Virginia's fifth congressional district is a United States congressional district in the commonwealth of Virginia. The 5th district includes the majority of Southside Virginia, though it stretches as far as the Richmond suburbs. Within the district are the cities of Charlottesville, Danville, and Lynchburg.
| Virginia's 5th congressional district | |
|---|---|
Interactive map of district boundaries since 2023 | |
| Representative | |
| Distribution |
|
| Population (2023) | 798,327[2] |
| Median household income | $69,333[2] |
| Ethnicity |
|
| Cook PVI | R+7[3] |
| Created | 1789 |
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The district's first representative in Congress was James Madison, who defeated James Monroe in the district's first congressional election. Madison and Monroe would go on to serve as the 4th and 5th Presidents of the United States. The current Congressman is Republican Bob Good.
Historically, the 5th was one of the first districts of Virginia to turn Republican in presidential elections. Southside was one of the fountainheads for the Byrd Organization, and the region's Democrats began splitting their tickets in presidential elections as early as the 1930s. The trend accelerated in the years before the Civil Rights Act of 1965, as large portions of the area's limited and almost entirely white electorate who preferred conservative positions on black civil rights. The district was to be one of two in Virginia which gave a plurality of the vote to segregationist George Wallace in 1968, and has never supported a Democrat for president since Harry S. Truman in 1948.
Despite this, the congressional seat remained in the hands of Democrats who were very conservative even by Virginia standards. This ended in 1999, when Virgil Goode became an independent; he became a Republican in 2002. In 2008, Democrat Tom Perriello defeated Goode with significant Democratic down-ballot coattails from the Obama campaign. Republican Robert Hurt defeated Perriello in 2010, going on to serve three terms. After Hurt left office, the district continued to elect Republicans, including Tom Garrett, Denver Riggleman, who both served one term, and Bob Good, who was re-elected in 2022.
Redistricting after the 2020 census added Lynchburg to the district; most of its suburbs have been in the 5th for decades. It was also pushed as far east as Hanover County on Richmond's northern fringe.
Demographics
editAccording to the APM Research Lab's Voter Profile Tools[4] (featuring the U.S. Census Bureau's 2019 American Community Survey), the district contained about 580,000 potential voters (citizens, age 18+). Of these, 75% are White and 20% are Black. Immigrants make up 3% of the district's potential voters. Median income among households (with one or more potential voter) in the district is about $57,700, while 12% of households live below the poverty line. As for the educational attainment of potential voters in the district, 12% of those 25 and older have not earned a high school degree, while 27% hold a bachelor's or higher degree.
Area covered
editIt covers all or part of the following political subdivisions:
Counties
editThe entirety of:
- Amelia County
- Amherst County
- Appomattox County
- Buckingham County
- Campbell County
- Charlotte County
- Cumberland County
- Fluvanna County
- Goochland County
- Halifax County
- Louisa County
- Lunenburg County
- Mecklenburg County
- Nelson County
- Nottoway County
- Powhatan County
- Pittsylvania County
- Prince Edward County
Portions of:
Cities
editRecent results in statewide elections
edit- Results under current lines (since 2023)
| Year | Office | Results |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | President | McCain 52.1%-46.9% |
| Senator | Warner 61.4%-37.2% | |
| 2012 | President | Romney 54.0%-45.0% |
| Senator | Allen 53.9%-46.0% | |
| 2013 | Governor | Cuccinelli 52.5%-40.5% |
| Lieutenant Governor | Jackson 51.3%-48.6% | |
| Attorney General | Obenshain 57.7%–42.2% | |
| 2014 | Senator | Gillespie 54.7%-43.3% |
| 2016 | President | Trump 53.1%–41.8% |
| 2017 | Governor | Gillespie 54.4%-45.5% |
| Lieutenant Governor | Vogel 56.6%-43.3% | |
| Attorney General | Adams 55.7%–44.2% | |
| 2018 | Senator | Stewart 50.4%-47.7% |
| 2020 | President | Trump 53.2%-45.0% |
| Senator | Gade 52.3%-47.6% | |
| 2021 | Governor | Youngkin 60.0%-39.4% |
| Lieutenant Governor | Sears 60.2%-39.8% | |
| Attorney General | Miyares 59.7%-40.2% |
Recent election results
edit2022
edit2022 Virginia's 5th congressional district election
Incumbent Bob Good defeated Josh Throneburg in the November general election on Tuesday, November 8, 2022.[5]
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bob Good | Republican | 177,191 | 57.57% |
| Josh Throneburg | Democratic | 129,996 | 42.24% |
| Write-in | 603 | 0.20% | |
| Total votes cast | 307,790 | 100.0% |
2020
edit2020 Virginia's 5th congressional district election[6]
Republican Bob Good defeated Dr. Cameron Webb in the November general election on Tuesday, November 3, 2020.[7]
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bob Good | Republican | 210,988 | 52.6% |
| Cameron Webb | Democratic | 190,315 | 47.4% |
| Total votes cast | 401,303 | 100.0% |
2018
edit2018 Virginia's 5th congressional district election[8]
Took place on Tuesday, November 6, 2018, with Republican Denver Riggleman winning the election. The incumbent, Tom Garrett, did not run for re-election.[9]
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Denver Riggleman | Republican | 165,339 | 53.18 |
| Leslie Cockburn | Democratic | 145,040 | 46.65 |
| All others | Write In | 547 | 0.18 |
| Total votes cast | 310,926 | 100 |
2016
edit2016 Virginia's 5th congressional district election[10]
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Garrett | Republican | 207,758 | 58.2% |
| Jane Dittmar | Democratic | 148,339 | 41.6% |
| All others | 668 | 0.2% | |
| Total votes cast | 356,765 |
List of members representing the district
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Historical district boundaries
editThe Virginia Fifth District started in 1788 covering the counties of Albemarle, Amherst, Fluvanna, Goochland, Louisa, Spotsylvania, Orange and Culpepper.[11]
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ "Congressional Districts Relationship Files (State-based)". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on April 2, 2013.
- ^ a b Center for New Media & Promotion (CNMP), US Census Bureau. "My Congressional District". www.census.gov.
- ^ "2022 Cook PVI: District Map and List". Cook Political Report. July 12, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
- ^ "Representing US: 2020 Voter Profiles". APM Research Lab. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
- ^ "2022 November General". results.elections.virginia.gov. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
- ^ "Virginia Election Results: Fifth Congressional District". The New York Times. November 3, 2020. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
- ^ Marcilla, Max (November 4, 2020). "Democrat Cameron Webb concedes 5th Congressional District race to Republican Bob Good". www.nbc29.com. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
- ^ "2018 November General". Archived from the original on November 8, 2018. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
- ^ Virginia Department of Elections, Certified Candidates in Ballot Order for November 6, 2018 Archived July 21, 2018, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
- ^ "Virginia Elections Database » Search Elections". Virginia Elections Database. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
- ^ Statute of 20 November 1788
- Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
- Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
- Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present