Virginia was one of two states in which the party that won the state's popular vote did not win a majority of seats in 2016, the other state being Wisconsin.
This image shows the 2016-2020 court-ordered VA Congressional districts.
In October 2013 three voters in the third congressional district filed a lawsuit against Virginia GovernorBob McDonnell's 2012 congressional map. The three voters argued the new map was unconstitutional on the grounds that it packed black voters in the third district. On October 7, 2014, a three-justice District Court ruled the map unconstitutional and against the 14th amendment. However, they ruled the maps to continue use in the 2014 House Elections and for the General Assembly to redraw the maps by April 1, 2015.
Following this decision 10 current and former Republican House members appealed to the Supreme Court to overturn the lower court's decision. However, the Supreme Court had just ruled in a major racial gerrymandering case in Alabama Legislative Black Caucus v Alabama, so it argued for the case to be re-visited by the District Court with the new ruling in mind. Then on June 5, 2015, the District Court again ruled the map unconstitutional and that the General Assembly must redraw the map by September 1, 2015. Again all Republican House members chose to appeal to the Supreme Court.
However, during the appeal process, the deadline of September 1 passed without the General Assembly approving a map, so the district court appointed a special master to redraw the map. Following this on January 7, 2016, the special master's map got approved by the District Court. The Republican House members then asked the Supreme Court to pause the implantation of the District Court's map to finish the original appeal about jurisdiction. The Supreme Court then unanimously denied this request allowing the new map to be used in the 2016 House primaries and election, then on March 21, 2016, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the appeal. The Supreme Court would then rule that the appeal had no standing and dismissed the Republican House members' appeal citing Article III of the Constitution.
The Republican House members then sued the District Court's map for striking down the original map. Only three of the 10 Republican members chose to appear in front of the Supreme Court. Randy Forbes, one of the three in front of the court, made the argument that the new map would force him off the 4th District as it would go from Republican-leaning to Democratic-leaning. This was the main talking point of the three Republican House members as during the court case they continued to argue that the new map would threaten the incumbent's re-elections. However, the Supreme Court would argue in favor of the District Court, ruling that the new map would stand.[1]
District 1
2016 Virginia's 1st congressional district election
A convention was scheduled for May 21 to select a nominee, with a filing deadline of May 7.[3]Bowling Green Town Councilman Matt Rowe was the only candidate to file before the deadline, and was thus automatically nominated.[4]
Republican Scott Rigell was the incumbent of the 2nd district, which had a PVI of R+2. He was first elected in 2010. He declined to seek re-election.[7] The district encompassed Virginia Beach and surrounding areas.
Scott Rigell's retirement was expected to make the race competitive, with the Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report immediately changing the rating from Safe to Lean Republican.[18] However, due to the perceived strength of Congressman Forbes's entry into the race, Shaun Brown, a community activist in Hampton, VA who had originally planned to primary US Representative Bobby Scott (D) for the 3rd district,[19] ended up being the only candidate to file for the primary, making her automatically the nominee.[20]
Dave Belote, chair of the Virginia Beach Democratic Committee, retired Air Force colonel, former Nellis Air Force Base installation commander and 2015 state senate candidate[21]
Democrat Bobby Scott had represented Virginia's 3rd congressional district since 1993. He was re-elected in 2014 with 94% of the vote, but the district was made slightly more competitive following the court-ordered redistricting when all of its Richmond and Petersburg constituents were moved into the 4th district.
Republican Randy Forbes, first elected in 2001, was the incumbent of the 4th district, but attempted to seek re-election in the 2nd district. The 4th district was changed from a Hampton Roads centered district to a Richmond-centered district following the court's redistricting. Notably, it gained heavily Democratic, black-majority Richmond and Petersburg, which was enough to turn the district into a strongly Democratic district on paper. The old 4th had a PVI of R+4, while the new 4th had a PVI of D+10. The district was considered a Safe Gain for the Democrats by many political analysts, including Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball.
