LuAnn Bennett

The 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Virginia was held on Election Day, November 8, 2016, to elect the 11 U.S. representatives from the state of Virginia, one from each of the state's 11 congressional districts. The elections coincided with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as House of Representatives elections, Senate elections and various state and local elections. The primaries were held on June 14. As of 2022, this is the last time republicans won a congressional majority from Virginia or the 7th or 10th.

2016 Virginia redistricting

The Virginia Legislature's 2012 redistricting was found unconstitutional and replaced with a court-ordered redistricting on January 16, 2016.

Overview

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.

Democratic nomination

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.

Independent candidate Gail Parker also ran.

General election

Results

District 2

Republican Scott Rigell was the incumbent of the 2nd district, which had a PVI of R+2. Rigell was first elected in 2010. Rigell declined to seek re-election. The district encompassed Virginia Beach and surrounding areas.

Republican primary

Candidates

;Declared
* Pat Cardwell, attorney
* Randy Forbes, U.S. Representative for Virginia's 4th congressional district
* Scott Taylor, state delegate, candidate for this seat in 2010 and candidate for Mayor of Virginia Beach in 2008

;Declined
* Glenn Davis, state delegate
* Bill DeSteph, state senator
* Ben Loyola, defense contractor, candidate for the seat in 2010 and nominee for state senate in 2011
* Jeff McWaters, former state senator and founder and former CEO of Amerigroup
* Jason Miyares, state delegate
* Bert Mizusawa, Army Reserve major general and candidate for the seat in 2010
* Chris Stolle, state delegate
* Frank Wagner, state senator

Endorsements

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

Candidates

;Declared
* 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

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.

Republican primary

Marty Williams, former president of the Virginia State Faternal Order of Police and chairman of the Chesapeake Planning Commission, ran.

General election

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

;Declared
* Jackee Gonzalez
* Mike Wade, Henrico County Sheriff

;Declined
* Randy Forbes, incumbent U.S. Representative (running for VA-02)
* Suzy Kelly, Chesapeake City Councilwoman

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

* Donald McEachin, state senator and nominee for attorney general in 2001
* Ella Ward, Chesapeake city councilwoman and nominee in 2012

;Declined
* Lamont Bagby, state delegate
* Elliott Fausz, nominee in 2014
* Jennifer McClellan, state delegate
* Levar Stoney, Secretary of the Commonwealth of Virginia

Results

General election

Results

District 5

Incumbent Republican Robert Hurt, first elected in 2010, is retiring 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 suburbs 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

;Declared
* Michael Del Rosso, technology executive
* Thomas Garrett, Jr., state senator
* 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 has been declared the Democratic nominee.

Candidates

;Declared
* Jane Dittmar, former chair of the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors

;Withdrawn
* Ericke Cage, former congressional aide

;Declined
* Ward Armstrong, former House Minority Leader
* Todd Haymore, Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry and former congressional aide

General election

Results

District 6

Republican Bob Goodlatte has 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.

Primary results

Democratic primary

In 2014, Democratic candidate Bruce Elder, a Staunton City Councilman, had to end his campaign after being diagnosed with cancer. Democrats did not field any candidates to challenge Goodlatte for that year's election. 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. By late May, the only declared Democratic candidate was Warren County Democratic Party Chair Tom Howarth. However, citing health issues, Mr. 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.

General election

Results

District 7

Republican Dave Brat has represented Virginia's 7th congressional district since 2014. He was elected in 2014 with 61% of the vote.

General election

Results

District 8

Democrat Don Beyer has 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.

Two candidates sought the Republican nomination: Charles Hernick, an environmental consultant, and Mike Webb, a retired army officer. Hernick defeated Webb to become the nominee.

Independent candidate Julio Gracia is also running.

General election

Results

District 9

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.

Democratic convention

The Democratic party selected retired army veteran Derek Kitts as the nominee in a May 21 convention. He defeated Bill Bunch, a farmer and retired postal worker. Roanoke Mayor David Bowers considered running but ultimately declined.

Independent candidate Janice Boyd also ran.

General election

Results

District 10

Republican Barbara Comstock is the incumbent in the 10th district. In 2015, Comstock 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.

Comstock faced LuAnn Bennett, a real estate executive and ex-wife of former Congressman Jim Moran of the neighboring 8th District. 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. Democratic strategist Ellen Qualls said the 10th District is "essentially the swingiest district in the swingiest state." Libertarian candidate JD Thorpe ran as a write-in candidate.

In the first three weeks of her campaign, Bennett raised $281,000, while Comstock raised $2 million overall since January 2015.

General election

Comstock was re-elected even though her district voted for Clinton in the presidential race

Results

District 11

Democrat Gerry Connolly has 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.

Republican convention

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. The 11th District Republican Committee searched for a new candidate, 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.

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.

General election

Results

References

External links

U.S. House elections in Virginia, 2016
at Ballotpedia
Campaign contributions
at OpenSecrets

{{2016 United States elections

House
Virginia
2016