Virginia's 6th congressional district (from 2023)

Virginia's sixth congressional district is a

United States congressional district Congressional districts in the United States are electoral divisions for the purpose of electing members of the United States House of Representatives. The number of voting seats in the House of Representatives is currently set at 435, with ...

in the Commonwealth 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 ...

. It covers much of the west-central portion of the state, including Roanoke, Lynchburg and most of the

Shenandoah Valley The Shenandoah Valley () is a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge- ...

. The current representative is

Ben Cline Benjamin Lee Cline (born February 29, 1972) is an American lawyer and politician who has served as the U.S. representative for Virginia's 6th congressional district since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he represented the 24th district ...

( R), who has held the seat since the 2019 retirement of incumbent Republican

Bob Goodlatte Robert William Goodlatte (; born September 22, 1952) is an American politician, attorney, and lobbyist who served in the United States House of Representatives representing for 13 terms. A Republican, he was also the Chair of the House Judiciar ...

. The district was an

open seat The Barcelona Open (currently sponsored by Banc Sabadell) is an annual tennis tournament for male professional players. The event has been held in Barcelona, Spain every year from 1953 (except for its cancellation in 2020), and is played on clay ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

. In November 2017, Goodlatte announced that he would retire from

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

at the end of his current term, and would not seek re-election. Historically, the 6th district was one of the first areas of Virginia to turn Republican. Many of the old Byrd Democrats in the area began splitting their tickets and voting Republican at the national level as early as the 1930s. It was also one of the first areas of Virginia where Republicans were able to break the long Democratic dominance at the state and local level. The district itself was in Republican hands from 1953 to 1983. Democrat

Jim Olin James Randolph Olin (February 28, 1920 – July 29, 2006) was an American politician from the U.S. state of Virginia. From 1983 to 1993, Olin, a Democrat, served in the United States House of Representatives for Virginia's 6th congressional distr ...

then won the seat in 1982, and held it for a decade before Goodlatte won it. Some counties in the district have not supported a Democrat for president since

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

. For instance,

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally speaking, upland (or uplands) refers to ranges of hills, typically from up to while highland (or highlands) is ...

and Shenandoah counties last voted for a Democratic presidential candidate in 1932, and Augusta and Roanoke counties have not supported a Democrat since 1944.Menendez, Albert J.; ''The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, 1868-2004''; pp. 326-330 The district as a whole has not supported a Democrat for president since

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

in 1964.

Area covered

It covers all or part of the following political subdivisions:

Counties

The entirety of: * Amherst County *

Augusta County Augusta County is a county in the Shenandoah Valley on the western edge of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The second-largest county of Virginia by total area, it completely surrounds the independent cities of Staunton and Waynesboro. Its count ...

* Bath County *

Botetourt County Botetourt County ( ) is a US county that lies in the Roanoke Region of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Located in the mountainous portion of the state, the county is bordered by two major ranges, the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Appalachian Mou ...

* Highland County * Page County *

Rockbridge County Rockbridge County is a county in the Shenandoah Valley on the western edge of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 22,650. Its county seat is the city of Lexington. Rockbridge County completely surrounds the ...

* Rockingham County *

Shenandoah County Shenandoah County (formerly Dunmore County) is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 44,186. Its county seat is Woodstock. It is part of the Shenandoah Valley region of Virgin ...

Warren County Warren County is the name of fourteen counties in the USA. Some are named after General Joseph Warren, who was killed in the Battle of Bunker Hill in the American Revolutionary War: * Warren County, Georgia * Warren County, Illinois * Warren County ...

Portions of: * Bedford County * Roanoke County

Cities

Buena Vista Buena Vista, meaning "good view" in Spanish, may refer to: Places Canada *Bonavista, Newfoundland and Labrador, with the name being originally derived from “Buena Vista” *Buena Vista, Saskatchewan *Buena Vista, Saskatoon, a neighborhood in ...

* Harrisonburg * Lexington * Lynchburg * Roanoke * Staunton * Waynesboro

Recent election results

2000s

2010s

2020s

List of members representing the district

Historical district boundaries

References

* *
Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present
{{Coord, 38, 7, 51.6, N, 79, 2, 38, W, display=title 06 Constituencies established in 1789 1789 establishments in Virginia Constituencies disestablished in 1933 1933 disestablishments in Virginia Constituencies established in 1935 1935 establishments in Virginia