主党人的选区重划指控，考验弗吉尼亚州的宪法限制
2026年3月31日星期二，在弗吉尼亚州阿灵顿市埃伦·M·博兹曼政府中心，标语牌呼吁早期选民就弗吉尼亚州选区重划公投投赞成票或反对票。该州的早期投票仍在继续。（比尔·克拉克/CQ-罗尔呼叫公司通过盖蒂图片社拍摄）
“从核心来看，此次公投旨在询问弗吉尼亚州是否将继续致力于公平代表制，还是转向其他州已普遍采用的中期操纵选区划分模式。”信件中写道。
“弗吉尼亚州选民理应在投票前，有机会听到针对这个问题的清晰且直接的辩论。”
“为此，我邀请您参与一场关于此次公投的电视直播辩论。前州长乔治·艾伦已同意参与，他将阐述反对通过拟议新地图的理由。如您所知，艾伦长期以来一直反对操纵选区划分，这一立场部分源于他在20世纪90年代初被划出自己所属国会选区的经历，同时他也支持2020年确立弗吉尼亚州当前公平选区重划流程的宪法修正案。”
艾伦在2月份的一份此前声明中曾表示，无论操纵选区划分行为出自哪一方，中期操纵选区划分都是错误的。
“德克萨斯州错了。加利福尼亚州错了。北卡罗来纳州错了。弗吉尼亚州民众应该像印第安纳州和南卡罗来纳州的民众一样坚守原则，对本州这种恶劣的操纵选区划分行为说‘不’。”他说道，并补充道，2020年将选区重划权力从州议会手中收回的公投表明，弗吉尼亚州“在公平标准上远比此次提议更高”。
“弗吉尼亚州反操纵选区划分”组织的咨询委员会成员包括前弗吉尼亚州众议院议长威廉·豪厄尔（共和党，来自斯塔福德县）、前州参议员查普·彼得森（民主党，来自费尔法克斯县）以及前众议员威廉·弗拉林（共和党，来自罗阿诺克县）。
其他近期的弗吉尼亚州官员也抨击了此次选区重划推动行动，其中包括前州长格伦·杨金和前司法部长杰森·米亚雷斯。
弗吉尼亚州州长阿比盖尔·斯潘伯格回应了未露面的唐纳德·特朗普总统的国情咨文讲话。（史蒂夫·赫尔伯/路透社）
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福克斯新闻数字频道已联系斯潘伯格征求评论。
在近期为该公投辩护的公开声明中，她表示此次公投是“临时性的”，并暗示她在其他方面仍支持2020年的修正案。
查尔斯·克赖茨是福克斯新闻数字频道的记者。
他于2013年以撰稿人和制作助理的身份加入福克斯新闻。
查尔斯负责报道福克斯新闻数字频道的媒体、政治和文化领域。
查尔斯是宾夕法尼亚州本地人，毕业于天普大学，获广播新闻学学士学位。新闻线索可发送至charles.creitz@fox.com。
Former Virginia governor challenges Spanberger to debate her redistricting flip-flop
April 1, 2026 11:49am EDT / Fox News
A bipartisan anti-gerrymandering group also sent Spanberger a formal letter requesting a televised debate ahead of the April 21 vote
By Charles Creitz
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A top Republican predecessor of Gov. Abigail Spanberger challenged her to publicly debate the merits of the redistricting referendum she and Virginia Democrats so fervently support, as an anti-gerrymandering group he works with also fired off a letter to her in his stead.
Spanberger, along with Senate and House leadership in Richmond, is squarely in the “Vote YES” camp when it comes to the April 21 public referendum to redraw the Old Dominion’s congressional districts in a way that would likely remove all but one GOP congressman from office.
Gov. George Allen, a Republican who served as governor from 1994 to 1998 between tenures in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate, said in a statement that if the incumbent’s ideas are right, she should publicly defend them.
“Virginia voters expect a robust and transparent discussion of the issues. So, I am inviting Governor Spanberger to join me in a series of public debates to look Virginians in the eye and explain each side of this referendum vote,” Allen said.
BATTLE FOR THE HOUSE RUNS THROUGH VIRGINIA AS COURT OKS HIGH-STAKES REDISTRICTING VOTE
Virginia Govs. Abigail Spanberger, left; George F. Allen, right.(Mike Kropf/Getty Images; Douglas Graham/Getty Images)
“I am prepared to discuss why I oppose gerrymandering in Virginia and anywhere else in our nation.”
Allen, whose father was one of the then-Washington Redskins’ most successful coaches, said that people in Virginia are being “barraged” by political ads and that $28 million has been spent on commercials that “are at best misleading and designed to confused voters.”
“Let’s give Virginians the honest and transparent discussion of gerrymandering that they deserve,” he said.
In that regard, the group No Gerrymandering Virginia, which is being spearheaded by a bipartisan group of former Virginia lawmakers and officials including Allen, sent a letter requesting such to Spanberger’s office at the Capitol.
“If you’re confident that your ideas and your candidates are so great, then you ought not fear the people,” Allen told Richmond’s NBC affiliate.
He added that gerrymandering is a personal subject, as part of his impetus to run for governor came when Albemarle County — where he owned a “log house on a gravel road” — was split into several pieces during one such redrawing.
No Gerrymandering Virginia’s letter called the April 21 vote a “consequential moment for Virginia.”
GOP-LED COUNTIES PUSH BACK AGAINST DEMOCRAT’S REDISTRICTING CHARGE, TESTING VIRGINIA’S CONSTITUTIONAL LIMITS
Signs urge early voters to vote yes or no on the Virginia redistricting referendum at the Ellen M. Bozman Government Center in Arlington, Va., on Tuesday, March 31, 2026. Early voting continues across the state for Virginia’s redistricting ballot referendum.(Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
“At its core, the referendum asks whether the commonwealth will maintain its commitment to fair representation or move toward a mid-decade gerrymandering approach that has already taken hold in other states,” the letter said.
“Virginians deserve the opportunity to hear a clear and direct debate on this question before they vote.”
“To that end, I would like to invite you to participate in a televised, live-streamed debate on the referendum. Former Governor George Allen has agreed to participate and would present the case against adopting the proposed maps. As you know, Governor Allen has long opposed gerrymandering, shaped in part by his experience being drawn out of his congressional district in the early 1990s, and he supported the 2020 constitutional amendment establishing Virginia’s current fair redistricting process.”
In a prior statement in February, Allen said mid-decade “gerrymandering” is wrong, no matter who does it.
“Texas was wrong. California was wrong. North Carolina was wrong. Virginians should stand up for principle like those in Indiana and South Carolina who said ‘No’ to this egregious gerrymandering their states,” he said, adding that the 2020 referendum that took power away from the assembly shows Virginia has “much better standards of fairness than this.”
Allen is joined on No Gerrymandering Virginia’s advisory council by former Virginia House Speaker William Howell, R-Stafford, former State Sen. Chap Peterson, D-Fairfax, and ex-Del. William Fralin, R-Roanoke.
Other recent Virginia officials have also lambasted the redistricting push, including ex-Gov. Glenn Youngkin and ex-Attorney General Jason Miyares.
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger responds to President Donald Trump’s, unseen, State of the Union.(Steve Helber/Reuters)
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Fox News Digital reached out to Spanberger for comment.
In recent public statements defending the referendum, she said it is “temporary” and suggested she still supports the 2020 amendment otherwise.
Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital.
He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant.
Charles covers media, politics and culture for Fox News Digital.
Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story tips can be sent to charles.creitz@fox.com.
