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2017 Virginia House Elections
General	November 7, 2017
Primary	June 13, 2017
Filing deadline	March 30, 2017

2017 State Legislative Elections

2017 State Legislative Special Elections

Past Election Results

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Elections for the Virginia House of Delegates took place in 2017. All 100 house seats were up for election. The general election took place on November 7, 2017. A primary election took place on June 13, 2017. The filing deadline for primary election candidates was March 30, 2017. The filing deadline for non-party candidates and candidates nominated by methods other than a primary was June 13, 2017.^[1]

Heading into the 2017 elections, Virginia was one of 18 states under divided government, with Democrats in control of the governorship and Republicans in control of the legislature. In most statewide elections leading up to the November 2017 elections, Virginia proved to be a battleground state, meaning electoral competition between Democrats and Republicans was more intense than in other states, and the outcomes of elections were often difficult to predict.

Democrats won 15 Republican-held seats in the November 2017 state House elections, the biggest electoral shift toward the Democrats since 1899. Fourteen of the 15 victories came in districts Hillary Clinton (D) won in the 2016 presidential election.^[2] Clinton won 17 Republican-held state House seats total. Donald Trump (R) did not win any Democratic-held House seats.^[3]

Click here for updates on recounts, legal proceedings, and other notable events occurring in the aftermath of the November 7 elections.

See the results of the November 7 elections here.

Check out the 15 Republican-held seats that Democrats won.

Virginia House of Delegates
Party		Before November 7, 2017	After November 7, 2017
	Democratic Party	34	49
	Republican Party	66	51
Total		100	100

Aftermath[edit]

Timeline[edit]

See also: Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2017 (timeline)

From election night on November 7, 2017, until the 2018-2019 legislative session began on January 10, 2018, the question of which party would control the Virginia House of Delegates was unknown. This timeline details the recounts, legal proceedings, and other notable events that occurred following the 2017 elections.

Seats that switched party control[edit]

Fifteen Virginia House seats had switched from Republican to Democratic control. Heading into election night, Democrats needed to gain 17 seats to take control of the chamber.

The chart below shows the districts that switched control. In addition to showing the pre-election and post-election status of the seat, it details the 2017 margin of victory (based on unofficial results), the margin of victory in the 2016 presidential election, and increases in voter turnout in 2017 compared to 2013, the last election where both the governor's office and the state House were on the ballot. The average increase in turnout for the 14 districts that switched from Republican to Democratic control was 26.8 percent compared to 2013. Across all state House elections, voter turnout increased 19.3 percent compared to 2013.

Virginia House seats that switched party control, 2017
District	Pre-election	2017 Winner	Margin of victory	2016 presidential election	Turnout increase (2013 vs. 2017)
District 2	Open seat	Jennifer Foy (D)	25.4 percent	D+20.4	23.7 percent
District 10	Randall Minchew (R)	Wendy Gooditis (D)	3.9 percent	D+6.4	28.4 percent
District 12	Joseph Yost (R)	Chris Hurst (D)	8.8 percent	D+2.9	25.7 percent
District 13	Bob Marshall (R)	Danica Roem (D)	8.7 percent	D+14.8	25.5 percent
District 21	Ronald Villanueva (R)	Kelly Convirs-Fowler (D)	5.2 percent	D+4.5	21.7 percent
District 31	Scott Lingamfelter (R)	Elizabeth Guzman (D)	8.9 percent	D+10.3	21.7 percent
District 32	Thomas Greason (R)	David Reid (D)	17.1 percent	D+20.9	33.5 percent
District 42	Open seat	Kathy Tran (D)	22.1 percent[4]	D+23.1	19.9 percent
District 50	Jackson H. Miller (R)	Lee Carter (D)	8.9 percent	D+14	20.5 percent
District 51	Richard Anderson (R)	Hala Ayala (D)	5.7 percent	D+8.9	12.9 percent
District 67	James LeMunyon (R)	Karrie Delaney (D)	15.9 percent	D+26.7	25.1 percent
District 68	Manoli Loupassi (R)	Dawn Adams (D)	0.8 percent	D+10.8	18.9 percent
District 72	Open seat	Schuyler VanValkenburg (D)	5.7 percent	D+5.4	51.5 percent[5]
District 73	John O'Bannon (R)	Debra Rodman (D)	2.8 percent	D+7.8	47.2 percent[5]
District 85	Rocky Holcomb (R)	Cheryl Turpin (D)	1.7 percent	R+0.5	18.6 percent

District 94 tie-breaker[edit]

Unofficial recount results on December 19 showed Shelly Simonds (D) winning the District 94 race by one vote. Delegate David Yancey (R) held a 10-vote lead heading into the recount. On December 20, a panel of judges found that a previously disqualified ballot should have counted for Yancey, resulting in a tied race.

According to Virginia law, the winner of a tied race is determined by lot, which means a random chance event such as a coin flip or drawing straws.^[6] Yancey won the random drawing on January 4, 2018. On January 10, Simonds conceded the race to Yancey.^[7]

The chamber would have been tied 50-50 had Simonds won the tie-breaker.

Image of disputed Yancey ballot[edit]

This is the ballot that was originally disqualified in a recount on December 19. On December 20, it was counted for Yancey, creating a tied race in Virginia's 94th House district.

This image comes from the Virginian-Pilot. Their story on the disputed ballot can be accessed here.

Virginia ballot measures[edit]

See also: Virginia 2018 ballot measures

During the 2017 session of the Virginia General Assembly, legislators approved two constitutional amendments designed to empower the legislature to review and reject state administrative rules. The amendments, known as Senate Joint Resolution 295 (SJR 295) and House Joint Resolution 545 (HJR 545), faced opposition from all but one legislative Democrat. Most Republicans voted to approve the amendments, although 15 percent rejected SJR 295 and 20 percent rejected HJR 545. Due to Republicans’ 66-member majority in the state House, the party could afford to lose some votes to the opposition and still pass the amendments.

In Virginia, the state legislature needs to approve constitutional amendments over the course of two legislative sessions to get the amendments placed on the ballot for voter consideration. A simple majority vote is required in each legislative chamber in each session. Both SJR 295 and HJR 545 would have appeared on the ballot at the election on November 6, 2018, if the legislature had approved them again in 2018.

The two constitutional amendments were proposed in November 2016, just days after the general election, at a time when Democrats held the executive offices of governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, and secretary of state in Virginia. Republicans controlled both chambers of the Virginia General Assembly. Following the 2017 election, Democrats retained control of the executive offices.

Sen. Jill Vogel (R-27) was the lead sponsor of SJR 295. Vogel was the GOP’s nominee for lieutenant governor in 2017, but lost the election to Democrat Justin Fairfax. SJR 295 would have empowered the legislature to “review any administrative rule to ensure it is consistent with the legislative intent of the statute that the rule was written to interpret, prescribe, implement, or enforce” and to approve or reject the administrative rule. Ten House Republicans voted against SJR 295.^[8]

Rep. Chris Head (R-17) was the lead sponsor of HJR 545. He won re-election in 2017. HJR 545 would have authorized the state legislature to suspend or nullify administrative rules and regulations by a simple majority vote of each legislative chamber. The measure would have also empowered the legislature to establish a committee or commission to suspend administrative rules until the end of the next regular session while the legislature was not in a regular session. Thirteen House Republicans voted against HJR 545.^[9]

If Republicans had lost control of the state House of Delegates, the 2017 legislative session votes indicated that the proposals to empower the legislature to suspend or reject administrative rules would have had a difficult time surviving committee and floor votes. As Republicans retained 51 of the chamber’s 100 seats, the amendments' survival would have required that the party’s representatives be able to convince their five colleagues who voted against both proposals and were re-elected in 2017—Reps. Campbell, Edmunds, Garrett, Jones, and Ware—to vote for at least one of them in 2018. Ultimately, the amendments were not put on the ballot.

Amendment	2017 vote		2017 House control	2018 vote		2018 House control	Status
Click link for details	Senate	House	Republican	Senate	House	Republican
SJR 295	21-19	53-42	66-34	---	---	51-49	Not on the ballot
HJR 545	21-19	52-46	66-34	---	---	51-49	Not on the ballot

Candidates[edit]

General election candidates[edit]

The list below is based on an official list provided by the Virginia Department of Elections website. That list was last revised on October 24, 2017. An (I) denotes an incumbent.^[10]

