Said House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries: “When they go low, we hit back hard.” But the real choice isn’t between going high or going low. What blue states are doing — and should make clear they are — is to deter red states from going low by neutralizing any political advantage red states might get from redistricting. The only way to deter them from going low is to match them.

I used to see the choice exactly as Michelle Obama put it. I was something of a purist about gerrymandering. When I chaired Common Cause, I toured the country urging states to set up independent commissions to decide on the shape of congressional districts rather than leave the decisions up to politicians.

But I think Michelle Obama set up a false choice. I’d rather we go high, but to do that it’s first necessary to deter them from going low. I applaud what the voters of Virginia (and my state, California) have done.

I don’t view it as a betrayal of earlier reforms. The only way to deter them from going low is to match them — not go lower than they go, but match them in a way that removes their incentive to go low in the first place. After all, it started when Texas Gov.

Greg Abbott — at the direction of President Donald Trump — went so low as to super-gerrymander Texas’ congressional districts to come up with five additional Republican seats so Republicans could keep control of Congress after the 2026 midterms. California Gov. Gavin Newsom responded by redistricting California, gaining a likely five Democratic seats.

Some feared this tit-for-tat would turn into a race to the bottom that would further erode American democracy. But California’s threat was actually meant to save our democracy by neutralizing the likely five-seat advantage Republicans got from Texas’ redistricting. Then Republicans in North Carolina and Missouri redistricted to create two more likely Republican seats, thereby unbalancing the truce created by California voters.

Under those circumstances, Virginia was justified in responding to eliminate that advantage. Tuesday night, Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman expressed dismay that Virginia’s redistricting initiative had passed, declaring, “We all lose at this point” because “the wrong thing doesn’t make it the right thing.” Fetterman warned that “if we continue to just attack the other side, whether it’s a red state or whether it’s a blue state, our democracy is degraded.” This isn’t a race to the bottom.

It’s a means of avoiding the bottom. I don’t see it that way. If Democrats counter what Republicans have done — and no more — they prevent Republicans from degrading democracy.

Virginia’s move isn’t a betrayal of earlier reforms to limit political interference in map-drawing. It’s part of an ongoing effort by Democratic states to match what Republican states are doing and thereby deter them from further moves. Democrats and blue state governors should make clear they’ll continue to redistrict if red states continue to pull the trigger on super-gerrymandering — and that blue states will do no more of it than necessary to counterbalance what red states do.

Ohio may push forward with a plan to eliminate two House seats held by Democrats. Florida Republicans have also floated plans to redraw their district lines. Which is why it’s important that New York, Maryland, New Jersey and Illinois let it be known that they’re ready to redistrict to counterbalance any potential red state gains through super-gerrymandering.

This isn’t a race to the bottom. It’s a means of avoiding the bottom. When they go low, we must go low too — but only to deter them from going even lower.