Daily Brew: January 22, 2026
Welcome to the Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026, Brew.
By: Lara Bonatesta
Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:
- Virginia could become the seventh state to adopt a new congressional map since 2024
- Alaska's congressional elections are using ranked-choice voting for the third consecutive cycle
- ESG-related policy during the first year of the Trump administration
Virginia could become the seventh state to adopt a new congressional map since 2024
The Democratic-controlled Virginia General Assembly passed a constitutional amendment that would allow legislators to redraw congressional districts between 2025 and 2030 if other states have conducted mid-decade congressional redistricting. Voters must approve the amendment.
Because California, Missouri, North Carolina, and Texas have already conducted voluntary redistricting in 2025, the amendment would allow the General Assembly to conduct congressional redistricting before the next scheduled redistricting in 2031. The amendment would require that any redistricting be completed between Jan. 1, 2025, and Oct. 31, 2030.
Currently, the Virginia Constitution requires congressional redistricting every ten years and establishes a 16-member bipartisan commission to draw new congressional maps. The amendment would not abolish the commission. Voters approved Question 1, which created the commission, 65.7 to 34.3% in 2020.
While the amendment authorizes the adoption of a new map, it does not specify one. According to the New York Times, Democratic legislators said they intend to publish a proposed map before the end of January.
House Joint Resolution 4
On Jan. 14, the state House approved the amendment, titled House Joint Resolution 4 (HJR 4), in a vote of 62-33, with five members absent or not voting. On Jan. 16, the state Senate approved HJR 4 in a vote of 21-18, with one senator absent or not voting. Both votes fell along party lines, with Democrats supporting and Republicans opposing.
This was the second time the General Assembly approved the redistricting amendment. The first time was at a special legislative session on Oct. 31, 2025. In Virginia, the General Assembly must approve constitutional amendments in two successive legislative sessions before putting them on the ballot.
Timing of the referendum election
In Virginia, the default referendum election date is the general election: Nov. 3, 2026. The Virginia Constitution gives the General Assembly the authority to schedule a special election for a referred ballot measure. Media outlets have reported that Democratic legislators plan to pass a bill to schedule a special election on the amendment in April 2026.
A special election in April would allow redistricting to take effect before the November 2026 elections. A special election would need to be held between April 16 and April 22, unless the primary election date is moved. Additionally, the congressional filing deadline, scheduled for April 2, would need to be postponed.
The Virginia Constitution states that the earliest a special election could be scheduled is 90 days after the legislature approves the measure. April 16 is 90 days after Jan. 16.
According to Code of Virginia § 24.2-682, a special election cannot be held less than 55 days before a general or primary election, or at the same time as a primary election. The primary election for Virginia is scheduled on June 16. April 22 is 55 days before June 16.
The last special election for a state ballot measure in Virginia was on Jan. 9, 1956, when voters approved a limited constitutional convention to revise Section 141 of the Virginia Constitution, allowing the General Assembly and local governments to use public funds to provide tuition grants for students attending nonsectarian private schools.
Congressional redistricting in other states
If voters approve the constitutional amendment and the legislature enacts new congressional maps, Virginia would join six other states that have redrawn their congressional maps between 2024 and 2026. The other six states are California, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, and Utah.
Currently, six of Virginia’s 11 members of the U.S. House are Democrats. As of Jan. 21, Virginia legislators have not proposed a new congressional map. According to Politico, the National Democratic Redistricting Committee presented two maps to Virginia legislators. One map would aim to create three new Democratic House seats (creating a 9-2 map) while the other would aim to create four new Democratic House seats (creating a 10-1 map).
In addition to Virginia, four other states — Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Maryland— have congressional district maps that are subject to change, either through litigation or a voluntary process, before the 2026 elections.
As of Jan. 21, Republicans have a 218-213 majority in the U.S. House with four vacancies.
California is the only state that has passed a new congressional district map via ballot measure between 2024 and 2026. On Nov. 4, 2025, voters approved Proposition 50, 64.4% to 35.6%. The measure amended the state constitution to allow the state to use a legislature-drawn congressional district map for elections between 2026 and 2030. Donors to campaigns in support and opposition of Proposition 50 contributed a combined $167 million, making the measure the fourth-most expensive ballot measure in the state’s history.
Click here to learn more about the redistricting amendment in Virginia.
