2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Virginia


The 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Virginia were held on November 8, 2016, to elect a U.S. representative from each of Virginia's 11 congressional districts. The elections coincided with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as House of Representatives elections in other states, U.S. Senate elections and various state and local elections. The primaries were held on June 14.
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. As of, this is the last time the Republicans won a majority of House seats in Virginia.

Statewide results

2016 Virginia redistricting

In October 2013, three voters from Virginia's Third Congressional District filed a lawsuit challenging Governor Bob McDonnell's 2012 congressional redistricting plan. The plaintiffs argued that the map violated the Constitution by concentrating Black voters disproportionately within the district, a practice known as racial gerrymandering.
On October 7, 2014, a three-judge panel in the United States District Court ruled that the map was unconstitutional and violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th amendment. Despite this ruling, the court allowed the existing map to be used for the 2014 House Elections and ordered the Virginia General Assembly to redraw the districts by April 1, 2015.
In response, ten current and former Republican members of the House of Representatives appealed the decision to the Supreme Court, seeking to overturn the lower court's ruling. However, the Supreme Court remanded the case to the District Court for reconsideration in light of its recent decision in Alabama Legislative Black Caucus v. Alabama, a case involving racial gerrymandering.
On June 5, 2015, the District Court reaffirmed its previous ruling that the congressional map was unconstitutional and required the General Assembly to redraw the districts by September 1, 2015. However, the General Assembly failed to meet the deadline. Consequently, the District Court appointed a special master to create a new redistricting plan, which was approved on January 7, 2016.
The Republican House members subsequently petitioned the Supreme Court to pause the implementation of the new map, arguing that the original appeal regarding jurisdiction had not yet been resolved. The Supreme Court denied the request, allowing for the revised map to be used for the 2016 House primaries and general election. On March 21, 2016, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the appeal but ultimately dismissed it, ruling that the Republican House members lacked standing under Article III of the Constitution.
Following the Supreme Court's decision, some Republican members of the House filed another lawsuit challenging the District Court's revised map. Only three of the ten plaintiffs appeared before the Supreme Court, with Representative Randy Forbes arguing that the new map would alter the Fourth District from a Republican-leaning to a Democratic-leaning constituency, potentially jeopardizing his reelection. The plaintiffs contended that the new map unfairly disadvantaged incumbents. However, the Supreme Court upheld the District Court's redistricting plan, affirming its constitutionality.

District 1

Republican Rob Wittman had represented Virginia's 1st congressional district since 2007. He was re-elected in 2014 with 63% of the vote.
Wittman announced that he intended to run for governor in 2017, but would still run for re-election in 2016.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Rob Wittman, incumbent U.S. Representative

    Democratic convention

A convention was scheduled for May 21 to select a nominee, with a filing deadline of May 7. Bowling Green Town Councilman Matt Rowe was the only candidate to file before the deadline and was thus automatically nominated.

Candidates

Nominee
  • Matt Rowe, Bowling Green Town Councilman
Independent candidate Gail Parker also ran.

General election

Predictions

Results

District 2

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. The district encompassed Virginia Beach and surrounding areas.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Results

Democratic primary

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. 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 for the 3rd district, ended up being the only candidate to file for the primary, making her automatically the nominee.

Candidates

Nominee
  • Shaun Brown, community activist
    Declined
  • 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
  • Paul Hirschbiel, nominee in 2012
  • Lynwood Lewis, state senator
  • Andria McClellan, businesswoman, state senate candidate in 2013 and Norfolk City councilwoman
  • Jody Wagner, former State Treasurer, former State Secretary of Finance, nominee in 2000 and nominee for lieutenant governor in 2009

    General election

Endorsements

Predictions

Results

District 3

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.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Bobby Scott, incumbent U.S. Representative

    Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee
A debate was scheduled for October 25, but was canceled after the debate questions were leaked to both campaigns.

Predictions

Endorsements

Results

District 4

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.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Mike Wade, Henrico County Sheriff
    Eliminated in primary
  • Jackee Gonzalez
    Declined
  • Randy Forbes, incumbent U.S. Representative
  • Suzy Kelly, Chesapeake City Councilwoman

    Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

General election

Endorsements

Predictions

Results

District 5

Incumbent Republican Robert Hurt, first elected in 2010, retired in 2016. 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.

Candidates

Nominee
  • Tom Garrett, state senator
    Eliminated in primary
  • Michael Del Rosso, technology executive
  • Jim McKelvey, real estate developer, candidate in 2010 and state delegate candidate in 2013
  • Joe Whited, congressional intelligence advisor
    Withdrawn
  • Andrew Griffin, former congressional staffer

    Democratic convention

The Democratic party had scheduled a convention on May 7 to select a nominee. 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.

Candidates

Nominee