2017 Virginia House general candidates
District	Democrat	Republican	Other"
1	Alicia Kallen: 4,639	Terry Kilgore: 14,848 (I) a
2	Jennifer Foy: 13,366 a	Mike Makee: 7,803
3	Bill Bunch Jr.: 3,759	James Morefield: 13,572 (I) a
4	No candidate	Todd Pillion: 15,282 (I) a
5	No candidate	Israel O'Quinn: 18,402 (I) a
6	No candidate	Jeffrey Campbell: 16,795 (I) a	Kenneth Browning: 3,695 (Ind.)
7	Flourette Ketner: 8,878	Larry Rush: 17,560 (I) a
8	Steve McBride: 10,294	Greg Habeeb: 18,311 (I) a
9	Stephanie Cook: 6,916	Charles Poindexter: 16,413 (I) a
10	Wendy Gooditis: 15,161 a	Randall Minchew: 14,025 (I)
11	Sam Rasoul: 15,667 (I)	No candidate
12	Chris Hurst: 12,495 a	Joseph Yost: 10,458 (I)
13	Danica Roem: 12,077 a	Bob Marshall: 10,318 (I)
14	No candidate	Danny Marshall III: 15,505 (I) a
15	No candidate	C. Todd Gilbert: 19,284 (I) a
16	No candidate	Les Adams: 16,513 (I) a
17	Djuna Osborne: 10,378	Chris Head: 15,997 (I) a
18	Tristan Shields: 9,486	Michael Webert: 16,686 (I) a	Wilton King: 1,433 (G)
19	No candidate	Terry Austin: 20,966 (I) a
20	Michele Edwards: 11,197	Richard Bell: 14,344 (I) a	Will Hammer: 745 (L)
21	Kelly Convirs-Fowler: 12,540 a	Ronald Villanueva: 11,309 (I)
22	No candidate	Kathy Byron: 19,041 (I) a
23	Natalie Short: 9,050	T. Scott Garrett: 17,370 (I) a
24	No candidate	Ben Cline: 17,351 (I) a	John Winfrey: 6,683 (Ind.)
25	Angela Lynn: 12,783	Steve Landes: 17,688 (I) a
26	Brent Finnegan: 9,234	Tony Wilt: 11,106 (I) a
27	Larry Barnett: 14,333	Roxann Robinson: 14,461 (I) a
28	Joshua Cole: 11,760	Robert Thomas Jr.: 11,842 a
29	Casey Turben: 8,390	Chris Collins: 15,139 (I) a
30	Samuel Hixon: 9,333	Nick Freitas: 15,355 (I) a
31	Elizabeth Guzman: 15,466 a	Scott Lingamfelter: 12,658 (I)	Nathan Larson: 481 (Ind.)
32	David Reid: 17,865 a	Thomas Greason: 12,653 (I)
33	Tia Walbridge: 13,770	Dave LaRock: 16,723 (I) a
34	Kathleen J. Murphy: 20,522 (I) a	Cheryl Buford: 13,146
35	Mark Keam: 22,596 (I) a	No candidate
36	Ken Plum: 24,149 (I) a	No candidate
37	David Bulova: 18,877 (I) a	No candidate
38	Kaye Kory: 16,023 (I) a	Paul Haring: 5,723
39	Vivian Watts: 21,407 (I) a	No candidate
40	Donte Tanner: 15,015	Tim Hugo: 15,116 (I) a
41	Eileen Filler-Corn: 22,985 (I) a	No candidate
42	Kathy Tran: 18,761 a	Lolita Mancheno-Smoak: 11,967
43	Mark Sickles: 22,094 (I) a	No candidate
44	Paul Krizek: 18,243 (I) a	No candidate
45	Mark Levine: 31,417 (I) a	No candidate
46	Charniele Herring: 18,947 (I) a	No candidate
47	Patrick Hope: 29,706 (I) a	No candidate
48	R.C. Sullivan Jr.: 27,670 (I) a	No candidate
49	Alfonso Lopez: 19,308 (I) a	Adam Roosevelt: 4,391
50	Lee Carter: 11,366 a	Jackson H. Miller: 9,518 (I)
51	Hala Ayala: 15,244 a	Richard Anderson: 13,476 (I)
52	Luke Torian: 14,830 (I) a	No candidate
53	Marcus Simon: 19,235 (I) a	No candidate	Mike Casey: 6,362 (Ind.)
54	Al Durante: 9,982	Bobby Orrock: 13,782 (I) a
55	Morgan Goodman: 12,056	Buddy Fowler Jr.: 18,087 (I) a
56	Melissa Dart: 12,761	John McGuire: 18,792 a
57	David Toscano: 25,419 (I) a	No candidate
58	Kellen Squire: 11,797	Rob Bell: 18,652 (I) a
59	Tracy Carver: 8,773	Matt Fariss: 15,758 (I) a	Marcus Sutphin: 297 (G) David Ball: 863 (Ind.)
60	Jamaal Johnston: 8,177	James Edmunds II: 13,330 (I) a
61	No candidate	Tommy Wright: 17,507 (I) a
62	Sheila Bynum-Coleman: 11,344	Riley Ingram: 12,163 (I) a
63	Lashrecse Aird: 15,623 (I) a	No candidate
64	Rebecca Colaw: 11,551	Emily Brewer: 19,223 a
65	Francis Stevens: 12,530	Lee Ware: 22,394 (I) a
66	Katie Sponsler: 10,656	Kirk Cox: 18,572 (I) a
67	Karrie Delaney: 17,036 a	James LeMunyon: 12,365 (I)
68	Dawn Adams: 19,772 a	Manoli Loupassi: 19,427 (I)
69	Betsy Carr: 19,775 (I) a	No candidate	Montigue Magruder: 1,062 (G) Jake Crocker: 1,931 (L)
70	Delores McQuinn: 20,391 (I) a	No candidate
71	Jeff Bourne: 24,287 (I) a	No candidate
72	Schuyler VanValkenburg: 16,655 a	Edward Whitlock III: 14,869
73	Debra Rodman: 14,697 a	John O'Bannon: 13,803 (I)
74	Lamont Bagby: 20,041 (I) a	No candidate	Preston Brown: 6,146 (Ind.)
75	Roz Tyler: 16,245 (I) a	No candidate
76	No candidate	Chris Jones: 22,736 (I) a
77	Cliff Hayes: 16,483 (I) a	No candidate	Jeff Staples: 3,362 (G)
78	No candidate	Jay Leftwich: 20,768 (I) a
79	Steve Heretick: 12,864 (I) a	No candidate
80	Matthew James: 20,292 (I) a	No candidate
81	Kimberly Tucker: 9,127	Barry Knight: 13,162 (I) a
82	Leigh Bowling: 11,174	Jason Miyares: 16,048 (I) a
83	David Rose-Carmack: 10,077	Christopher Stolle: 13,173 (I) a
84	Veronica Coleman: 10,093	Glenn Davis: 10,835 (I) a
85	Cheryl Turpin: 11,843 a	Rocky Holcomb: 11,454 (I)
86	Jennifer Boysko: 16,865 (I) a	Linda Schulz: 7,707
87	John Bell: 18,234 (I) a	Subba Kolla: 11,236
88	Steve Aycock: 9,918	Mark Cole: 14,022 (I) a	Gerald Anderson: 255 (G) Amanda Blalock: 2,373 (Ind.)
89	Jerrauld Jones: 16,541 a	No candidate	Terry Hurst: 2,944 (L)
90	Joseph Lindsey: 15,996 (I) a	No candidate
91	Michael Wade: 10,764	Gordon Helsel: 13,877 (I) a
92	Jeion Ward: 18,873 (I) a	No candidate
93	Michael Mullin: 15,988 (I) a	Heather Cordasco: 10,625
94	Shelly Simonds: 11,608	David Yancey: 11,608 (I) a	Michael Bartley: 675 (L)
95	Marcia Price: 15,766 (I) a	No candidate
96	Kelly Delucia: 14,947	Brenda Pogge: 19,841 (I) a
97	Cori Johnson: 9,319	Chris Peace: 24,363 (I) a
98	Sheila Crowley: 9,945	Keith Hodges: 18,561 (I) a
99	Francis Edwards: 10,043	Margaret Ransone: 16,548 (I) a
100	Willie Randall: 10,720	Robert Bloxom Jr.: 11,720 (I) a
Notes	• An (I) denotes an incumbent.
	• Candidate lists can change frequently throughout an election season. Ballotpedia staff update this list monthly. To suggest changes, click here to email our State Legislature Project.

General election vote totals[edit]

Below are results for all elections in the Virginia House of Delegates in 2017. All results are unofficial.

