Federal and municipal elections were held in the U.S. state of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

on November 8, 2016. All of Virginia's House of Representative seats were up for re-election.

Primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

s for Congress were held on June 14, 2016 and primary elections for president were held on March 1, 2016.

Federal elections

President of the United States

The Democratic Party candidate, former Secretary of State

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, carried Virginia with 49.8% of the popular vote against businessman

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

of New York, who carried 44.4%, a victory margin of 5.4%. Clinton seemed to benefit from having Tim Kaine on the ticket. Whereas the national popular vote swung 1.9% Republican from the previous election, Virginia swung 1.37% Democratic. Virginia was among the eleven states in which Hillary Clinton outperformed Barack Obama's margin in 2012. Trump became the first Republican candidate since

Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. Born in Vermont, Coolidge was a History of the Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer ...

in 1924 to win the White House without carrying Virginia. It has not voted Republican in 12 years. Before

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, Virginia had not voted for a Democrat since

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

. The Old Dominion is appearing to become traditionally Democratic for the first time in nearly 70 years. This is due largely to migration into counties in Northern Virginia close to Washington D.C., which has tilted those densely populated areas towards the Democratic Party. Virginia was the only state in the eleven former states that belonged to the

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...

to vote Democratic. This is a reversal from

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

, when it was the only state that had belonged to the CSA to vote Republican.

General election

Primary elections

All four major party candidates on the ballot won their state primaries. Hillary Clinton defeated

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 2007 ...

in the

Democratic primary This is a list of Democratic Party presidential primaries. 1912 This was the first time that candidates were chosen through primaries. New Jersey Governor Woodrow Wilson ran to become the nominee, and faced the opposition of Speaker of the Unit ...

by 64–35 percent margin. Donald Trump defeated

Marco Rubio Marco Antonio Rubio (born May 28, 1971) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the senior United States senator from Florida, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he served as Speaker of the Florida Hous ...

by a 34–31. Additionally, in the Republican primary,

Ted Cruz Rafael Edward "Ted" Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States Senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz served as Solicitor General of Texas from ...

, John Kasich and Ben Carson earned enough votes in Virginia's primary to receive delegates, although they all suspended their campaign before the

2016 Republican National Convention The 2016 Republican National Convention, in which delegates of the United States Republican Party chose the party's nominees for president and vice president in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, was held July 18–21, 2016, at Quicken Lo ...

. The Libertarian Party did not hold a primary in Virginia, where Gary Johnson received acclamation.

Jill Stein Jill Ellen Stein (born May 14, 1950) is an American physician, activist, and former political candidate. She was the Green Party's nominee for President of the United States in the 2012 and 2016 elections and the Green-Rainbow Party's candidat ...

defeated Kent Mesplay by a 76–6 percent margin in the state's Green Party primary. Mesplay and Stein were the only two candidates on the ballot to receive delegates to send to the

2016 Green National Convention The 2016 Green National Convention, in which delegates of the Green Party of the United States chose the party's nominees for president and vice president in the national election, was held August 4–7, 2016 in Houston, Texas. In August 2015, Ho ...

United States House of Representatives

, -

Citywide elections

The cities of Richmond and Virginia Beach had municipal citywide elections for mayor and city council. Democratic candidate, Levar Stoney was elected as mayor of Richmond, while incumbent Republican,

Will Sessoms William Douglas Sessoms Jr. (born c. 1954) is an American politician and bank officer who served as the mayor of Virginia Beach, Virginia from 2008 until his resignation in April, 2018. He was president and CEO of Towne Financial Services Group ...

was reelected as mayor of Virginia Beach.

References

{{2016 United States elections