Virginia's 9th congressional district (from 2023)

Virginia's ninth 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 ...

, covering much of the southwestern part of the state. The 9th is Virginia's second-largest district in

area Area is the quantity that expresses the extent of a region on the plane or on a curved surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape A shape or figure is a graphics, graphical representation of an obje ...

, covering 9,113.87 square miles (slightly larger than the whole state of

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

). It has been represented by

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Morgan Griffith Howard Morgan Griffith (born March 15, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician who has been the U.S. representative for Virginia's 9th congressional district since 2011. The district covers a large swath of southwestern Virginia, including the ...

since 2011. He took office after defeating 14-term incumbent

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Rick Boucher Frederick Carlyle Boucher (; born August 1, 1946) is an American politician who was the U.S. representative for from 1983 to 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He was defeated in his bid for a 15th term by Republican Morgan Griffit ...

. The Ninth was the most competitive Virginia congressional district in the early 20th century, when the state was part of the

Solid South The Solid South or Southern bloc was the electoral voting bloc of the states of the Southern United States for issues that were regarded as particularly important to the interests of Democrats in those states. The Southern bloc existed especial ...

. For twenty years (1903-1923), it was the only congressional district in Virginia – and one of the few in the entire former Confederacy – to be represented by a Republican. The district alternated between Democratic and Republican representation over the rest of the century. Some of the election results were so close - and questionable - that the district became known as "The Fighting Ninth." Since the 1990s, the district has increasingly trended Republican in federal and state races, and it is now considered the most Republican district in the state. It last supported a Democrat for president in

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

, and has supported a Democrat in only two statewide contests since then. The 9th is the only district in Virginia that cast more votes for

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 ...

than

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

in the 2008 Democratic Presidential Primary. Clinton won more than 60% of the vote, despite local Congressman

endorsing Obama. Republican presidential candidate

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...

received 59% of the vote in the 9th district in the 2008 General Election, however, his best performance in any of Virginia's eleven congressional districts. Voters in the 9th district supported McCain over Obama in the general election, despite reelecting Democratic Congressman Rick Boucher. In the 2010 midterm elections, in which Democrats lost their majority in Congress, Virginia State Delegate Morgan Griffith unseated Congressman Boucher by aligning Boucher with President Barack Obama and Speaker

Nancy Pelosi Nancy Patricia Pelosi (; ; born March 26, 1940) is an American politician who has served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives since 2019 and previously from 2007 to 2011. She has represented in the United States House of ...

, both unpopular figures in the district at the time. Since then, the district has not supported a Democrat in a statewide or federal election (as of 2019). As of 2017, the 9th district had the highest poverty rate of any Virginia congressional district, at 18.7 percent.

Recent election results from statewide races

Area covered

The 9th district covers all or part of the following political subdivisions:

Counties

The entirety of: * Lee * Wise * Dickenson * Buchanan * Scott * Russell * Tazewell *

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Smyth Smyth is an early variant of the common surname Smith commonly found in Ireland.Citation: Bardsley, 1901 Shown below are notable people who share the surname "Smyth". Notable people sharing the Smyth surname Listed here are people who share the ...

* Bland * Giles * Grayson *

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* Pulaski * Montgomery * Carroll * Craig * Floyd *

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Portions of: * Alleghany * Roanoke *

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Cities

* Bluefield *

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

* Covington *

Galax ''Galax'', the wandplant, wandflower, or beetleweed, is a genus in the flowering plant family Diapensiaceae, containing a single species, ''Galax urceolata'' ( syn. ''G. rotundifolia'', ''G. aphylla''). It is native to the southeastern United S ...

* Martinsville *

Norton Norton may refer to: Places Norton, meaning 'north settlement' in Old English, is a common place name. Places named Norton include: Canada *Rural Municipality of Norton No. 69, Saskatchewan *Norton Parish, New Brunswick **Norton, New Brunswick, a ...

* Radford * Salem

List of members representing the district

Recent election results

2000

2002

2004

2006

2008

2010

2012

2014

2016

2018

2020

2022

Historical district boundaries

Notes

References

* *
Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present
{{DEFAULTSORT:Virginia's 9th Congressional District 09 Constituencies established in 1789 1789 establishments in Virginia Constituencies disestablished in 1863 1863 disestablishments in Virginia Constituencies established in 1873 1873 establishments in Virginia Constituencies disestablished in 1933 1933 disestablishments in Virginia Constituencies established in 1935 1935 establishments in Virginia