Virginia House of Delegates, District 1 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Terry Kilgore Incumbent	76.19%	14,848
	Democratic	Alicia Kallen	23.81%	4,639
Total Votes				19,487
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 2 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Jennifer Foy	63.14%	13,366
	Republican	Mike Makee	36.86%	7,803
Total Votes				21,169
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 3 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	James Morefield Incumbent	78.31%	13,572
	Democratic	Bill Bunch Jr.	21.69%	3,759
Total Votes				17,331
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 4 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Todd Pillion Incumbent (unopposed)	100.00%	15,282
Total Votes				15,282
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 5 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Israel O'Quinn Incumbent (unopposed)	100.00%	18,402
Total Votes				18,402
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 6 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Jeffrey Campbell Incumbent	81.97%	16,795
	Independent	Kenneth Browning	18.03%	3,695
Total Votes				20,490
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 7 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Larry Rush Incumbent	66.42%	17,560
	Democratic	Flourette Ketner	33.58%	8,878
Total Votes				26,438
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 8 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Greg Habeeb Incumbent	64.01%	18,311
	Democratic	Steve McBride	35.99%	10,294
Total Votes				28,605
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 9 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Charles Poindexter Incumbent	70.35%	16,413
	Democratic	Stephanie Cook	29.65%	6,916
Total Votes				23,329
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 10 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Wendy Gooditis	51.95%	15,161
	Republican	Randall Minchew Incumbent	48.05%	14,025
Total Votes				29,186
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 11 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Sam Rasoul Incumbent (unopposed)	100.00%	15,667
Total Votes				15,667
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 12 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Chris Hurst	54.44%	12,495
	Republican	Joseph Yost Incumbent	45.56%	10,458
Total Votes				22,953
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 13 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Danica Roem	53.93%	12,077
	Republican	Bob Marshall Incumbent	46.07%	10,318
Total Votes				22,395
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 14 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Danny Marshall III Incumbent (unopposed)	100.00%	15,505
Total Votes				15,505
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 15 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	C. Todd Gilbert Incumbent (unopposed)	100.00%	19,284
Total Votes				19,284
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 16 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Les Adams Incumbent (unopposed)	100.00%	16,513
Total Votes				16,513
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 17 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Chris Head Incumbent	60.65%	15,997
	Democratic	Djuna Osborne	39.35%	10,378
Total Votes				26,375
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 18 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Michael Webert Incumbent	60.45%	16,686
	Democratic	Tristan Shields	34.36%	9,486
	Green	Wilton King	5.19%	1,433
Total Votes				27,605
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 19 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Terry Austin Incumbent (unopposed)	100.00%	20,966
Total Votes				20,966
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 20 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Richard Bell Incumbent	54.57%	14,344
	Democratic	Michele Edwards	42.60%	11,197
	Libertarian	Will Hammer	2.83%	745
Total Votes				26,286
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 21 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Kelly Convirs-Fowler	52.58%	12,540
	Republican	Ronald Villanueva Incumbent	47.42%	11,309
Total Votes				23,849
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 22 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Kathy Byron Incumbent (unopposed)	100.00%	19,041
Total Votes				19,041
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 23 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	T. Scott Garrett Incumbent	65.75%	17,370
	Democratic	Natalie Short	34.25%	9,050
Total Votes				26,420
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 24 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Ben Cline Incumbent	72.19%	17,351
	Independent	John Winfrey	27.81%	6,683
Total Votes				24,034
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 25 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Steve Landes Incumbent	58.05%	17,688
	Democratic	Angela Lynn	41.95%	12,783
Total Votes				30,471
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 26 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Tony Wilt Incumbent	54.60%	11,106
	Democratic	Brent Finnegan	45.40%	9,234
Total Votes				20,340
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 27 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Roxann Robinson Incumbent	50.22%	14,461
	Democratic	Larry Barnett	49.78%	14,333
Total Votes				28,794
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 28 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Robert Thomas Jr.	50.17%	11,842
	Democratic	Joshua Cole	49.83%	11,760
Total Votes (Legal challenge is pending)				23,602
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 29 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Chris Collins Incumbent	64.34%	15,139
	Democratic	Casey Turben	35.66%	8,390
Total Votes				23,529
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 30 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Nick Freitas Incumbent	62.20%	15,355
	Democratic	Samuel Hixon	37.80%	9,333
Total Votes				24,688
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 31 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Elizabeth Guzman	54.07%	15,466
	Republican	Scott Lingamfelter Incumbent	44.25%	12,658
	Independent	Nathan Larson	1.68%	481
Total Votes				28,605
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 32 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	David Reid	58.54%	17,865
	Republican	Thomas Greason Incumbent	41.46%	12,653
Total Votes				30,518
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 33 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Dave LaRock Incumbent	54.84%	16,723
	Democratic	Tia Walbridge	45.16%	13,770
Total Votes				30,493
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 34 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Kathleen J. Murphy Incumbent	60.95%	20,522
	Republican	Cheryl Buford	39.05%	13,146
Total Votes				33,668
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 35 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Mark Keam Incumbent (unopposed)	100.00%	22,596
Total Votes				22,596
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 36 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Ken Plum Incumbent (unopposed)	100.00%	24,149
Total Votes				24,149
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 37 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	David Bulova Incumbent (unopposed)	100.00%	18,877
Total Votes				18,877
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 38 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Kaye Kory Incumbent	73.68%	16,023
	Republican	Paul Haring	26.32%	5,723
Total Votes				21,746
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 39 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Vivian Watts Incumbent (unopposed)	100.00%	21,407
Total Votes				21,407
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 40 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Tim Hugo Incumbent	50.17%	15,116
	Democratic	Donte Tanner	49.83%	15,015
Total Votes				30,131
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 41 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Eileen Filler-Corn Incumbent (unopposed)	100.00%	22,985
Total Votes				22,985
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 42 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Kathy Tran	61.06%	18,761
	Republican	Lolita Mancheno-Smoak	38.94%	11,967
Total Votes (18 of 19 precincts reporting.)				30,728
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 43 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Mark Sickles Incumbent (unopposed)	100.00%	22,094
Total Votes				22,094
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 44 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Paul Krizek Incumbent (unopposed)	100.00%	18,243
Total Votes				18,243
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 45 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Mark Levine Incumbent (unopposed)	100.00%	31,417
Total Votes				31,417
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 46 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Charniele Herring Incumbent (unopposed)	100.00%	18,947
Total Votes				18,947
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 47 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Patrick Hope Incumbent (unopposed)	100.00%	29,706
Total Votes				29,706
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 48 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	R.C. Sullivan Jr. Incumbent (unopposed)	100.00%	27,670
Total Votes				27,670
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 49 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Alfonso Lopez Incumbent	81.47%	19,308
	Republican	Adam Roosevelt	18.53%	4,391
Total Votes				23,699
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 50 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Lee Carter	54.42%	11,366
	Republican	Jackson H. Miller Incumbent	45.58%	9,518
Total Votes				20,884
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 51 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Hala Ayala	53.08%	15,244
	Republican	Richard Anderson Incumbent	46.92%	13,476
Total Votes				28,720
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 52 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Luke Torian Incumbent (unopposed)	100.00%	14,830
Total Votes				14,830
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 53 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Marcus Simon Incumbent	75.15%	19,235
	Independent	Mike Casey	24.85%	6,362
Total Votes				25,597
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 54 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Bobby Orrock Incumbent	58.00%	13,782
	Democratic	Al Durante	42.00%	9,982
Total Votes				23,764
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 55 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Buddy Fowler Jr. Incumbent	60.00%	18,087
	Democratic	Morgan Goodman	40.00%	12,056
Total Votes				30,143
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 56 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	John McGuire	59.56%	18,792
	Democratic	Melissa Dart	40.44%	12,761
Total Votes				31,553
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 57 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	David Toscano Incumbent (unopposed)	100.00%	25,419
Total Votes				25,419
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 58 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Rob Bell Incumbent	61.26%	18,652
	Democratic	Kellen Squire	38.74%	11,797
Total Votes				30,449
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 59 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Matt Fariss Incumbent	61.34%	15,758
	Democratic	Tracy Carver	34.15%	8,773
	Independent	David Ball	3.36%	863
	Green	Marcus Sutphin	1.16%	297
Total Votes				25,691
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 60 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	James Edmunds II Incumbent	61.98%	13,330
	Democratic	Jamaal Johnston	38.02%	8,177
Total Votes				21,507
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 61 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Tommy Wright Incumbent (unopposed)	100.00%	17,507
Total Votes				17,507
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 62 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Riley Ingram Incumbent	51.74%	12,163
	Democratic	Sheila Bynum-Coleman	48.26%	11,344
Total Votes				23,507
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 63 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Lashrecse Aird Incumbent (unopposed)	100.00%	15,623
Total Votes				15,623
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 64 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Emily Brewer	62.47%	19,223
	Democratic	Rebecca Colaw	37.53%	11,551
Total Votes				30,774
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 65 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Lee Ware Incumbent	64.12%	22,394
	Democratic	Francis Stevens	35.88%	12,530
Total Votes				34,924
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 66 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Kirk Cox Incumbent	63.54%	18,572
	Democratic	Katie Sponsler	36.46%	10,656
Total Votes				29,228
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 67 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Karrie Delaney	57.94%	17,036
	Republican	James LeMunyon Incumbent	42.06%	12,365
Total Votes				29,401
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 68 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Dawn Adams	50.44%	19,772
	Republican	Manoli Loupassi Incumbent	49.56%	19,427
Total Votes				39,199
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 69 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Betsy Carr Incumbent	86.85%	19,775
	Libertarian	Jake Crocker	8.48%	1,931
	Green	Montigue Magruder	4.66%	1,062
Total Votes				22,768
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 70 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Delores McQuinn Incumbent (unopposed)	100.00%	20,391
Total Votes				20,391
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 71 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Jeff Bourne Incumbent (unopposed)	100.00%	24,287
Total Votes				24,287
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 72 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Schuyler VanValkenburg	52.83%	16,655
	Republican	Edward Whitlock III	47.17%	14,869
Total Votes				31,524
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 73 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Debra Rodman	51.57%	14,697
	Republican	John O'Bannon Incumbent	48.43%	13,803
Total Votes				28,500
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 74 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Lamont Bagby Incumbent	76.53%	20,041
	Independent	Preston Brown	23.47%	6,146
Total Votes				26,187
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 75 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Roz Tyler Incumbent (unopposed)	100.00%	16,245
Total Votes				16,245
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 76 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Chris Jones Incumbent (unopposed)	100.00%	22,736
Total Votes				22,736
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 77 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Cliff Hayes Incumbent	83.06%	16,483
	Green	Jeff Staples	16.94%	3,362
Total Votes				19,845
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 78 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Jay Leftwich Incumbent (unopposed)	100.00%	20,768
Total Votes				20,768
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 79 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Steve Heretick Incumbent (unopposed)	100.00%	12,864
Total Votes				12,864
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 80 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Matthew James Incumbent (unopposed)	100.00%	20,292
Total Votes				20,292
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 81 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Barry Knight Incumbent	59.05%	13,162
	Democratic	Kimberly Tucker	40.95%	9,127
Total Votes				22,289
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 82 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Jason Miyares Incumbent	58.95%	16,048
	Democratic	Leigh Bowling	41.05%	11,174
Total Votes				27,222
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 83 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Christopher Stolle Incumbent	56.66%	13,173
	Democratic	David Rose-Carmack	43.34%	10,077
Total Votes				23,250
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 84 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Glenn Davis Incumbent	51.77%	10,835
	Democratic	Veronica Coleman	48.23%	10,093
Total Votes				20,928
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 85 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Cheryl Turpin	50.83%	11,843
	Republican	Rocky Holcomb Incumbent	49.17%	11,454
Total Votes				23,297
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 86 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Jennifer Boysko Incumbent	68.64%	16,865
	Republican	Linda Schulz	31.36%	7,707
Total Votes				24,572
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 87 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	John Bell Incumbent	61.87%	18,234
	Republican	Subba Kolla	38.13%	11,236
Total Votes				29,470
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 88 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Mark Cole Incumbent	52.78%	14,022
	Democratic	Steve Aycock	37.33%	9,918
	Independent	Amanda Blalock	8.93%	2,373
	Green	Gerald Anderson	0.96%	255
Total Votes				26,568
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 89 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Jerrauld Jones	84.89%	16,541
	Libertarian	Terry Hurst	15.11%	2,944
Total Votes				19,485
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 90 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Joseph Lindsey Incumbent (unopposed)	100.00%	15,996
Total Votes				15,996
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 91 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Gordon Helsel Incumbent	56.32%	13,877
	Democratic	Michael Wade	43.68%	10,764
Total Votes				24,641
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 92 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Jeion Ward Incumbent (unopposed)	100.00%	18,873
Total Votes				18,873
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 93 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Michael Mullin Incumbent	60.08%	15,988
	Republican	Heather Cordasco	39.92%	10,625
Total Votes				26,613
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 94 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Shelly Simonds	48.59%	11,608
	Republican	David Yancey Incumbent	48.59%	11,608
	Libertarian	Michael Bartley	2.83%	675
Total Votes (Race decided by random drawing)				23,891
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 95 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Marcia Price Incumbent (unopposed)	100.00%	15,766
Total Votes				15,766
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 96 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Brenda Pogge Incumbent	57.03%	19,841
	Democratic	Kelly Delucia	42.97%	14,947
Total Votes				34,788
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 97 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Chris Peace Incumbent	72.33%	24,363
	Democratic	Cori Johnson	27.67%	9,319
Total Votes				33,682
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 98 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Keith Hodges Incumbent	65.11%	18,561
	Democratic	Sheila Crowley	34.89%	9,945
Total Votes				28,506
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 99 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Margaret Ransone Incumbent	62.23%	16,548
	Democratic	Francis Edwards	37.77%	10,043
Total Votes				26,591
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Virginia House of Delegates, District 100 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Robert Bloxom Jr. Incumbent	52.23%	11,720
	Democratic	Willie Randall	47.77%	10,720
Total Votes				22,440
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Primary candidates[edit]

According to Virginia Department of Elections rules, in districts where only one candidate filed, that candidate was declared the nominee for the respective party. In such cases, the primary election for that district was canceled. Similarly, in cases where no candidate filed for a party's primary election in a district, that primary election was canceled. The list below is based on an official list which included candidates for contested primary elections only. ^[11] (I) denotes an incumbent.

