2003 Virginia elections
Virginia's 2003 state elections were held on November 4, 2003. Voters elected all 100 members of the Virginia [House of Delegates] to two-year terms ending in 2006, and all 40 members of the Virginia Senate to four-year terms ending in 2008. There were also elections for local offices in most counties.
This was the first set of Senate elections since the General Assembly redrew districts as a result of population shifts captured in the 2000 [United States census|decennial federal census]. As a result, there were a few members of the House who retired.
Other than the minor effects of redistricting, there was no unifying theme advanced by either party. Governor Mark Warner did not announce his new fiscal plans for the biennium until after the election, to avoid affecting the General Assembly results. According to the University of Virginia's Center for Politics, the election was "about nothing, almost entirely local affairs and personality-driven, with no mandate generated and no meaning beyond the total of seats gained and lost."
State Senate
Previous to the election, Virginia's Senate consisted of 23 Republicans and 17 Democrats. Republicans picked up one open seat, that of retiring Senator Leslie Byrne, who found her district leaning too far to the right to make a serious effort. This resulted in Republican control of the Senate by a 24 to 16 majority, a post-Civil War low for the Democratic Party.Election results
Party abbreviations: D - Democratic, R - Republican, I - Independent, IG - Independent [Green Party of Virginia|Independent Green], L - Libertarian Party|Libertarian]Note: Only Senate districts that were contested by more than one candidate are included here.
| District | Incumbent | Party | Elected | Status | 2003 Result |
| 2nd | W. Henry Maxwell | Democrat | 1993 | Retired | Mamie Locke 64.8% Phil Bomersheim 24.4% Joyce Hobson 10.7% |
| 3rd | Tommy Norment | Republican | 1991 | Reelected | Tommy Norment 65.7% Mary Minor 33.9% |
| 6th | Nick Rerras | Republican | 1999 | Reelected | Nick Rerras 61.7% Andy A. Protogyrou 38.3% |
| 7th | Frank Wagner | Republican | 2000 | Reelected | Frank Wagner 59.0% Clarence A. Holland 40.6% |
| 13th | Fred Quayle | Republican | 1991 | Reelected | Fred Quayle 76.4% Richard H. Ramsey Sr. 23.2% |
| 17th | Edd Houck | Democratic | 1983 | Reelected | Edd Houck 59.5% Robert G. Stuber 40.5% |
| 18th | Louise Lucas | Democrat | 1991 | Reelected | Louise Lucas 69.8% Walter D Brown, III 30.1% |
| 20th | Roscoe Reynolds | Democratic | 1996 | Reelected | Roscoe Reynolds 67.8% Thomas L Peterson 32.2% |
| 22nd | Malfourd W. Trumbo | Republican | 1991 | Retired | J. Brandon Bell 56.8% Stephen H. Emick 43.2% |
| 23rd | Stephen Newman | Republican | 1995 | Reelected | Stephen Newman 64.1% Robert E Clarke 35.9% |
| 24th | Emmett Hanger | Republican | 1995 | Reelected | Emmett Hanger 74.3% Steven Sisson 25.7%< |
| 26th | Kevin G. Miller | Republican | 1983 | Retired | Mark Obenshain 67.9% Rodney L. Eagle 31.9% |
| 27th | Russ Potts | Republican | 1991 | Reelected | Russ Potts 58.2% Mark R. Herring 41.1% |
| 29th | Chuck Colgan | Democratic | 1975 | Reelected | Chuck Colgan 54.7% David C Mabie 45.3% |
| 31st | Mary Margaret Whipple | Democratic | 1995 | Reelected | Mary Margaret Whipple 69.4% Kamal Nawash 30.3% |
| 32nd | Janet Howell | Democratic | 1992 | Reelected | Janet Howell 56.7% David Hunt 43.3% |
| 34th | Leslie Byrne | Democrat | 1999 | Retired | Jeannemarie Devolites 52.8% Ronald F Christian 47.1% |
| 35th | Dick Saslaw | Democratic | 1980 | Reelected | Dick Saslaw 82.5% C.W. Levy 16.4% |
| 36th | Toddy Puller | Democratic | 1999 | Reelected | Toddy Puller 55.4% Chris Braunlich 44.5% |
| 37th | Ken Cuccinelli | Republican | 2001 | Reelected | Ken Cuccinelli 53.3% James E Mitchell, III 46.6% |
| 39th | Jay O'Brien | Republican | 2002 | Reelected | Jay O'Brien 57.8% Greg Galligan 42.2% |