CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) — U.S. House of Representatives Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries spoke at a canvassing event hosted by the Cville Dems in Charlottesville on Saturday.

The event was organized to help campaign for the redistricting referendum on April 21, with Jeffries joined on stage by a number of notable local Democrats, including Congressional candidate Tom Perriello, State Sen. Creigh Deeds, State Del. Katrina Callsen and Charlottesville Mayor Juandiego Wade.

“It’s an all hands on deck effort to reclaim our democracy and take our country back,” Jeffries told the media afterward. “And we’ve been successful in winning elections over the last 15 months. But this referendum will be one of the most important, because it will help ensure that Donald Trump cannot steal the midterm elections in November.”

The event, held at the home of Cville Dems co-chair Nancy Damon, drew a lively crowd of volunteers, many of whom were apart of the University Democrats at the University of Virginia.

“It’s incredibly encouraging to see so many young people volunteering their time, their efforts, and their talent to try to turn things around here in the United States of America,” Jeffries said. “And it gives us hope in the future as we navigate this national nightmare and can get to a better place.”

During his remarks, Jeffries echoed the points made by Democrats both locally and nationally, arguing the referendum is necessary to counteract Pres. Donald Trump’s efforts to push for redistricting in primarily red states like Texas, North Carolina, Missouri and Ohio, all of which have already passed new congressional maps.

“He’s trying to rig the midterm elections, because he knows he’s been a failure,” Jeffries said in his remarks. “And the only way for them to succeed is to cheat. But the Commonwealth of Virginia is an incredible firewall, and when we win this referendum on April 21, we’re gonna guarantee that there will be a free and fair map. And when that happens, Democrats are taking back control of the United States House of Representatives.”

Jeffries later called Virginia “the crown jewel” of the Democrats’ efforts, which started in California last year. In closing out his remarks, he invoked the words of late Rep. John Lewis, a former colleague of Jeffries, calling the referendum “a good trouble moment.”

Perriello, who is currently running in the 5th District but would be in the 6th if the referendum passes, told the media afterward it’s been encouraging to see national leaders like Jeffries join in the efforts to support the referendum. He then criticized Republican Rep. John McGuire of the 5th and Ben Cline of the 6th, two potential opponents of Perriello in November.

“I think it’s been great to see a combination of local, state and national figures who care about our democracy,” he said. “I wish that our local representatives like John McGuire and Ben Cline cared half as much about their constituents as they care about trying to protect their own gerrymandered seats.”

Just 10 days away, Perriello expressed confidence in the referendum passing, calling it a great opportunity for voters’ voices to be heard, unlike what he called a “power grab” when state legislators redrew the map in Texas last summer.

“In Virginia, it’s the voters that get to decide. This is democracy in action,” Perriello said. “People can look at the maps and see that these are more competitive maps that are going to give Virginia more of a voice, and I think that’s why you’re seeing the voting come down in the direction of yes. and we’ll see over the next 10 days. But my guess is Virginia is gonna send a pretty strong signal that says they’re not going to be silenced by Texas or any other state.”