2017 Virginia House of Delegates primary candidates
District	Democrat	Republican	Other
1	Alicia Kallen a	Terry Kilgore (I) a
2	Jennifer Foy: 2,182 a Joshua King: 2,170	Laquan Austion a
3	Bill Bunch Jr. a	James Morefield (I) a
4	No candidate	Todd Pillion (I) a
5	No candidate	Israel O'Quinn (I) a
6	No candidate	Jeffrey Campbell (I) a
7	Flourette Ketner a	Larry Rush (I) a
8	Steve McBride: 2,591 a Bryan Keele: 1,464	Greg Habeeb (I) a
9	Stephanie Cook a	Charles Poindexter (I) a
10	Wendy Gooditis a	Randall Minchew (I) a
11	Sam Rasoul (I) a	No candidate
12	Chris Hurst a	Joseph Yost (I) a
13	Mansimran Kahlon: 821 Danica Roem: 1,863 a Steven Jansen: 1,365 Andrew Adams: 290	Bob Marshall (I) a
14	No candidate	Danny Marshall III (I) a
15	No candidate	C. Todd Gilbert (I) a
16	No candidate	Les Adams (I) a
17	Djuna Osborne a	Chris Head (I) a
18	Tristan Shields a	Michael Webert (I) a
19	No candidate	Terry Austin (I) a
20	Michele Edwards a	Richard Bell (I) a
21	Tom Brock: 1,459 Kelly Convirs-Fowler: 3,248 a	Ronald Villanueva: 2,441 (I) a William Haley: 1,715
22	No candidate	Kathy Byron (I) a
23	Natalie Short a	T. Scott Garrett (I) a
24	No candidate	Ben Cline (I) a
25	Angela Lynn a	Steve Landes (I) a
26	Brent Finnegan a	Tony Wilt (I) a
27	Larry Barnett a	Roxann Robinson (I) a
28	Joshua Cole a	Paul Milde III: 2,067 Robert Thomas Jr.: 3,051 a Susan Stimpson: 1,087
29	Casey Turben a	Chris Collins (I) a
30	Samuel Hixon a	Nick Freitas (I) a
31	Elizabeth Guzman: 3,062 a Sara Townsend: 2,809	Scott Lingamfelter (I) a
32	David Reid a	Thomas Greason (I) a
33	Tia Walbridge: 2,697 a Mavis Taintor: 2,460	Dave LaRock (I) a
34	Kathleen J. Murphy (I) a	Cheryl Buford a
35	Mark Keam (I) a	No candidate
36	Ken Plum (I) a	No candidate
37	David Bulova (I) a	No candidate
38	Kaye Kory (I) a	Paul Haring a
39	Vivian Watts (I) a	No candidate
40	Donte Tanner a	Tim Hugo (I) a
41	Eileen Filler-Corn (I) a	No candidate
42	Kathy Tran: 3,977 a Tilly Blanding: 3,437	Lolita Mancheno-Smoak a
43	Mark Sickles (I) a	No candidate
44	Paul Krizek (I) a	No candidate
45	Mark Levine (I) a	No candidate
46	Charniele Herring (I) a	No candidate
47	Patrick Hope (I) a	No candidate
48	R.C. Sullivan Jr. (I) a	No candidate
49	Alfonso Lopez (I) a	Adam Roosevelt a
50	Lee Carter a	Jackson H. Miller (I) a
51	Kenny Boddye: 1,876 Hala Ayala: 3,695 a	Richard Anderson (I) a
52	Luke Torian (I) a	No candidate
53	Marcus Simon (I) a	No candidate
54	Al Durante a	Bobby Orrock: 4,254 (I) a Nick Ignacio: 987
55	Morgan Goodman a	Buddy Fowler Jr. (I) a
56	Lizzie Drucker-Basch: 2,481 Melissa Dart: 2,608 a	Matt Pinsker: 2,008 Graven Craig: 2,070 George Goodwin: 995 Surya Dhakar: 952 John McGuire: 2,732 a Jay Prendergast: 73
57	David Toscano: 8,656 (I) a Ross Mittiga III: 4,304	No candidate
58	Kellen Squire a	Rob Bell (I) a
59	Tracy Carver a	Matt Fariss (I) a
60	Jamaal Johnston a	James Edmunds II (I) a
61	No candidate	Tommy Wright (I) a
62	Sheila Bynum-Coleman a	Riley Ingram (I) a
63	Lashrecse Aird: 5,062 (I) a	No candidate
64	Gerry Rawlinson: 1,958 John Wandling: 1,660 Jerry Cantrell: 1,437 Rebecca Colaw: 1,937 a	Rex Alphin: 2,841 Emily Brewer: 4,418 a
65	Francis Stevens a	Lee Ware (I) a
66	Katie Sponsler a	Kirk Cox (I) a
67	Karrie Delaney: 3,887 a John Carey: 706 Hannah Risheq: 1,355	James LeMunyon (I) a
68	Dawn Adams: 4,556 a Mary Jo Sheeley: 3,487 Ben Pearson-Nelson: 1,590	Manoli Loupassi (I) a
69	Betsy Carr (I) a	No candidate
70	Alexander Mejias: 1,719 Delores McQuinn: 7,082 (I) a	No candidate
71	Jeff Bourne (I) a	No candidate
72	Schuyler VanValkenburg a	Edward Whitlock III: 4,140 a Ernesto Sampson Jr.: 2,019
73	Debra Rodman a	John O'Bannon (I) a
74	Lamont Bagby (I) a	No candidate
75	Roz Tyler (I) a	No candidate
76	No candidate	Chris Jones (I) a
77	Cliff Hayes (I) a	No candidate
78	No candidate	Jay Leftwich (I) a
79	Steve Heretick (I) a	No candidate
80	Matthew James (I) a	No candidate
81	Kimberly Tucker: 2,309 a Nancy Carothers: 1,060	Barry Knight (I) a
82	Leigh Bowling a	Jason Miyares (I) a
83	David Rose-Carmack: 2,970 a Justin Morgan: 1,221	Chris Stolle (I) a
84	Veronica Coleman a	Glenn Davis (I) a
85	Cheryl Turpin a	Rocky Holcomb (I) a
86	Jennifer Boysko (I) a	Linda Schulz a
87	John Bell (I) a	Subba Kolla a
88	Steve Aycock a	Mark Cole (I) a
89	Jerrauld Jones: 5,242 a Joe Dillard: 2,678	No candidate
90	Joseph Lindsey (I) a	No candidate
91	Michael Wade a	Gordon Helsel (I) a
92	Jeion Ward: 7,030 (I) a Michael Harris: 960	No candidate
93	Michael Mullin (I) a	Heather Cordasco a
94	Zachary Wittkamp a	David Yancey (I) a
95	Marcia Price (I) a	No candidate
96	Kelly Delucia a	Brenda Pogge (I) a
97	Cori Johnson a	Chris Peace (I) a
98	Sheila Crowley a	Keith Hodges (I) a
99	Vivian Messner: 1,551 Francis Edwards: 1,822 a	Margaret Ransone (I) a
100	Willie Randall a	Robert Bloxom Jr. (I) a
Notes	• An (I) denotes an incumbent.
	• Candidate lists can change frequently throughout an election season. Ballotpedia staff update this list monthly. To suggest changes, click here to email our State Legislature Project.

Primary results[edit]

Below are election results for all contested primary elections in the Virginia House of Delegates in 2017. All results are official.

