Republican Judges Won't Stop Us From Winning the House (5/11/26)

Ways to respond after Friday's Virginia decision. Plus: driving calls on ICE funding and war powers, a new national strike fund and more

May 11, 2026

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☎️✊🏼 Join the Workers Circle in the fight for a just world - they’re holding a call TONIGHT at 7PM ET to talk best practices for pushing sheriffs not to cooperate with ICE AND hosting a phonebank from 7-8PM ET to turn out voters for the Georgia Supreme Court election! ☎️✊🏿

TOO LONG, DIDN’T READ
Our response to the Virginia Supreme Court unraveling amendment vote: doubling down on unseating justices and turning out voters in House races, continuing the push to fight fire with fire in blue states, demanding Virginia Democrats take a page for the GOP’s book and keep pushing to secure new maps
Drive calls to Congress against more funding for ICE TOMORROW at 2:30PM ET, opposing the Iran War WEDNESDAYS at 2:30PM ET
Support the new national union organizing and strike fund Union Now
Join the Progressive Turnout Project’s postcarding effort here, learn more in a webinar tomorrow at 8PM ET
This week’s judges to thank

If you have questions, comments, and especially submissions for actions, please email us at roganslisttips@gmail.com!

Sitkans for Peace and Democracy have been holding weekly vigils since December 2023, and as we can see here these Alaskans don’t cancel just for a little cold and snow. The resistance is everywhere, and we’re not backing off. Submitted by Rogan’s List reader Cindy L in Sitka, AK - please send more protest photos/videos to roganslisttips@gmail.com!

REPUBLICAN JUDGES HELP TILT THE HOUSE TOWARDS THE GOP, AGAIN

We won’t mince words: the Virginia Supreme Court’s 4-3 decision to strike down the voter-approved redistricting plan is very bad news for the Democratic Party and democracy. It unbalances maps towards Republicans at a time when they are busily taking advantage of the gutting of the Voting Rights Act to eliminate left-leaning seats across the South. Their chances of winning the House this November are noticeably better today than they were Friday morning.

But let’s also be clear: Democrats were the favorite to win the House the day before the opinion in Louisiana v. Callais, and they still are now.

Prices are still skyrocketing, Trump is still wildly unpopular, and there is only so much redrawing the lines can accomplish if Republican voters are unsatisfied, Democratic voters are motivated and independents are ready for a change. Some of these gerrymanders could backfire, and several of the seats that just tilted back towards the GOP in Virginia may flip even under the old maps. Analysis by G. Elliott Morris indicates that the worst-case scenario on continued GOP gerrymandering would mean the Democrats will need to win the House popular vote by four points to take the chamber – less than their current advantage in generic balloting and half what they won by in 2018.

If you won’t take people like Dan Pfeiffer (here), Robert B. Hubbell (here), L O L G O P (here) or Jess Craven (here)’s word for it, just look at what the GOP itself is doing: they reserved millions of dollars in fall ad time in Ohio to defend seats Trump won in 2024 by seven and eleven points. This is not the stuff of a party on offense.

This is going to be harder than we thought it was. That doesn’t mean we’re doomed, but it does mean we’ll need to put a little more work in. 🙋🏿 If we’re anxious about this, the best thing we can possibly do right now is start volunteering to help some of our House candidates. We can find a full list of opportunities on our midterms action page here. 🙋🏻

WORK FOR THE MAJORITY

☎️ This setback is also a stark reminder of the power of state supreme courts. We’re eight days from a shot at unseating two GOP justices in Georgia – we can sign up to help out here. ☎️

FLIP JUSTICES IN GEORGIA

It’s also at this moment worth taking a page from the Republican playbook. When courts rule against GOP gerrymanders, they don’t stop pushing for the use of their maps. They keep fighting it out in the courts and in the political branches, and at times they’ve been rewarded for it. They’ve complied in name only, found loopholes, and torn up the rulebook, and it has worked to their advantage. Given their increasing lack of interest in the basic protections of democracy, we should do the same in response to this decision in Virginia. Democrats have already appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court and asked the state’s justices to delay issuing their mandate. While there’s no easy route forward, we must at least try to do more.

There have been several suggestions as to how Democrats can challenge this ruling. Among the boldest has been a proposal by Michigan State law professor and state constitutional expert Quinn Yeargain at The Downballot, calling on state legislators to use their clear authority to set a new judicial retirement age and force some (or all) of the judges in the majority to step down before an appeal. There’s also been mention of attempting to invalidate the constitutional amendment creating Virginia’s independent redistricting commission on procedural grounds to allow Democrats to redraw the lines Without endorsing any specific path, we should and must entertain this sort of outside the box idea. 🗣️ Let’s reach out to Democratic elected officials at the federal and state level (governor, attorney general, delegates, state senators) in Virginia and demand they do everything legally in their power to secure the fair maps that the people of their commonwealth voted for. They must be as creative and aggressive as their opponents. We can find scripts and language to use here. 🗣️

STAND UP FOR VIRGINIA

🗣️ And if we’re in one of the eight blue trifecta states with Republican House members, let’s keep pushing our own leaders to fight fire with fire and aggressively rebalance our maps to cancel out the GOP gerrymanders. We can find scripts and language to use here. 🗣️

DEMS MUST FIGHT BACK

AFTERNOON PHONE BANKS AGAINST ICE FUNDING, IRAN WAR

Republicans are aiming to try to pass a budget reconciliation bill before June 1st to get appropriations for the deportation machine. The Senate draft released last week included $38.2 billion for ICE and $26 billion for the CBP on top of the $170 billion slush fund they got from last year’s budget… and of course, nothing to restrain the terror they’ve unleashed on our neighbors. We anticipate the GOP will attempt to pass it through Senate committees this week to get it the floor by the middle of the month. This, along with a potential House vote on another Iran war powers resolution, will be at the top of the agenda on Capitol Hill this week.