Alaska's congressional elections are using ranked-choice voting for the third consecutive cycle
On Jan. 11, former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola (D) announced her campaign for U.S. Senate against incumbent Dan Sullivan (R). With Peltola’s entry into the race, today, we’re taking a look at Alaska’s use of ranked-choice voting since its adoption in 2020 and how it's played out in other statewide elections.
Peltola was first elected to the state's at-large U.S. House seat in a special election in 2022, re-elected for a full term that year, and defeated in 2024. These were the first elections in Alaska’s history where the state used ranked-choice voting (RCV) to determine a winner.
- The first election to use the system in Alaska was the special House election to fill late Rep. Don Young’s (R) seat in 2022. In that election, Peltola defeated former Gov. Sarah Palin (R) 51.5% to 48.5% in the second round of RCV.
- In the November 2022 election, Peltola defeated Palin 55% to 45% in the third round.
- In November 2024, Nicholas Begich (R) defeated Peltola 51% to 49% in the third round of RCV.
Alaska has held one other U.S. Senate election since adopting RCV in 2020. In 2022, incumbent Lisa Murkowski (R) defeated Kelly Tshibaka (R) 53.7% to 46.3% in the third round of RCV.
Alaska began using RCV as a result of a 2020 ballot measure, which voters passed 51% to 49%. In this system, the four candidates who receive the most votes advance to the general election, regardless of their party affiliation. In the general election, voters rank candidates in order of preference. If, in the initial count, no candidate receives 50% of the vote, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and those votes are reallocated based on how those voters ranked the remaining candidates. This process continues until a candidate has at least 50% of the vote.
Alaska is one of three states, along with Hawaii and Maine, to use RCV. Washington, D.C., also uses it. Eighteen states have banned RCV, and 13 have localities that use it, while it is not in use statewide.
Since the initiative for RCV passed, there have been attempts to repeal it. In 2024, an indirect initiated state statute to repeal RCV appeared on the ballot and was defeated by 743 votes, or 0.24% of the vote. This was the narrowest result for a ballot measure in Alaska's history. This year, another measure to repeal RCV will appear on the ballot alongside the state’s races for U.S. Senate, governor, state House, and state Senate.
Click here to learn more about Alaska’s 2026 U.S. Senate election.
ESG-related policy during the first year of the Trump administration
During the first year of President Donald Trump’s (R) second term, federal agencies took a series of actions affecting environmental, social and, corporate governance (ESG) considerations.
ESG investing is an asset management approach that considers the environment, social issues, and corporate governance practices. It's a type of stakeholder investing, which says shareholder returns should not be the only goal. Stakeholder investing contrasts with traditional approaches that exclusively consider financial factors to maximize risk-adjusted returns (also known as shareholder investing).
Federal agencies’ actions were related to financial regulation, labor policy, environmental reporting, and corporate governance. Rather than a single sweeping change, these actions occurred through rule withdrawals, enforcement decisions, and shifts in agency priorities.
Many of the actions involved rolling back or declining to defend policies adopted during the previous administration, particularly those related to climate disclosure, fiduciary standards, and climate risk oversight. Others focused on proxy voting, emissions reporting, and U.S. participation in international climate-related initiatives.
The following timeline highlights key ESG-related federal actions taken in 2025. We covered each of these changes when they happened in our Economy and Society newsletter. Click on the associated links to see our full coverage of each change, and click here to sign up for Economy and Society.
Jan. 17, 2025 — Federal Reserve exits global climate-risk regulatory network
March 2025 — Federal Reserve disbands internal climate-focused offices
March 27, 2025 — SEC votes to end defense of climate disclosure rule
April 8, 2025 — Trump issues executive order directing DOJ to challenge state climate and ESG laws
April 29, 2025 — Fannie Mae shuts down ESG department
May 28, 2025 — Labor Department ends defense of ESG retirement rule
June 12, 2025 — SEC withdraws proposed ESG disclosure rules
Sept. 13, 2025 — EPA proposes ending greenhouse gas emissions reporting program
Oct. 9, 2025 — Federal banking regulators withdraw climate-risk principles for large banks
Nov. 12, 2025 — FTC launches antitrust investigation into proxy advisory firms
Dec. 11, 2025 — Trump issues executive order on proxy advisory firmsClick here to read more about ESG.
