You've heard "he was for it before he was against it" before, but Barack Obama has expanded that to "for it before against it and then for it again" when it comes to gerrymandering.
More than 30 years ago Obama's position on gerrymandering was quite clear, as was reported in this 2012 story in The New Yorker:
In 1996, during his first run for office, in the Illinois State Senate, Obama defeated his former political mentor Alice Palmer by successfully challenging her nominating petitions and forcing her off the ballot, effectively ending her career. A few years later, Illinois Democrats, after toiling in the minority in the Senate, gerrymandered the state to produce a Democratic majority. While drafting the new political map, Obama helped redraw his own district northward to include some of Chicago’s wealthiest citizens, making the district a powerful financial and political base that he used to win his U.S. Senate seat, a few years later.
Many years later, Obama wanted to "end partisan gerrymandering," which he oddly but not surprisingly enough said during a eulogy:
In John Lewis eulogy, Obama calls for making Election Day a federal holiday, giving equal representation to citizens in Washington, D.C. & Puerto Rico, ending partisan gerrymandering, and eliminating the filibuster if it interferes with Americans' rights https://t.co/wrzcAjBNnU pic.twitter.com/409VCgG4Bp
— CBS News (@CBSNews) July 30, 2020
This year the Democrats attempted to create a 10-1 advantage in the state via redistricting, and Obama celebrated the very temporary victory:
Congratulations, Virginia! Republicans are trying to tilt the midterm elections in their favor, but they haven’t done it yet. Thanks for showing us what it looks like to stand up for our democracy and fight back.
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) April 22, 2026
And we know what the Virginia Supreme Court ruled next: That was illegal under the state's Constitution.
Getting dizzy from all gerrymandering flip-flops yet?
Watching it back-to-back is something else, via @mazemoore:
Obama went for it and failed. Beautiful thing to see.
— MAZE (@mazemoore) May 8, 2026
Now he can go back to saying that gerrymandering is wrong. pic.twitter.com/ooalTfJ6xK
In the end Obama has been beaten, at least for now, at his own game.
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