United States House of Representatives elections in Virginia, 2016
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June 14, 2016 |
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The 2016 U.S. House of Representatives elections in Virginia took place on November 8, 2016. Voters elected 11 candidates to serve in the U.S. House, one from each of the state's 11 congressional districts.
| Candidate Filing Deadline | Primary Election | General Election |
|---|---|---|
Primary: A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Virginia utilizes an open primary process in which registered voters do not have to be members of a party to vote in that party's primary.[1][2]
For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.
Redistricting
Virginia's 3rd and 4th Congressional Districts were redrawn following a ruling that the state's previous map was unconstitutional. The court ruled that the legislature illegally packed black voters into the 3rd District in order to strengthen the Republican Party's hold on the surrounding districts.[3]
As a result of the ruling, Virginia's congressional map was redrawn. Using the redrawn map, Virginia's 4th Congressional District is likely to flip from being a safely Republican district to becoming a safely Democratic one. However, the redrawn map was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court by many of Virginia's Republican representatives.[4]
On March 21, 2016, the Supreme Court heard arguments in Virginia's redistricting case. The Court rejected the Republican challenge to the lower court's ruling on May 23, 2016. As a result, the redrawn map was used in the 2016 election.[4][5]
Partisan breakdown
Heading into the November 8 election, the Republican Party held eight of the 11 congressional seats from Virginia.
| Members of the U.S. House from Virginia -- Partisan Breakdown | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 2016 | After the 2016 Election | |
| Democratic Party | 3 | 4 | |
| Republican Party | 8 | 7 | |
| Total | 11 | 11 | |
Incumbents
Heading into the 2016 election, the incumbents for the 11 congressional districts were:
| Name | Party | District |
|---|---|---|
| Robert J. Wittman | 1 | |
| Scott Rigell | 2 | |
| Robert C. Scott | 3 | |
| Randy Forbes | 4 | |
| Robert Hurt | 5 | |
| Bob Goodlatte | 6 | |
| David Brat | 7 | |
| Don Beyer | 8 | |
| Morgan Griffith | 9 | |
| Barbara Comstock | 10 | |
| Gerald Connolly | 11 |
Margin of victory for winners
The following table shows the margin of victory for each district winner, which is calculated by examining the percentage difference between the two candidates who received the most votes. If the race was uncontested, the margin of victory is listed as 100 percent.
| District | Winner | Margin of Victory | Total Vote | Top Opponent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| District 1 | 23.3% | 384,601 | Matt Rowe | |
| District 2 | 22.9% | 310,567 | Shaun Brown | |
| District 3 | 33.6% | 312,340 | Marty Williams | |
| District 4 | 15.7% | 346,656 | Mike Wade | |
| District 5 | 16.7% | 356,756 | Jane Dittmar | |
| District 6 | 33.5% | 338,409 | Kai Degner | |
| District 7 | 15.3% | 379,163 | Eileen Bedell | |
| District 8 | 41.1% | 360,676 | Charles Hernick | |
| District 9 | 40.3% | 310,314 | Derek Kitts | |
| District 10 | 5.8% | 400,083 | LuAnn Bennett | |
| District 11 | 75.8% | 282,003 | Write-in |
Candidates
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District 1
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General election candidates: |
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Filed candidates:[6] |
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Democratic |
Republican |
District 2
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General election candidates: |
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Primary candidates:[6] |
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Democratic |
Republican Randy Forbes - U.S. Rep.[11] Pat Cardwell[12] |
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Not running: |
District 3
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General election candidates: |
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Filed candidates:[6] |
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Democratic |
Republican |
District 4
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General election candidates: |
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Primary candidates:[6] |
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Democratic Ella P. Ward - Chesapeake city councilor[15] |
Republican Jackee Gonzalez[8] |
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Not running: |
District 5
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General election candidates: |
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Filed candidates:[6] |
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Democratic |
Republican Jim McKelvey - Entrepreneur[19] Michael Del Rosso[20] Joe Whited[21] |
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Not running: |
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Withdrew: Yale Landsberg (Independent)[22] Stephen Harmon (Libertarian)[23] |
District 6
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General election candidates: |
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Primary candidates:[6] |
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Democratic |
Republican Harry Griego - Air Force vet.[25] |
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Withdrew: Tom Howarth (D)[26] |
District 7
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General election candidates: |
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Filed candidates:[6] |
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Democratic |
Republican |
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Withdrew: Mike Wade (R) - Henrico County Sheriff[29][30] |
District 8
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General election candidates: |
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Filed candidates:[6] |
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Democratic |
Republican Mike Webb[32] |
District 9
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General election candidates: |
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Filed candidates:[6] |
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Democratic Bill Bunch[34] |
Republican |
District 10
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General election candidates: |
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Filed candidates:[6] |
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Democratic |
Republican |
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Third Party/Other |
District 11
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General election candidates: |
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Filed candidates:[6] |
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Democratic |
Republican |
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Withdrew: John Wolfe (R)[37] Dan Mittereder (Libertarian)[38] |
Important dates and deadlines
- See also: Virginia elections, 2016
The calendar below lists important dates for political candidates in Virginia in 2016.
