Virginia's 6th Congressional District

Virginia's 6th Congressional District

Incumbent

Benjamin Lee Cline

Assumed office: January 3, 2019

Virginia's 6th Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives is represented by Benjamin Lee Cline (R).

As of the 2020 Census, Virginia representatives represented an average of 786,777 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented 730,703 residents.

Elections

2024

See also: Virginia's 6th Congressional District election, 2024

Virginia's 6th Congressional District election, 2024 (June 18 Republican primary)

Virginia's 6th Congressional District election, 2024 (June 18 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Virginia District 6

Incumbent Benjamin Lee Cline defeated Ken Mitchell and Robert Wells Jr. in the general election for U.S. House Virginia District 6 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Benjamin Lee Cline (R)	63.1	256,933
		Ken Mitchell (D)	34.8	141,612
		Robert Wells Jr. (Independent)	2.0	7,980
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	510

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 407,035
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Ken Mitchell advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Virginia District 6.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Rod Grandon (D)

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Benjamin Lee Cline advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Virginia District 6.

2022

See also: Virginia's 6th Congressional District election, 2022

General election

General election for U.S. House Virginia District 6

Incumbent Benjamin Lee Cline defeated Jennifer Lewis in the general election for U.S. House Virginia District 6 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Benjamin Lee Cline (R)	64.4	173,352
		Jennifer Lewis (D)	35.4	95,410
		Other/Write-in votes	0.2	588

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 269,350
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Danny LeBeau (Independent)

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Jennifer Lewis (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Virginia District 6

Incumbent Benjamin Lee Cline defeated Merritt Hale in the Republican primary for U.S. House Virginia District 6 on June 21, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Benjamin Lee Cline	82.1	19,620
		Merritt Hale	17.9	4,264

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 23,884
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic convention

The Democratic convention was canceled. Jennifer Lewis advanced from the Democratic convention for U.S. House Virginia District 6.

2020

See also: Virginia's 6th Congressional District election, 2020

General election

General election for U.S. House Virginia District 6

Incumbent Benjamin Lee Cline defeated Nicholas Betts in the general election for U.S. House Virginia District 6 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Benjamin Lee Cline (R)	64.6	246,606
		Nicholas Betts (D)	35.3	134,729
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	478

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 381,813
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Aaron Luciani (Independent)

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Benjamin Lee Cline advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Virginia District 6.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Caleb Quinton (G)

Democratic convention

Democratic convention for U.S. House Virginia District 6

Nicholas Betts advanced from the Democratic convention for U.S. House Virginia District 6 on May 9, 2020.

		Candidate
✔		Nicholas Betts (D)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2018

See also: Virginia's 6th Congressional District election, 2018

General election

General election for U.S. House Virginia District 6

Benjamin Lee Cline defeated Jennifer Lewis in the general election for U.S. House Virginia District 6 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Benjamin Lee Cline (R)	59.7	167,957
		Jennifer Lewis (D)	40.2	113,133
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	287

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 281,377
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Michael Frend (Independent)
• Steve America (Independent)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Virginia District 6

Jennifer Lewis defeated Peter Volosin, Charlotte Moore, and Sergio Coppola in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Virginia District 6 on June 12, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jennifer Lewis	47.7	8,202
		Peter Volosin	27.2	4,678
		Charlotte Moore	18.5	3,175
		Sergio Coppola	6.7	1,150

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 17,205
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Virginia District 6

Benjamin Lee Cline advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Virginia District 6 on June 12, 2018.

		Candidate
✔		Benjamin Lee Cline

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2016

See also: Virginia's 6th Congressional District election, 2016

Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Republican. Incumbent Bob Goodlatte (R) defeated Kai Degner (D) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Goodlatte defeated Harry Griego in the Republican primary on June 14, 2016.

U.S. House, Virginia District 6 General Election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Bob Goodlatte Incumbent	66.6%	225,471
	Democratic	Kai Degner	33.1%	112,170
	N/A	Write-in	0.2%	768
Total Votes				338,409
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

U.S. House, Virginia District 6 Republican Primary, 2016

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Bob Goodlatte Incumbent	77.9%	18,993
Harry Griego	22.1%	5,383
Total Votes		24,376
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

2014

See also: Virginia's 6th Congressional District elections, 2014

The 6th Congressional District of Virginia held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Bob Goodlatte defeated Libertarian Will Hammer and Green Party candidate Elaine Hildebrandt in the general election.

U.S. House, Virginia District 6 General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Bob Goodlatte Incumbent	74.5%	133,898
	Libertarian	Will Hammer	12.3%	22,161
	Green	Elaine Hildebrandt	11.9%	21,447
	N/A	Write-in	1.2%	2,202
Total Votes				179,708
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

2012

See also: Virginia's 6th Congressional District elections, 2012

The 6th Congressional District of Virginia held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 6, 2012. Incumbent Bob Goodlatte won re-election in the district.

U.S. House, Virginia District 6 General Election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Andy Schmookler	34.6%	111,949
	Republican	Bob Goodlatte Incumbent	65.2%	211,278
	Write-In	N/A	0.2%	666
Total Votes				323,893
Source: Virginia State Board of Elections "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election"

2010
On November 2, 2010, Bob Goodlatte won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Jeffrey W. Vanke (I) and Stuart M. Bain (L) in the general election.