Incumbent Republican Robert Hurt, first elected in 2010, retired in 2016.[39] The 5th district, which has a PVI of R+5, is the largest district in the state and stretches from Virginia's southern border to the exurbs of Washington, D.C.
Republican convention
The Republican party selected State Senator Tom Garrett as its nominee at a convention on May 14, with a filing deadline of March 31.[40][41]
Jim McKelvey, real estate developer, candidate in 2010 and state delegate candidate in 2013[44]
Joe Whited, congressional intelligence advisor[45]
Withdrawn
Andrew Griffin, former congressional staffer[46][47]
Democratic convention
The Democratic party had scheduled a convention on May 7 to select a nominee.[48] Jane Dittmar, the former chair of the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors, was the only candidate to file by the filing deadline and so was declared the Democratic nominee.[41]
Candidates
Nominee
Jane Dittmar, former chair of the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors (2014–15) and Supervisor for Scottsville Magisterial District (2013–15)[49]
Republican Bob Goodlatte had represented Virginia's 6th congressional district since 1993. He was re-elected with 75% of the vote in 2014.
Republican primary
Harry Griego, a pilot and Air Force veteran who made a 2015 primary challenge of State Delegate Chris Head, challenged Goodlatte for the Republican nomination.[54]
In 2014, Democratic candidate Bruce Elder, a Staunton City Councilman, had to end his campaign after being diagnosed with cancer.[55] Democrats did not field any candidates to challenge Goodlatte for that year's election.[56]
No Democratic candidates announced in the early part of 2016, but Chris Hurst, a reporter for WDBJ in Roanoke who was the boyfriend of murdered reporter Alison Parker, had reportedly met with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee to discuss a potential campaign for this district.[57] By late May, the only declared Democratic candidate was Warren County Democratic Party Chair Tom Howarth. However, citing health issues, Howarth withdrew. Kai Degner, a member of the Harrisonburg City Council and former mayor of the city, became the nominee by acclamation in early June.
Democrat Don Beyer had represented Virginia's 8th congressional district since 2015. He was elected in 2014 with 63% of the vote.
Republican convention
The Republican party selected a nominee at a convention on May 7.[60]
Two candidates sought the Republican nomination: Charles Hernick, an environmental consultant, and Mike Webb, a retired Army officer.[61][62] Hernick defeated Webb to become the nominee.[63][64]
Republican Morgan Griffith represented Virginia's 9th congressional district since 2011. He won re-election to a third term in 2014 with 72% of the vote.
Republican Barbara Comstock was the incumbent in the 10th district. In 2015, she succeeded Republican Frank Wolf, who served for 17 terms before choosing to not seek re-election 2014. The 10th district, which has a PVI of D+1, consists of the northernmost portions of the state. Comstock ran for re-election.[67]
Due to the competitiveness of the district and the ability of both candidates to raise large amounts of money, the race was expected to be one of the most heavily contested in the country.[69] Democratic strategist Ellen Qualls said the 10th District is "essentially the swingiest district in the swingiest state."[69]
In the first three weeks of her campaign, Bennett raised $281,000, while Comstock raised $2 million overall since January 2015.[69][70]
Democrat Gerry Connolly had represented Virginia's 11th congressional district since 2009. He was re-elected in 2014 with 57% of the vote. He was the only candidate on the ballot for the seat in 2016.[72]
One person, John Wolfe, filed for the Republican nomination, which was to be decided at a convention on May 14, 2016. However, Wolfe did not campaign or even attend the convention, so the convention delegates rejected his nomination by a 3-to-1 margin.[73][74] The 11th District Republican Committee searched for a new candidate,[73] but ultimately decided no viable candidate was available and opted to focus on the presidential race and on defeating the Fairfax County meals tax referendum.[75]
Libertarian nomination
One person, Daniel Mittereder, filed for the Libertarian nomination and was accepted. However, he suffered a severe strep throat infection shortly afterward which required a tonsillectomy and was forced to withdraw his candidacy.[76]
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