Virginia House of Delegates, District 2 Democratic Primary, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Jennifer Foy	50.14%	2,182
Joshua King	49.86%	2,170
Total Votes		4,352

Virginia House of Delegates, District 8 Democratic Primary, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Steve McBride	63.90%	2,591
Bryan Keele	36.10%	1,464
Total Votes		4,055

Virginia House of Delegates, District 13 Democratic Primary, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Danica Roem	42.94%	1,863
Steven Jansen	31.46%	1,365
Mansimran Kahlon	18.92%	821
Andrew Adams	6.68%	290
Total Votes		4,339

Virginia House of Delegates, District 21 Democratic Primary, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Kelly Convirs-Fowler	69.00%	3,248
Tom Brock	31.00%	1,459
Total Votes		4,707

Virginia House of Delegates, District 21 Republican Primary, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Ronald Villanueva Incumbent	58.73%	2,441
William Haley	41.27%	1,715
Total Votes		4,156

Virginia House of Delegates, District 28 Republican Primary, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Robert Thomas Jr.	49.17%	3,051
Paul Milde III	33.31%	2,067
Susan Stimpson	17.52%	1,087
Total Votes		6,205

Virginia House of Delegates, District 31 Democratic Primary, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Elizabeth Guzman	52.15%	3,062
Sara Townsend	47.85%	2,809
Total Votes		5,871

Virginia House of Delegates, District 33 Democratic Primary, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Tia Walbridge	52.30%	2,697
Mavis Taintor	47.70%	2,460
Total Votes		5,157

Virginia House of Delegates, District 42 Democratic Primary, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Kathy Tran	53.64%	3,977
Tilly Blanding	46.36%	3,437
Total Votes		7,414

Virginia House of Delegates, District 51 Democratic Primary, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Hala Ayala	66.33%	3,695
Kenny Boddye	33.67%	1,876
Total Votes		5,571

Virginia House of Delegates, District 54 Republican Primary, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Bobby Orrock Incumbent	81.17%	4,254
Nick Ignacio	18.83%	987
Total Votes		5,241

Virginia House of Delegates, District 56 Democratic Primary, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Melissa Dart	51.25%	2,608
Lizzie Drucker-Basch	48.75%	2,481
Total Votes		5,089

Virginia House of Delegates, District 56 Republican Primary, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
John McGuire	30.94%	2,732
Graven Craig	23.44%	2,070
Matt Pinsker	22.74%	2,008
George Goodwin	11.27%	995
Surya Dhakar	10.78%	952
Jay Prendergast	0.83%	73
Total Votes		8,830

Virginia House of Delegates, District 57 Democratic Primary, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
David Toscano Incumbent	66.81%	8,665
Ross Mittiga III	33.19%	4,304
Total Votes		12,969

Virginia House of Delegates, District 63 Democratic Primary, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Lashrecse Aird Incumbent	72.11%	5,062
Gerry Rawlinson	27.89%	1,958
Total Votes		7,020

Virginia House of Delegates, District 64 Democratic Primary, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Rebecca Colaw	38.48%	1,937
John Wandling	32.98%	1,660
Jerry Cantrell	28.55%	1,437
Total Votes		5,034

Virginia House of Delegates, District 64 Republican Primary, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Emily Brewer	60.86%	4,418
Rex Alphin	39.14%	2,841
Total Votes		7,259

Virginia House of Delegates, District 67 Democratic Primary, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Karrie Delaney	65.35%	3,887
Hannah Risheq	22.78%	1,355
John Carey	11.87%	706
Total Votes		5,948

Virginia House of Delegates, District 68 Democratic Primary, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Dawn Adams	47.30%	4,556
Mary Jo Sheeley	36.20%	3,487
Ben Pearson-Nelson	16.51%	1,590
Total Votes		9,633

Virginia House of Delegates, District 70 Democratic Primary, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Delores McQuinn Incumbent	80.47%	7,082
Alexander Mejias	19.53%	1,719
Total Votes		8,801

Virginia House of Delegates, District 72 Republican Primary, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Edward Whitlock III	67.22%	4,140
Ernesto Sampson Jr.	32.78%	2,019
Total Votes		6,159

Virginia House of Delegates, District 81 Democratic Primary, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Kimberly Tucker	68.54%	2,309
Nancy Carothers	31.46%	1,060
Total Votes		3,369

Virginia House of Delegates, District 83 Democratic Primary, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
David Rose-Carmack	70.87%	2,970
Justin Morgan	29.13%	1,221
Total Votes		4,191

Virginia House of Delegates, District 89 Democratic Primary, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Jerrauld Jones	66.19%	5,242
Joe Dillard	33.81%	2,678
Total Votes		7,920

Virginia House of Delegates, District 92 Democratic Primary, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Jeion Ward Incumbent	87.98%	7,030
Michael Harris	12.02%	960
Total Votes		7,990

Virginia House of Delegates, District 99 Democratic Primary, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Francis Edwards	54.02%	1,822
Vivian Messner	45.98%	1,551
Total Votes		3,373

Qualifications[edit]

See also: State legislature candidate requirements by state

Candidates must be qualified to vote, have been a resident of Virginia for one year immediately preceding the election, and be a resident of the city or town in which they file for election.^[12]

Salaries and per diem[edit]

See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries

State legislators
Salary	Per diem
$18,000/year for senators. $17,640/year for delegates.	$211/day

When sworn in[edit]

See also: When state legislators assume office after a general election

Virginia legislators assume office the second Wednesday in January after the election.

Races we watched[edit]

Virginia House of Delegates Races to Watch
Democratic seats
District 34
District 86
District 87
District 93
Republican seats
District 2
District 12
District 13
District 28
District 31
District 32
District 42
District 67
District 72

Ballotpedia identified 13 races to watch in the Virginia House of Delegates 2017 elections: four Democratic seats and nine Republican seats. Based on analysis of these districts' electoral histories, these races had the potential to be more competitive than other races and could possibly have led to shifts in a chamber's partisan balance. Heading into the general election, Republicans held a 66-34 majority. Democrats needed to pick up 17 seats in order to take control of the chamber. Republicans needed to pick up one seat in order to achieve the two-thirds majority needed to override gubernatorial vetoes.

To determine state legislative races to watch in 2017, Ballotpedia looked for races that fit one or more of the four factors listed below:

1. If the incumbent won less than 55 percent of the vote in the most recent election prior to 2017
2. If the presidential candidate opposite of the incumbent's party won the district in the 2016 elections and the incumbent’s margin of victory in the previous election was 10 percentage points or less
3. If the presidential candidate opposite of the incumbent's party won the district in the 2016 elections and the incumbent did not file to run for re-election
4. If the presidential candidate opposite of the incumbent's party won the district in the 2016 elections by 20 points or more

Other factors could also trigger a race to watch. For example, if an outside group or a national or state party announced that they were targeting a specific seat in order to flip it, then Ballotpedia studied the race for that district as a race to watch. Similarly, if a race received an unusual amount of media attention, Ballotpedia also studied the race for that district as a race to watch. Two additional factors were open seats and districts impacted by redistricting.

This map shows the Virginia state House districts where the races we highlighted occurred. In 2017, there were 11 counties with races to watch. Three counties—Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William—had races involving both Democratic and Republican seats that we highlighted. Two counties—James City and York—had races involving Democratic seats that we highlighted. Six counties—Fauquier, Giles, Henrico, Montgomery, Pulaski, and Stafford—had races involving Republican seats that we highlighted.

District 2[edit]

Click [show] to read about the District 2 race

What party controlled the seat heading into the election? The Republican Party Did the incumbent file to run for re-election? No What made this a race to watch? This was a district where the incumbent won less than 55 percent of the vote in 2015 and did not file to run in 2017. Moreover, the presidential candidate of the opposite party won the district in 2016 by more than 20 points. Incumbent Mark Dudenhefer (R) was first elected in 2011, but was defeated by Democrat Michael Futrell in 2013. Dudenhefer won the seat back in 2015 by 1.1 points and opted not to run for re-election in 2017. District 2 was one of 51 Virginia House districts that Democrat Hillary Clinton won in the 2016 presidential election. Clinton carried District 2 by 20.4 points. Democrat Barack Obama won District 2 in the 2012 presidential election by 19.2 points. As of 2017, District 2 covered parts of Prince William County and parts of Stafford County. In August 2017, Republican primary winner Laquan Austion dropped out of the general election after it was reported that he had falsified his education credentials. He was replaced by Mike Makee.[13] According to the New York Times, Foy won the seat on election night.[14] Candidates Virginia House of Delegates, District 2 General Election, 2017 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic Jennifer Foy 63.14% 13,366      Republican Mike Makee 36.86% 7,803 Total Votes 21,169 Source: Virginia Department of Elections These figures are current as of November 3, 2017. The data came from the Virginia Public Access Project.

District 12[edit]

Click [show] to read about the District 12 race

What party controlled the seat heading into the election? The Republican Party Did the incumbent file to run for re-election? Yes What made this a race to watch? This was a district that did not meet any of the four factors. It was included due to the media attention it received. In this race, incumbent Republican Joseph Yost was challenged by Chris Hurst (D). Hurst formerly served as the evening anchor for WDBJ7 Roanoke. In 2015, Hurst's girlfriend, Alison Parker, a correspondent for WDBJ7 Roanoke, was shot and killed while reporting live on television from Moneta, Virginia. Her cameraman Adam Ward was also killed. Hurst cited Parker's death as a reason for his run for office.[15] Yost won the seat by 16.8 points in 2015. District 12 was one of 51 Virginia House districts that Democrat Hillary Clinton won in the 2016 presidential election. Clinton carried District 12 by 2.9 points. Democrat Barack Obama won the seat in the 2012 presidential election by 4.1 points. As of 2017, District 12 covered Giles County and parts of Montgomery and Pulaski counties. According to the New York Times, Hurst won the seat on election night.[14] Candidates Virginia House of Delegates, District 12 General Election, 2017 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic Chris Hurst 54.44% 12,495      Republican Joseph Yost Incumbent 45.56% 10,458 Total Votes 22,953 Source: Virginia Department of Elections These figures are current as of November 3, 2017. The data came from the Virginia Public Access Project.

District 13[edit]

Click [show] to read about the District 13 race

What party controlled the seat heading into the election? The Republican Party Did the incumbent file to run for re-election? Yes What made this a race to watch? This was a district that did not meet any of the four factors. It was included due to the media attention it received. In this race, incumbent Republican Bob Marshall was challenged by Danica Roem, a Democratic candidate who is openly transgender. According to NBC, Roem was the first openly transgender candidate to win a primary election in Virginia and ran to be the third transgender state legislator elected in the United States.[16] In 2017, Marshall introduced HB 1612, The Physical Privacy Act. HB 1612 would have required that government buildings maintain separate bathrooms for males and females and individuals use the bathroom designated for the sex listed on their birth certificate.[17] Marshall won the seat by 12.2 points in 2015. District 13 was one of 51 Virginia House districts that Democrat Hillary Clinton won in the 2016 presidential election. Clinton carried District 13 by 14.8 points. Democrat Barack Obama won the seat in the 2012 presidential election by 11.1 points. As of 2017, District 13 covered parts of Prince William County. According to the New York Times, Roem won the seat on election night.[18] Candidates Virginia House of Delegates, District 13 General Election, 2017 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic Danica Roem 53.93% 12,077      Republican Bob Marshall Incumbent 46.07% 10,318 Total Votes 22,395 Source: Virginia Department of Elections These figures are current as of November 3, 2017. The data came from the Virginia Public Access Project.