U.S. House, Virginia District 6 General Election, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Bob Goodlatte incumbent	76.3%	127,487
	Independent	Jeffrey W. Vanke	13%	21,649
	Libertarian	Stuart M. Bain	9.2%	15,309
	N/A	Write-in	1.6%	2,709
Total Votes				167,154

2008
On November 4, 2008, Bob Goodlatte won re-election to the United States House. He defeated S. "Sam" Rasoul (D) and Janice Lee Allen (I) in the general election.

U.S. House, Virginia District 6 General Election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Bob Goodlatte incumbent	61.6%	192,350
	Democratic	S. "Sam" Rasoul	36.6%	114,367
	Independent	Janice Lee Allen	1.7%	5,413
	N/A	Write-in	0.1%	262
Total Votes				312,392

2006
On November 7, 2006, Bob Goodlatte won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Barbara Jean Pryor (I) and Andre D. Peery (I) in the general election.

U.S. House, Virginia District 6 General Election, 2006
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Bob Goodlatte incumbent	75.1%	153,187
	Independent	Barbara Jean Pryor	12.3%	25,129
	Independent	Andre D. Peery	12.1%	24,731
	N/A	Write-in	0.5%	948
Total Votes				203,995

2004
On November 2, 2004, Bob Goodlatte won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Write-in challengers in the general election.

U.S. House, Virginia District 6 General Election, 2004
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Bob Goodlatte incumbent	96.7%	206,560
	N/A	Write-in	3.3%	7,088
Total Votes				213,648

2002
On November 5, 2002, Bob Goodlatte won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Write-in challengers in the general election.

U.S. House, Virginia District 6 General Election, 2002
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Bob Goodlatte incumbent	97.1%	105,530
	N/A	Write-in	2.9%	3,202
Total Votes				108,732

2000
On November 7, 2000, Bob Goodlatte won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Write-in challengers in the general election.

U.S. House, Virginia District 6 General Election, 2000
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Bob Goodlatte incumbent	99.3%	153,338
	N/A	Write-in	0.7%	1,145
Total Votes				154,483

Redistricting

2020-2021

See also: Redistricting in Virginia after the 2020 census

The Virginia Supreme Court unanimously approved congressional maps for the state on December 28, 2021. The Virginia Redistricting Commission released two statewide congressional map proposals on October 14, 2021, and another on October 15, 2021. After the commission missed its deadline for approving map proposals and the Virginia Supreme Court assumed authority over the process, the two special masters selected by the court released proposals for congressional districts on December 8, 2021.

How does redistricting in Virginia work? On November 3, 2020, Virginia voters approved a constitutional amendment establishing a commission-driven congressional and state legislative redistricting process. The 16-member commission comprises eight legislators and eight non-legislator members. Leaders of the legislature's two largest political parties select legislators to serve on the commission. The commission's eight citizen members are recommended by legislative leaders and selected by a committee of five retired circuit court judges. The commissioners themselves select one of the eight citizens to serve as chairperson.

District maps are subject to the following consensus requirements:

• Congressional maps: Approval by 12 commissioners, including six legislators and six non-legislators.
• Virginia State Senate: Approval by 12 commissioners, including six legislators (with three state senators) and six non-legislators.
• Virginia House of Delegates: Approval by 12 commissioners, including six legislators (with three state delegates) and six non-legislators.

The commission submits its maps to the General Assembly, which can vote to approve the maps or reject them. The General Assembly cannot amend the maps. If the General Assembly rejects a map, the commission must draft a second map. If the General Assembly rejects that map, the Virginia Supreme Court is tasked with enacting a new map.

Virginia District 6
until January 2, 2023

Click a district to compare boundaries.

Virginia District 6
starting January 3, 2023

Click a district to compare boundaries.

2010-2011

This is the 6th Congressional District of Virginia after the 2001 redistricting process.

See also: Redistricting in Virginia after the 2010 census

In 2011, the Virginia State Legislature re-drew the congressional districts based on updated population information from the 2010 census.

District analysis

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

See also: FiveThirtyEight's elasticity scores

2024

Heading into the 2024 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+14. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 14 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Virginia's 6th the 98th most Republican district nationally.

Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Donald Trump (R) would have defeated Joe Biden (D) 60.0%-38.4%.

2022

Heading into the 2022 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+14. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 14 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Virginia's 6th the 102nd most Republican district nationally.

Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Joe Biden (D) would have received 38.4% of the vote in this district and Donald Trump (R) would have received 60.0%.

2018

Heading into the 2018 elections, based on results from the 2016 and 2012 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+13. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 13 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Virginia's 6th Congressional District the 100th most Republican nationally.

FiveThirtyEight's September 2018 elasticity score for states and congressional districts measured "how sensitive it is to changes in the national political environment." This district's elasticity score was 0.98. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 0.98 points toward that party.

See also

• Redistricting in Virginia
• Virginia's 6th Congressional District election, 2024
• Virginia's 6th Congressional District election, 2022
• Virginia's 6th Congressional District election, 2020
• Virginia's 6th Congressional District election, 2018

External links

• GovTrack District 6

Footnotes

[show]

Virginia's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Tim Kaine (D)

Mark Warner (D)

Representatives

District 1

Rob Wittman (R)

District 2

Jennifer Kiggans (R)

District 3

Bobby Scott (D)

District 4

Jennifer McClellan (D)

District 5

John McGuire (R)

District 6

Benjamin Lee Cline (R)

District 7

Eugene Vindman (D)

District 8

Donald Sternoff Beyer (D)

District 9

H. Morgan Griffith (R)

District 10

Suhas Subramanyam (D)

District 11

Gerald Edward Connolly (D)

Democratic Party (8)

Republican Party (5)