Virginia's 10th congressional district (from 2023)

Virginia's 10th congressional district is a U.S. congressional district 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 is currently represented by

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 ...

Jennifer Wexton Jennifer Lynn Wexton (née Tosini; born May 27, 1968) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the United States representative for Virginia's 10th congressional district since 2019. The district is anchored in the outer portion of Northe ...

, who was first elected in

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 ...

. The district includes all of

Clarke County Clarke County may refer to: ;Places *One of five counties in the United States: **Clarke County, Alabama **Clarke County, Georgia **Clarke County, Iowa **Clarke County, Mississippi **Clarke County, Virginia Clarke County is a county in the Com ...

, Frederick County and

Loudoun County Loudoun County () is in the northern part of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. In 2020, the census returned a population of 420,959, making it Virginia's third-most populous county. Loudoun County's seat is Leesburg. Loudoun C ...

, parts of

Fairfax County Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. It is part of Northern Virginia and borders both the city of Alexandria, Virginia, Alexandria and ...

and

Prince William County Prince William County is located on the Potomac River in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population sits at 482,204, making it Virginia's second-most populous county. Its county seat is the independent city of Manassas ...

, as well as the independent cities of Manassas,

Manassas Park Manassas Park is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 17,219. Manassas Park is bordered by the city of Manassas, Virginia, Manas ...

and

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

. The district closely matches Virginia's voting patterns in statewide races with nearly identical margins as the final statewide results. Beginning when it was re-created in 1952, the 10th district was in Republican hands for 60 of 66 years, including long stints in office by

Joel Broyhill Joel Thomas Broyhill (November 4, 1919 – September 24, 2006) was an American politician aligned with the Republican Party who served as a Congressman from Virginia for 11 terms, from 1953 to 1974. He represented Virginia's 10th congression ...

(1953–74) and Frank Wolf (1981-2014). Barbara Comstock, a former aide to Wolf, succeeded him after the 2014 election. Wexton

defeated Defeated may refer to: * "Defeated" (Breaking Benjamin song) * "Defeated" (Anastacia song) *"Defeated", a song by Snoop Dogg from the album ''Bible of Love'' *Defeated, Tennessee, an unincorporated community *''The Defeated ''The Defeated'', al ...

Comstock in the 2018 midterms, becoming only the second Democrat to win it. As of 2022, VA-10 is the third-wealthiest Congressional district in the country, with a

median income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two equal groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of ...

of $140,889.

Demographics

According to Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball, this district has many "

wealthy Wealth is the abundance of valuable financial assets or physical possessions which can be converted into a form that can be used for transactions. This includes the core meaning as held in the originating Old English word , which is from an I ...

and highly-educated voters" as of 14 April 2016. Specifically, whites represent about 61% of the population, and immigrants (largely Hispanic and Asian) represent over 20%. Just over half of adults hold at least a four-year college degree. The median income is $120,384. The 10th district has 35,500 federal workers. By comparison, the 1st district has 46,900; the 11th has 51,900; and the 8th has 81,100. The eastern part of the district is home to

Dulles Airport Washington Dulles International Airport , typically referred to as Dulles International Airport, Dulles Airport, Washington Dulles, or simply Dulles ( ), is an international airport in the Eastern United States, located in Loudoun County and Fai ...

and technology, telecom and aerospace companies including

Verizon Business Global LLC Verizon Communications Inc., commonly known as Verizon, is an American multinational telecommunications conglomerate and a corporate component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is headquartered at 1095 Avenue of the Americas in ...

and Aeronautical Systems Inc.

History

The modern 10th congressional district was formed in 1952. For the next two decades, it consisted of Arlington, Alexandria and most of Fairfax County. As a result of redistricting following the 1970 census, it lost Alexandria and was pushed westward to take in Loudoun County. Joel T. Broyhill had represented it since its creation, but lost in the 1974 wave to Democrat Joseph L. Fisher. Fisher held the seat for three terms before losing to Republican Frank Wolf in 1980. Wolf easily held the seat until his retirement in 2014. That year, the seat was won by fellow Republican Barbara Comstock, a state delegate and former aide to Wolf. Comstock served for two terms before losing to Democratic State Senator

in 2018.

Voting

Virginia's 10th congressional district used to be a Republican stronghold, having once voted by double-digit margins for Republican candidates. In 2000, ten-term incumbent Republican Congressman Frank Wolf won over 80% of the vote and did not face a Democratic opponent. Two years later, Wolf defeated his Democratic challenger John Stevens by 43 points. In 2004, President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

won the district by 11 points. In recent years, the district has become much friendlier to Democrats due to population growth in the Washington, D.C. suburbs. In 2012,

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts f ...

narrowly carried the district by a point, while in 2016,

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 ...

won the district by 10 points. In 2017, Democrats scored major gains in the state legislative elections, leaving Comstock as the only elected Republican above the county level in much of the district.

Ralph Northam Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms ...

also easily carried the district in the gubernatorial race. This proved to be a precursor to Comstock's defeat by Wexton a year later.

Recent election results

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s

List of members representing the district

Historical district boundaries

References

* *
Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present

External links

VA Democratic 10th CD website

VA Republican 10th CD website
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