District 28[edit]

Click [show] to read about the District 28 race

What party controlled the seat heading into the election? The Republican Party Did the incumbent file to run for re-election? No What made this a race to watch? This was a district that did not meet any of the four factors. It was included because it was an open seat with a close margin of victory in the 2016 presidential election. Incumbent Bill Howell (R), first elected in 1987, won re-election in 2015 by 20.9 points. He declined to run in 2017. District 28 was one of 49 Virginia House districts that Republican Donald Trump won in the 2016 presidential election. Trump carried District 28 by 1.1 points. Democrat Barack Obama won the seat in the 2012 presidential election by 0.1 points. As of 2017, District 28 covered parts of Stafford County. Robert Thomas Jr. won the election. Democrats originally attempted to challenge the results of the race due to voting irregularities, but they later dropped their lawsuit.[14] Candidates Virginia House of Delegates, District 28 General Election, 2017 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Robert Thomas Jr. 50.17% 11,842      Democratic Joshua Cole 49.83% 11,760 Total Votes (Legal challenge is pending) 23,602 Source: Virginia Department of Elections These figures are current as of November 3, 2017. The data came from the Virginia Public Access Project.

District 31[edit]

Click [show] to read about the District 31 race

What party controlled the seat heading into the election? The Republican Party Did the incumbent file to run for re-election? Yes What made this a race to watch? This was a district where the incumbent won less than 55 percent of the vote in 2015 and where the presidential candidate of the opposite party won in 2016. Incumbent Scott Lingamfelter (R) was first elected to the seat in 2001. He won re-election in 2015 with 53.4 percent of the vote, defeating his Democratic challenger by 6.8 points. He won in 2013 by 1.0 points. District 31 was one of 51 Virginia House districts that Democrat Hillary Clinton won in the 2016 presidential election. Clinton carried District 31 by 10.3 points. Democrat Barack Obama won the seat in the 2012 presidential election by 7.4 points. As of 2017, District 31 covered parts of Fauquier County and parts of Prince William County. According to the New York Times, Guzman won the seat on election night.[14] Candidates Virginia House of Delegates, District 31 General Election, 2017 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic Elizabeth Guzman 54.07% 15,466      Republican Scott Lingamfelter Incumbent 44.25% 12,658      Independent Nathan Larson 1.68% 481 Total Votes 28,605 Source: Virginia Department of Elections These figures are current as of November 3, 2017. The data came from the Virginia Public Access Project.

District 32[edit]

Click [show] to read about the District 32 race

What party controlled the seat heading into the election? The Republican Party Did the incumbent file to run for re-election? Yes What made this a race to watch? This was a district where the incumbent won less than 55 percent of the vote in 2015 and where the presidential candidate of the opposite party won by more than 20 points in 2016. Incumbent Thomas Greason (R) was first elected to the seat in 2009. He won re-election in 2015 with 53.1 percent of the vote, defeating his Democratic challenger by 6.2 points. He won in 2013 by 2.8 points. District 32 was one of 51 Virginia House districts that Democrat Hillary Clinton won in the 2016 presidential election. Clinton carried District 32 by 20.9 points. Democrat Barack Obama won the seat in the 2012 presidential election by 5.6 points. As of 2017, District 32 covered parts of Loudoun County. According to the New York Times, Reid won the seat on election night.[14] Candidates Virginia House of Delegates, District 32 General Election, 2017 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic David Reid 58.54% 17,865      Republican Thomas Greason Incumbent 41.46% 12,653 Total Votes 30,518 Source: Virginia Department of Elections These figures are current as of November 3, 2017. The data came from the Virginia Public Access Project.

District 34[edit]

Click [show] to read about the District 34 race

What party controlled the seat heading into the election? The Democratic Party Did the incumbent file to run for re-election? Yes What made this a race to watch? This was a district where the incumbent won less than 55 percent of the vote in 2015. District 34 was competitive in elections from 2013 to 2015. Incumbent Kathleen J. Murphy (D) was first elected to the seat in a 2015 special election, winning by a margin of 2.6 percent. She won re-election in the 2015 general election with 50.4 percent of the vote, defeating her special election opponent Craig A. Parisot (R) again by a margin of 0.6 percent. She first ran for the seat in 2013 and was defeated by incumbent Barbara Comstock (R) by 1.4 points. District 34 was one of 51 Virginia House districts that Democrat Hillary Clinton won in the 2016 presidential election. Clinton carried District 34 by 21.6 points. Democrat Barack Obama won the seat in the 2012 presidential election by 0.5 points. As of 2017, District 34 covered parts of Fairfax County and parts of Loudoun County. According to the New York Times, Murphy won the seat on election night.[14] Candidates Virginia House of Delegates, District 34 General Election, 2017 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic Kathleen J. Murphy Incumbent 60.95% 20,522      Republican Cheryl Buford 39.05% 13,146 Total Votes 33,668 Source: Virginia Department of Elections These figures are current as of November 3, 2017. The data came from the Virginia Public Access Project.

District 42[edit]

Click [show] to read about the District 42 race

What party controlled the seat heading into the election? The Republican Party Did the incumbent file to run for re-election? No What made this a race to watch? This was a district where the incumbent did not file to run for re-election and the presidential candidate of the opposite party won by more than 20 points in 2016. In 2015, incumbent Dave Albo (R), who was first elected in 1993, won re-election by 26.9 points. He declined to run in 2017. District 42 was one of 51 Virginia House districts that Democrat Hillary Clinton won in the 2016 presidential election. Clinton carried District 42 by 23.1 points. Democrat Barack Obama won the seat in the 2012 presidential election by 6.5 points. As of 2017, District 42 covered parts of Fairfax County. According to the New York Times, Tran won the seat on election night.[14] Candidates Virginia House of Delegates, District 42 General Election, 2017 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic Kathy Tran 61.06% 18,761      Republican Lolita Mancheno-Smoak 38.94% 11,967 Total Votes (18 of 19 precincts reporting.) 30,728 Source: Virginia Department of Elections These figures are current as of November 3, 2017. The data came from the Virginia Public Access Project.

District 67[edit]

Click [show] to read about the District 67 race

What party controlled the seat heading into the election? The Republican Party Did the incumbent file to run for re-election? Yes What made this a race to watch? This was a district where the presidential candidate of the opposite party won by more than 20 points in 2016. Incumbent James LeMunyon (R), who was first elected in 2009, was unopposed in his 2015 re-election. In his 2013 re-election, he defeated Democrat Hung Nguyen by 9.2 points. District 67 was one of 51 Virginia House districts that Democrat Hillary Clinton won in the 2016 presidential election. Clinton carried District 67 by 26.7 points. Democrat Barack Obama won the seat in the 2012 presidential election by 8.9 points. As of 2017, District 67 covered parts of Fairfax and Loudoun counties. According to the New York Times, Delaney won the seat on election night.[14] Candidates Virginia House of Delegates, District 67 General Election, 2017 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic Karrie Delaney 57.94% 17,036      Republican James LeMunyon Incumbent 42.06% 12,365 Total Votes 29,401 Source: Virginia Department of Elections These figures are current as of November 3, 2017. The data came from the Virginia Public Access Project.

District 72[edit]

Click [show] to read about the District 72 race

What party controlled the seat heading into the election? The Republican Party Did the incumbent file to run for re-election? No What made this a race to watch? This was a district where the incumbent did not file to run for re-election and the presidential candidate of the opposite party won in 2016. In 2015, incumbent Jimmie Massie (R), who was first elected in 2007, was unopposed in his bid for re-election. In his five elections for the Virginia House of Delegates, Massie only faced competition once—his first election in 2007. He declined to run in 2017. District 72 was one of 51 Virginia House districts that Democrat Hillary Clinton won in the 2016 presidential election. Clinton carried District 72 by 5.4 points. Republican Mitt Romney won the seat in the 2012 presidential election by 8.7 points. As of 2017, District 72 covered parts of Henrico County. According to the New York Times, VanValkenburg won the seat on election night.[14] Candidates Virginia House of Delegates, District 72 General Election, 2017 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic Schuyler VanValkenburg 52.83% 16,655      Republican Edward Whitlock III 47.17% 14,869 Total Votes 31,524 Source: Virginia Department of Elections These figures are current as of November 3, 2017. The data came from the Virginia Public Access Project.

District 86[edit]

Click [show] to read about the District 86 race

What party controlled the seat heading into the election? The Democratic Party Did the incumbent file to run for re-election? Yes What made this a race to watch? This was a district where the incumbent won less than 55 percent of the vote in 2015. In 2015, Jennifer Boysko (D) first won election to the seat. She received 54.5 percent of the vote and defeated her Republican challenger by 12.5 points. She had previously ran in 2013 and was defeated by incumbent Tom Rust (R) by 0.3 points. District 86 was one of 51 Virginia House districts that Democrat Hillary Clinton won in the 2016 presidential election. Clinton carried District 86 by 35.3 points. Democrat Barack Obama won the seat in the 2012 presidential election by 21.6 points. As of 2017, District 86 covered parts of Fairfax County and parts of Loudoun County. According to the New York Times, Boysko won the seat on election night.[14] Candidates Virginia House of Delegates, District 86 General Election, 2017 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic Jennifer Boysko Incumbent 68.64% 16,865      Republican Linda Schulz 31.36% 7,707 Total Votes 24,572 Source: Virginia Department of Elections These figures are current as of November 3, 2017. The data came from the Virginia Public Access Project.

