Obama endorses Virginia redistricting push with early voting set to begin

Barack Obama on Thursday threw his support behind a redistricting effort in Virginia that aims to flip four Republican-held US House seats ahead of November’s midterm elections.

In a video endorsement, Obama urged Virginians to support a referendum on a new map to ensure “your voting power is not diminished by what Republicans are doing in other states.”

Obama’s public backing comes a day after the state Supreme Court cleared the way for the April 21 election in which voters will decide whether to change the state’s constitution to allow for the map redraw. Early voting opens Friday.