Virginia's 5th congressional district
| Virginia's 5th congressional district | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Virginia's 5th congressional district - since January 3, 2013. | |||
| Representative |
| ||
| Distribution |
| ||
| Population (2016) | 735,178[2] | ||
| Median income | $54,726[3] | ||
| Ethnicity |
| ||
| Cook PVI | R+6[4] | ||
Virginia’s fifth congressional district is a United States congressional district in the commonwealth of Virginia. It is Virginia's largest district with an area of 10,181.03 square miles (26,368.7 km2) and is larger in area than six US states (Vermont, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Delaware, and New Hampshire). The 5th District contains counties located in the Piedmont and Blue Ridge Region stretching vertically across the state from the Virginia-North Carolina Border going 250 miles up to Fauquier County in Northern Virginia, West of Washington DC.
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 Denver Riggleman. Historically, the 5th was one of the first districts of Virginia to turn Republican in Presidential elections – though unlike the 6th where the decisive factor was ticket-splitting by Byrd Organization Democrats, here the decisive factor was the growth of middle-class Republicanism in the Charlottesville metropolitan area. In the decade preceding the Voting Rights Act, these were joined by a significant proportion of Virginia’s limited and almost entirely white electorate who preferred GOP positions on black civil rights. The district was to be one of two in Virginia giving a plurality to segregationist George Wallace in 1968, and has never supported a Democrat for President since Harry S. Truman.
However, the district was continually represented in Congress by fairly conservative Democrats until Virgil H. Goode, Jr. switched parties, first to independent and then to Republican. In 2008, Democrat Tom Perriello defeated Goode by running on a progressive platform. Perriello lost to Republican Robert Hurt in 2010. Robert Hurt went on to served 3 terms until 2016. Then Republican Tom Garrett went on to serve 1 term until 2018 when he decided not to run for another term due to Alcoholism. Currently, the district is represented by Republican Denver Riggleman.
Area covered[edit]
It covers all or part of the following political subdivisions:
Counties[edit]
The entirety of:
- Albemarle County
- Appomattox County
- Brunswick County
- Buckingham County
- Campbell County
- Charlotte County
- Cumberland County
- Fluvanna County
- Franklin County
- Greene County
- Halifax County
- Lunenburg County
- Madison County
- Mecklenburg County
- Nelson County
- Pittsylvania County
- Prince Edward County
- Rappahannock County
Portions of:
Cities[edit]
- Charlottesville (main site of the University of Virginia)
- Danville
Recent election results[edit]
2010[edit]
Virginia's 5th congressional district election, November 2010[5]
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Hurt | Republican | 119.560 | 50.8% |
| Tom Perriello | Democratic | 110,562 | 47.0% |
| Jeffrey Clark | Independent | 4,992 | 2.1% |
| All Others | 185 | 0.1% | |
| Total Votes Cast | 235,299 |
2012[edit]
Virginia's 5th congressional district election, November 2012[5]
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Hurt | Republican | 193,009 | 55.4% |
| John Douglass | Democratic | 149,214 | 42.9% |
| Kenneth Hildebrandt | Independent Green | 5,500 | 1.6% |
| All Others | 499 | 0.1% | |
| Total Votes Cast | 348,222 |
2014[edit]
Virginia's 5th congressional district election, November 2014[5]
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Hurt | Republican | 124,735 | 60.9% |
| Walter Lawrence Gaughan | Democratic | 73,482 | 35.9% |
| Paul Jones | Libertarian | 4,298 | 2.1% |
| Kenneth Hildebrandt | Independent Green | 2,209 | 1.1% |
| All Others | 224 | 0.1% | |
| Total Votes Cast | 204,948 |
2016[edit]
Virginia's 5th Congressional District House Election, November 2016[5]
| 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 |
2018[edit]
Virginia's 5th Congressional District House Election, November 2018[6]
Took place on Tuesday, November 6, 2018, with Republican Denver Riggleman winning the election. The incumbent, Tom Garrett, did not run for re-election.[7]
| 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 |
List of members representing the district[edit]
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Living former Members[edit]
As of January 2019[update], there are five living former members. The most recent representative to die was Dan Daniel (served 1969–1988), who died in office on January 23, 1988.
| Representative | Term of office | Date of birth (and age) |
|---|---|---|
| Lewis F. Payne, Jr. | 1988–1997 | July 9, 1945 |
| Virgil Goode | 1997–2009 | October 17, 1946 |
| Tom Perriello | 2009–2011 | October 9, 1974 |
| Robert Hurt | 2011–2017 | June 16, 1969 |
| Tom Garrett | 2017–2019 | March 27, 1972 |
Historical district boundaries[edit]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ https://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/cd_state.html
- ^ https://www.census.gov/mycd/?st=51&cd=05
- ^ https://www.census.gov/mycd/?st=51&cd=05
- ^ "Partisan Voting Index – Districts of the 115th Congress" (PDF). The Cook Political Report. April 7, 2017. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
- ^ a b c d "Virginia Elections Database » Search Elections". Virginia Elections Database. Retrieved 2019-03-19.
- ^ https://results.elections.virginia.gov/vaelections/2018%20November%20General/Site/Congress.html
- ^ Virginia Department of Elections, Certified Candidates in Ballot Order for November 6, 2018. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
- 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
External links[edit]
- Rep. Denver Riggleman's official House of Representatives website
- 5th CD Democratic Committee website
- 5th CD Republican Committee website
Coordinates: 37°3′31.8″N 79°5′11.2″W / 37.058833°N 79.086444°W