District 87[edit]

Click [show] to read about the District 87 race

What party controlled the seat heading into the election? The Democratic Party Did the incumbent file to run for re-election? Yes What made this a race to watch? This was a district where the incumbent won less than 55 percent of the vote in 2015. In 2015, John Bell (D) first won election to the seat. He received 49.9 percent of the vote and defeated his Republican challenger by 1.9 points. He had previously run in 2013 and was defeated by incumbent David Ramadan (R) by 1.0 points. District 87 was one of 51 Virginia House districts that Democrat Hillary Clinton won in the 2016 presidential election. Clinton carried District 87 by 25.6 points. Democrat Barack Obama won the seat in the 2012 presidential election by 13.8 points. As of 2017, District 87 covered parts of Loudoun County and parts of Prince William County. According to the New York Times, Bell won the seat on election night.[14] Candidates Virginia House of Delegates, District 87 General Election, 2017 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic John Bell Incumbent 61.87% 18,234      Republican Subba Kolla 38.13% 11,236 Total Votes 29,470 Source: Virginia Department of Elections These figures are current as of November 3, 2017. The data came from the Virginia Public Access Project.

District 93[edit]

Click [show] to read about the District 93 race

What party controlled the seat heading into the election? The Democratic Party Did the incumbent file to run for re-election? Yes What made this a race to watch? This was a district where the incumbent won less than 55 percent of the vote in a 2016 special election for the seat. Incumbent Michael Mullin (D) first won election to the seat in a 2016 special election that was held following the resignation of T. Monty Mason (D). Mullin received 53.5 percent of the vote and defeated his Republican challenger by 7.3 points. District 93 was one of 51 Virginia House districts that Democrat Hillary Clinton won in the 2016 presidential election. Clinton carried District 93 by 19.2 points. Democrat Barack Obama won the seat in the 2012 presidential election by 14.0 points. As of 2017, District 93 covered parts of James City County and parts of York County. According to the New York Times, Mullin won the seat on election night.[14] Candidates Virginia House of Delegates, District 93 General Election, 2017 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic Michael Mullin Incumbent 60.08% 15,988      Republican Heather Cordasco 39.92% 10,625 Total Votes 26,613 Source: Virginia Department of Elections These figures are current as of November 3, 2017. The data came from the Virginia Public Access Project.

Campaign finance[edit]

Candidates[edit]

The Virginia Public Access Project tracked total spending in Virginia House of Delegates races. These numbers were current as of November 3, 2017.

The Virginia Public Access Project also tracked fundraising by individual candidates in the House elections. As of November 3, 2017, these 10 candidates had received the highest amounts of campaign contributions.

Center for Public Integrity report[edit]

In September 2017, the Center for Public Integrity released a report showing that Republican candidates had a fundraising advantage over Democratic candidates at that point in time. The report showed that in the 60 races featuring Republican and Democratic candidates, Republicans had raised $7.4 million to Democrats' $3.7 million. In the 17 Republican-held seats won by Hillary Clinton (D) in 2016, Republicans had a $2.8 million to $1.6 million advantage. The report also showed that Republicans led fundraising in 45 of the 60 races being contested by both parties and in 11 of the 17 Republican districts that voted for Clinton.^[19]

National organizations[edit]

For the 2017 Virginia House of Delegates elections, Ballotpedia identified involvement by five national organizations that invest campaign resources in specific races to influence the partisan control of state legislatures. Four organizations supported Democratic candidates and one supported Republican candidates.

Democratic organizations[edit]

The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) is a 527 political organization whose aim is to oversee state-based political campaigns for Democratic candidates. For Virginia in 2017, it identified eight races where Democrats could win Republican seats.^[20]

Flippable is a 527 political organization that was founded after the 2016 elections to support Democratic candidates in state legislative races. For Virginia in 2017, it identified five races where Democrats could win Republican seats. According to Wired, Flippable used the Virginia House elections to test its model for identifying vulnerable Republican state legislative seats.^[21] For Virginia in 2017, it identified five races where Democrats could win Republican seats.^[22]

Forward Majority Action is a super PAC that was founded in 2017 to support Democratic candidates for state legislative races and take control of state legislatures ahead of the redistricting following the 2020 census. In addition to the Virginia House in 2017, it targeted Republican-held state legislative chambers in 2018. As of October 11, 2017, a list of targeted races in Virginia was not available. These were the 12 states that Forward Majority said it would target in the 2017-2018 state legislative elections. Of the 12 states, only Virginia held elections in 2017. The other 11 states held elections in 2018.

These partisan breakdown figures roughly reflect the partisan breakdown of a chamber heading into either the 2017 or 2018 elections. It does not show the partisan breakdown of the chamber following the election. Please see the chamber page for a more precise count.

Last updated February 2018.

States targeted by Forward Majority: 2017-2018
State	Senate breakdown	Senate seats up in 2017-2018	House breakdown	House seats up in 2017-2018	U.S. House seats
Colorado	18-17	17	37-28	65	7
Florida	24-15	20	76-40	120	27
Georgia	36-17	56	116-62	180	14
Michigan	27-11	38	63-47	110	14
Minnesota	34-33	No elections[23]	76-57	134	8
New Hampshire	14-10	24	219-174	400	2
New York	31-30[24]	63	106-41	150	27
North Carolina	35-15	50	75-45	120	13
Ohio	23-9	17	65-33	99	16
Pennsylvania	34-16	25	121-80	203	18
Virginia	21-19	No elections[25]	51-49	100[26]	11
Wisconsin	19-13	17	63-35	99	8
Total	--	327	--	1680	165

The Sister District Project is a 527 political organization supporting Democratic candidates in state legislative races. As of 2017, its goal was to help Democrats win control of state legislative chambers ahead of the congressional redistricting following the 2020 census.^[27] For Virginia in 2017, it identified 13 Sister Races for investment.^[28]

Republican organizations[edit]

GOPAC is an organization that supports Republican candidates. For Virginia in 2017, it identified 13 races for investment.^[29]

Noteworthy events[edit]

Key endorsements[edit]

On October 17, 2017, former Vice President Joe Biden (D) issued five endorsements in Virginia House races:^[30]

• John Bell (D)
• Jennifer Foy (D)
• Elizabeth Guzman (D)
• David Reid (D)
• Danica Roem (D)

Virginia political history[edit]

Overview[edit]

Virginia developed a reputation as a political battleground state in elections leading up to the November 2017 elections, meaning electoral competition between Democrats and Republicans was more intense than in other states, and the outcomes of elections were often difficult to predict. For example, in gubernatorial elections between 1993 and 2013, Democrats and Republicans won three races each. Similarly, in presidential elections between 1992 and 2016, Republican candidates won four times, while Democratic candidates won three times. In 2016, Virginia was a closely watched battleground state in the presidential election. Democrat Hillary Clinton defeated Republican Donald Trump 49.7 to 44.4 percent. When those same results are broken down by state legislative House districts, Clinton defeated Trump in 51 out of 100 districts, based on data compiled by Daily Kos. When the presidential results are broken down by congressional districts, Trump won six districts, while Clinton won five. Five counties in Virginia—Buckingham, Caroline, Essex, Nelson, and Westmoreland—are Pivot Counties, which voted for Democrat Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012 but voted for Trump in 2016. Ballotpedia identified a total of 206 Pivot Counties throughout the country.

The state Senate followed patterns similar to those of statewide races in Virginia in elections prior to 2017. Republicans took control of the state Senate in 1997 and maintained their majority in every election until 2007. The chamber became tied at 20-20 in 2011, but Republicans won a 21-19 majority in 2015. The House of Delegates, however, deviated from trends found at the statewide level and in the state senate in elections during roughly this same timeframe. Republicans won control of the chamber in 1999 and defended their majority in the eight elections between 2001 and 2015. Republicans came out of the 2015 elections with a 66-34 majority, down slightly from their 67-33 majority heading into the election.

At the beginning of 2017, Virginia was one of 19 states under divided government.

Party control[edit]

Republicans in the Virginia House of Delegates saw their majority drop from 67-33 to 66-34 in the 2015 elections.

Virginia House of Delegates
Party		As of November 3, 2015	After November 3, 2015
	Democratic Party	33	34
	Republican Party	67	66
Total		100	100

Trifectas[edit]

A state government trifecta is a term that describes single-party government, when one political party holds the governor's office and has majorities in both chambers of the legislature in a state government. Democrats held a trifecta in Virginia from 1992 to 1993. Republicans held trifectas from 2000 to 2001 and 2012 to 2013. With the election of Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) in 2013, Virginia began operating under a divided government in 2014.

Virginia Party Control: 1992-2021
Four years of Democratic trifectas  •  Four years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21
Governor	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D
Senate	D	D	D	D	S	S	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	R	R	D	R	R	R	R	R	D	D
House	D	D	D	D	D	D	S	S	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D

Presidential politics in Virginia[edit]

In the 2016 presidential election, Virginia was a battleground state. Hillary Clinton (D) won Virginia with 49.7 percent of the vote. Donald Trump (R) received 44.4 percent. In presidential elections between 1900 and 2016, Virginia voted Democratic 56.67 percent of the time and Republican 43.33 percent of the time. In the five presidential elections between 2000 and 2016, Virginia voted Democratic three times (2008, 2012, and 2016) and Republican two times (2000 and 2004).

2016 Presidential election results[edit]

Presidential results by legislative district[edit]

The following table details results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections by state House districts in Virginia. Click [show] to expand the table. The "Obama," "Romney," "Clinton," and "Trump" columns describe the percent of the vote each presidential candidate received in the district. The "2012 Margin" and "2016 Margin" columns describe the margin of victory between the two presidential candidates in those years. The "Party Control" column notes which party held that seat heading into the 2017 general election. Data on the results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections broken down by state legislative districts was compiled by Daily Kos.^[31][32]

In 2012, Barack Obama (D) won 47 out of 100 state House districts in Virginia with an average margin of victory of 30 points. In 2016, Hillary Clinton (D) won 51 out of 100 state House districts in Virginia with an average margin of victory of 34.2 points. Clinton won 17 districts controlled by Republicans heading into the 2017 elections.

In 2012, Mitt Romney (R) won 53 out of 100 state House districts in Virginia with an average margin of victory of 18.1 points. In 2016, Donald Trump (R) won 49 out of 100 state House districts in Virginia in 2016 with an average margin of victory of 24 points.