Indivisible is looking to make public opposition felt as these fights go on. They’ve scheduled a phonebank TOMORROW from 2:30-4:30PM ET to reach folks in Republican districts and connect them with their elected officials in opposition to billions more for ICE and CBP. They’re also running shifts on WEDNESDAYS throughout the month from 2:30-4:30PM ET to drive calls to Congress in favor of the war powers resolutions and against more funding for Trump’s wars. ☎️ We can sign up for the Tuesday anti-ICE phonebank here and for the Wednesday anti-war phonebanks here. ☎️

PHONEBANK AGAINST ICE FUNDING TMW

PHONEBANK TO STOP THE WAR WEDS

🗣️ To make our own voices heard, we can find call and e-mail tools against another blank check for Trump’s thugs here and language and an e-mail tool to use to push for an end to the war here. 🗣️

PUT MONEY DIRECTLY INTO UNION POWER

The cause of labor remains the hope of the world. Organized labor is a powerful force against income inequality and the influence of the oligarchs, and historically has been a key pillar in the struggle against authoritarianism. The Trump regime clearly understands that, and they’ve prioritized union-busting. Every single American who believes in economic justice and democracy should be looking for opportunities to stand in solidarity with union organizers.

Some of the toughest and most creative leaders in the labor movement, led by Association of Flight Attendants president Sara Nelson, have launched a new initiative to help grow the labor movement. Union Now is a national worker power and organizing fund, providing resources to strengthen the hand of new unions negotiating with powerful businesses and fill the coffers of strike funds whenever it’s needed, helping workers stay on the picket line long enough to win. (Labor journalist Hamilton Nolan makes the case for this effort here.) ⚒️ We can help directly fund organizing activity by donating to Union Now here. ⚒️

THERE IS POWER IN A UNION

ANOTHER PROGRAM TO POSTCARD SWING RACE VOTERS

We can’t take control of the House and Senate next January without turning out every Democratic voter this November. One way to help: reach inconsistent voters who will likely vote blue with a handwritten postcard they’ll receive before the midterm election with the Progressive Turnout Project. Volunteers receive a minimum of 100 state-specific postcards to work on over the next months. Postcards are free but we supply the $0.61 postcard stamps and mail all the postcards in early October. 📫 We can sign up here to join the program and learn more at a YouTube Live event they’re hosting TOMORROW, May 12th from 8-9 PM Eastern. 📫

JOIN POSTCARDS TO SWING STATES

LEARN MORE TOMORROW NIGHT

THIS WEEK’S JUDGES TO THANK

Trump’s regime is openly flouting court rulings, with an AP investigation finding they have violated federal court orders in 31 lawsuits and 250 individual immigration decisions. Meanwhile, pro-Trump judges in the Supreme Court are greenlighting the gutting of the Voting Rights Act while claiming their rulings are nonpartisan. This was a difficult week to find examples of judges being able to resist, and it seems some important issues are not making it into the mainstream media.

Judge John deGravelles refused to allow Louisiana GOP officials to rush through legislation to replace a clerk who won his position with 68% of the vote, in order to substitute a non-elected Republican appointee in his place. ✍️ Let’s write a note or postcard thanking Judge deGravelles for upholding democracy. The GOP cannot suddenly decide a position is not by election when their preferred candidate does not win. ✍️

Judge John deGravelles
Russell B. Long Federal Building and Courthouse
777 Florida Street, Suite 355
Baton Rouge, LA 70801

Judge Ana Reyes has told the administration not to chop down trees without notice at a Washington golf course Trump plans to renovate, as it is currently subject to a dispute. ✍️ Let’s write a note or postcard to thank Judge Reyes for trying to prevent precipitous destruction of the surrounding trees before matters have been settled in court. ✍️

Judge Ana Reyes
E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Courthouse,
333 Constitution Avenue, NW,
Washington, D.C. 20001

Judge Jia M. Cobb blocked a group founded by Stephen Miller from requiring Hunter Biden to be classified as a foreign agent. ✍️ Let’s write a note or postcard to thank Judge Cobb for preventing this obvious attempt to retaliate at a political opponent. ✍️

Judge Jia M. Cobb
E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Courthouse,
333 Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20001

Judge Hannah Dugan continues her fight to overturn her conviction for felony obstruction for not allowing ICE to run wild to capture an immigrant using her courtroom. ✍️ Let’s write a note or postcard to thank Judge Dugan for her courage and wish her the best in her continued fight. ✍️

Judge Hannah Dugan
Legal Defense Fund
1345 N Jefferson St. #172
Milwaukee, WI 53202

👀 KEEPING AN EYE ON… 👀

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