(CNN) 鈥� Olivia Troye, a former adviser to Vice President Mike Pence, announced Tuesday that she would run for Congress as a Democrat in Virginia鈥檚 proposed new 7th District, pending passage of a sweeping redistricting referendum this month.
Troye publicly broke with the Republican Party in 2020 after serving in political and national security roles, signing onto a with more than 130 fellow GOP officials endorsing Joe Biden鈥檚 campaign and arguing that 鈥淒onald Trump has failed our country.鈥�
In the years since, Troye has emerged as an of the Republican Party under Trump. She was a featured speaker at the 2024 Democratic National Convention.
鈥淭he evil I saw in that White House was staggering. In 2020, I finally said 鈥榚nough,鈥欌�� Troye said in a announcing her congressional bid. 鈥淭rump doesn鈥檛 scare me. I took him on when it mattered the most, and I鈥檓 ready to do it again.鈥�
With the announcement Tuesday, Troye 鈥� now officially a Democrat 鈥� became the first candidate to declare for the race in the proposed new 7th District. A crowded field of potential contenders is taking shape, including former Virginia first lady Dorothy McAuliffe and several state lawmakers.
First, however, Democrats must prevail in the high-stakes redistricting referendum on April 21 that will determine whether the new 7th District exists at all. It鈥檚 the latest front in a over gerrymandering which, if passed, could enable Democrats to gain four seats and take a 10-1 advantage in the state鈥檚 congressional delegation.
Republicans have disparagingly branded the new 7th as the 鈥渓obster claw district,鈥� a reference to its contortions aimed at maximizing Democratic vote share.
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