| Dates and requirements for candidates in 2016 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Deadline | Event type | Event description | |
| March 31, 2016 | Ballot access | Filing deadline for primary candidates | |
| April 15, 2016 | Campaign finance | Campaign finance report due | |
| June 6, 2016 | Campaign finance | Campaign finance report due | |
| June 14, 2016 | Election date | Primary election | |
| June 14, 2016 | Ballot access | Filing deadline for general election candidates | |
| July 15, 2016 | Campaign finance | Campaign finance report due | |
| September 15, 2016 | Campaign finance | Campaign finance report due | |
| October 17, 2016 | Campaign finance | Campaign finance report due | |
| October 31, 2016 | Campaign finance | Campaign finance report due | |
| November 8, 2016 | Election date | General election | |
| December 8, 2016 | Campaign finance | Campaign finance report due | |
| January 17, 2017 | Campaign finance | Campaign finance report due | |
| Sources: Virginia Department of Elections, "November 8, 2016 Elections Candidacy Requirements," accessed January 11, 2016 Virginia Department of Elections, "2016 Candidate Reporting Deadlines," accessed January 11, 2016 | |||
See also
- United States House of Representatives elections, 2016
- U.S. House battlegrounds, 2016
- List of U.S. Congress incumbents who did not run for re-election in 2016
- U.S. House primaries, 2016
Footnotes
- ↑ NCSL,"State Primary Election Types," accessed October 7, 2024
- ↑ Virginia Department of Elections,"Casting a Ballot," accessed October 7, 2024
- ↑ Daily KOS, "More good redistricting news: Court-appointed expert proposes plans favorable to Virginia Democrats," November 17, 2015
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 The Hill, "Supreme Court weighs legality of Virginia redistricting," March 21, 2016
- ↑ Daily KOS, "Supreme Court rejects Republican challenge to Virginia's new congressional map," May 23, 2016
- ↑ 6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 Candidates are listed by party and alphabetically within each party.
- ↑ Virginia's First Congressional District Democratic Committee, "Democrats Nominate Matt Rowe for Congress in Virginia’s First Congressional District," May 7, 2016
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Virginia Department of Elections, "Republican candidates for the June 14, 2016, Primary," accessed April 6, 2016
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Virginia Department of Elections, "Democratic candidate for the June 14, 2016, Primary," accessed April 6, 2016
- ↑ The Virginia Gazette, "Race to replace Rigell begins," January 15, 2016
- ↑ The Virginian-Pilot, "Randy Forbes switching districts in 2016 congressional election," February 8, 2016
- ↑ Pat Cardwell for Congress, "Home," accessed March 28, 2016
- ↑ The Virginian-Pilot, "Chesapeake city planner to run against U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott," March 25, 2016
- ↑ The Richmonder, "Donald McEachin to announce Congressional run tomorrow," March 14, 2016
- ↑ The Virginian-Pilot, "Chesapeake's Ella Ward running for Forbes' congressional seat in 4th District," March 14, 2016
- ↑ Richmond Times-Dispatch, "Henrico Sheriff Wade to run for Congress in redrawn 4th District," March 2, 2016
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs nameddems - ↑ 18.0 18.1 The Washington Post, "Va. GOP Rep. Robert Hurt retiring at the end of 2016," December 23, 2015
- ↑ WSLS 10, "Senator Tom Garrett, Jim McKelvey announce candidacy for Congress," December 24, 2015
- ↑ WINA.com, "Third Republican Enters 5th Race," January 4, 2016
- ↑ Joe Whited for Congress, "Home," accessed February 24, 2016
- ↑ Yale 4 Congress, "Main page," accessed November 16, 2015
- ↑ Stephen Harmon for Congress, "Welcome," accessed March 23, 2016
- ↑ WDBJ 7, "Harrisonburg Councilman Kai Degner to run for Congress in 6th District," June 7, 2016
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "REPORT OF RECEIPTS AND DISBURSEMENTS," accessed January 7, 2016
- ↑ Facebook, "Lexington and Rockbridge Area Democrats," May 6, 2016
- ↑ Bedell for Virginia, "Home," accessed May 11, 2016
- ↑ Dave Brat for Congress, "Home," accessed April 6, 2016
- ↑ Richmond Times-Dispatch, "Henrico Sheriff Wade files to run for Congress in 7th; will challenge Rep. Brat," January 5, 2016
- ↑ Richmond Times-Dispatch, "Henrico Sheriff Wade to run for Congress in redrawn 4th District," March 2, 2016
- ↑ Charles Hernick for Congres, "Home," accessed May 14, 2016
- ↑ Mike Webb for Congress, "Home," accessed March 3, 2016
- ↑ Derek Kitts for Congress, "Home," accessed April 4, 2016
- ↑ Bill Bunch for Congress, "Home," accessed May 14, 2016
- ↑ The Washington Post, "LuAnn Bennett declares congressional bid against Barbara Comstock," December 10, 2015
- ↑ The Winchester Star, "Libertarian throws hat in ring for Congress run," April 23, 2016
- ↑ John Wolf for Congress, "Home," accessed May 14, 2016
- ↑ Libertarian Party of Virginia, "Home," accessed May 14, 2016
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For information about public policy issues in the 2016 elections, see: Public policy in the 2016 elections!