2016 presidential results by state House district
District	Obama	Romney	2012 Margin	Clinton	Trump	2016 Margin	Party Control
1	26.01%	72.71%	R+46.7	17.62%	80.10%	R+62.5	R
2	59.04%	39.88%	D+19.2	57.87%	37.45%	D+20.4	R
3	24.88%	73.88%	R+49	16.30%	81.29%	R+65	R
4	30.47%	68.05%	R+37.6	20.81%	76.36%	R+55.6	R
5	29.44%	68.69%	R+39.2	21.26%	75.41%	R+54.2	R
6	31.26%	66.22%	R+35	20.71%	76.13%	R+55.4	R
7	38.17%	59.15%	R+21	32.27%	62.51%	R+30.2	R
8	37.06%	61.18%	R+24.1	33.07%	61.51%	R+28.4	R
9	34.21%	62.72%	R+28.5	26.42%	70.32%	R+43.9	R
10	47.48%	51.12%	R+3.6	50.29%	43.91%	D+6.4	R
11	63.96%	33.68%	D+30.3	60.60%	33.98%	D+26.6	D
12	50.73%	46.61%	D+4.1	47.72%	44.77%	D+2.9	R
13	54.95%	43.86%	D+11.1	54.77%	39.92%	D+14.8	R
14	49.19%	49.53%	R+0.3	44.65%	52.84%	R+8.2	R
15	34.05%	64.40%	R+30.3	24.93%	70.76%	R+45.8	R
16	42.68%	55.14%	R+12.5	36.89%	60.41%	R+23.5	R
17	38.69%	59.54%	R+20.9	35.00%	59.96%	R+25	R
18	40.27%	58.14%	R+17.9	34.98%	59.67%	R+24.7	R
19	35.32%	62.91%	R+27.6	25.64%	70.28%	R+44.6	R
20	41.44%	56.91%	R+15.5	36.92%	57.53%	R+20.6	R
21	51.95%	46.81%	D+5.1	49.18%	44.66%	D+4.5	R
22	37.61%	60.88%	R+23.3	31.63%	63.31%	R+31.7	R
23	33.96%	64.55%	R+30.6	32.18%	61.35%	R+29.2	R
24	37.17%	61.27%	R+24.1	30.70%	64.47%	R+33.8	R
25	37.74%	60.79%	R+23.1	36.85%	57.46%	R+20.6	R
26	43.14%	54.97%	R+11.8	42.74%	50.56%	R+7.8	R
27	45.26%	53.32%	R+8.1	45.81%	48.16%	R+2.3	R
28	49.30%	49.21%	D+0.1	46.64%	47.74%	R+1.1	R
29	38.60%	59.43%	R+20.8	33.50%	61.42%	R+27.9	R
30	42.64%	55.96%	R+13.3	35.53%	60.21%	R+24.7	R
31	53.13%	45.70%	D+7.4	52.74%	42.44%	D+10.3	R
32	52.24%	46.65%	D+5.6	57.53%	36.65%	D+20.9	R
33	41.81%	56.45%	R+14.6	40.36%	53.66%	R+13.3	R
34	49.79%	49.32%	D+0.5	58.10%	36.51%	D+21.6	D
35	59.84%	38.94%	D+20.9	66.43%	27.32%	D+39.1	D
36	64.03%	34.66%	D+29.4	69.42%	24.87%	D+44.6	D
37	60.39%	38.18%	D+22.2	65.57%	28.16%	D+37.4	D
38	66.42%	32.35%	D+34.1	70.87%	24.46%	D+46.4	D
39	61.92%	36.96%	D+25	67.36%	27.54%	D+39.8	D
40	47.57%	51.40%	R+3.8	52.73%	41.62%	D+11.1	R
41	58.04%	40.54%	D+17.5	63.39%	30.69%	D+32.7	D
42	52.75%	46.23%	D+6.5	58.77%	35.72%	D+23.1	R
43	65.21%	33.57%	D+31.6	69.49%	24.99%	D+44.5	D
44	64.98%	34.10%	D+30.9	69.46%	25.71%	D+43.8	D
45	67.94%	30.89%	D+37.1	75.38%	18.34%	D+57	D
46	73.73%	25.12%	D+48.6	77.76%	17.55%	D+60.2	D
47	68.31%	30.13%	D+38.2	76.64%	17.07%	D+59.6	D
48	63.31%	35.49%	D+27.8	71.85%	22.08%	D+49.8	D
49	75.00%	23.61%	D+51.4	79.63%	15.15%	D+64.5	D
50	54.09%	44.59%	D+9.5	54.16%	40.15%	D+14	R
51	51.24%	47.44%	D+3.8	51.55%	42.62%	D+8.9	R
52	72.55%	26.36%	D+46.2	72.58%	23.01%	D+49.6	D
53	66.48%	31.97%	D+34.5	71.31%	22.32%	D+49	D
54	46.04%	52.64%	R+6.6	41.88%	52.70%	R+10.8	R
55	40.01%	58.64%	R+18.6	37.19%	57.63%	R+20.4	R
56	37.44%	61.34%	R+23.9	38.46%	56.43%	R+18	R
57	70.14%	28.16%	D+42	74.82%	18.60%	D+56.2	D
58	41.25%	57.33%	R+16.1	39.65%	54.40%	R+14.8	R
59	40.11%	58.41%	R+18.3	34.52%	61.75%	R+27.2	R
60	47.49%	51.18%	R+3.7	41.79%	55.34%	R+13.5	R
61	44.83%	53.88%	R+9.1	39.36%	58.12%	R+18.8	R
62	46.44%	52.35%	R+5.9	45.21%	50.46%	R+5.2	R
63	72.77%	26.55%	D+46.2	67.44%	30.24%	D+37.2	D
64	41.38%	57.51%	R+16.1	36.76%	59.48%	R+22.7	R
65	34.42%	64.18%	R+29.8	34.47%	59.99%	R+25.5	R
66	36.83%	62.01%	R+25.2	36.51%	59.15%	R+22.6	R
67	53.89%	45.00%	D+8.9	60.38%	33.68%	D+26.7	R
68	43.81%	54.71%	R+10.9	51.50%	40.73%	D+10.8	R
69	84.61%	14.11%	D+70.5	83.11%	12.09%	D+71	D
70	79.37%	19.88%	D+59.5	77.69%	19.25%	D+58.4	D
71	85.54%	12.90%	D+72.6	84.71%	9.97%	D+74.7	D
72	44.99%	53.66%	R+8.7	49.37%	44.00%	D+5.4	R
73	46.45%	52.11%	R+5.7	50.57%	42.73%	D+7.8	R
74	74.94%	24.21%	D+50.7	72.88%	23.86%	D+49	D
75	62.01%	37.16%	D+24.8	56.91%	41.13%	D+15.8	D
76	44.77%	54.11%	R+9.3	43.74%	51.51%	R+7.8	R
77	77.95%	21.34%	D+56.6	72.83%	23.87%	D+49	D
78	39.23%	59.55%	R+20.3	38.04%	56.86%	R+18.8	R
79	61.95%	36.63%	D+25.3	59.09%	35.41%	D+23.7	D
80	75.36%	23.77%	D+51.6	71.64%	24.42%	D+47.2	D
81	41.54%	57.13%	R+15.6	36.96%	57.43%	R+20.5	R
82	40.27%	58.51%	R+18.2	39.18%	54.73%	R+15.5	R
83	46.13%	52.51%	R+6.4	43.48%	50.52%	R+7	R
84	49.06%	49.69%	R+0.6	44.71%	49.15%	R+4.4	R
85	49.11%	49.37%	R+0.3	46.51%	47.06%	R+0.5	R
86	60.13%	38.55%	D+21.6	64.78%	29.48%	D+35.3	D
87	56.29%	42.45%	D+13.8	60.14%	34.51%	D+25.6	D
88	43.41%	55.11%	R+11.7	40.45%	53.98%	R+13.5	R
89	80.86%	18.07%	D+62.8	78.35%	17.04%	D+61.3	D
90	78.98%	20.16%	D+58.8	74.89%	21.26%	D+53.6	D
91	43.64%	54.82%	R+11.2	41.72%	52.58%	R+10.9	R
92	80.25%	18.85%	D+61.4	76.06%	20.20%	D+55.9	D
93	56.36%	42.33%	D+14	56.84%	37.64%	D+19.2	D
94	51.90%	46.60%	D+5.3	49.56%	44.01%	D+5.6	R
95	77.86%	21.12%	D+56.7	73.33%	22.68%	D+50.6	D
96	41.27%	57.52%	R+16.3	41.56%	52.86%	R+11.3	R
97	29.70%	69.13%	R+39.4	27.91%	67.45%	R+39.5	R
98	39.24%	59.29%	R+20	32.71%	62.81%	R+30.1	R
99	44.31%	54.54%	R+10.2	38.85%	57.47%	R+18.6	R
100	54.50%	44.33%	D+10.2	49.16%	46.56%	D+2.6	R
Total	51.25%	47.37%	D+3.9	50.15%	44.79%	D+5.4	-
Source: Daily Kos

Pivot Counties[edit]

Five counties in Virginia are Pivot Counties, counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and Donald Trump (R) in 2016. There are 206 Pivot Counties in the country, scattered mostly throughout the northern midwest and northeast. A total of 477 state house districts and 233 state senate districts intersect with these Pivot Counties. This includes districts that intersected with only small portions of a county as well as districts that overlapped with multiple counties. These 710 state legislative districts account for approximately 10 percent of all state legislative districts in the country. Six House districts in Virginia intersect with Pivot Counties. As of May 2017, Republicans controlled all six of them.

State house districts intersecting with Virginia Pivot Counties
County	Trump MoV 2016	Obama MoV 2012	Obama MoV 2008	District	Party
Buckingham	11.28%	2.43%	0.87%	District 59	R
Caroline	5.02%	8.24%	11.97%	District 54	R
				District 55	R
				District 99	R
Essex	2.14%	7.30%	10.35%	District 98	R
Nelson	5.59%	2.72%	9.15%	District 20	R
				District 59	R
Westmoreland	7.14%	6.95%	10.24%	District 99	R

Voter turnout in Virginia[edit]

Virginia has elections scheduled every year, with presidential elections occurring every other even-numbered year, congressional elections occurring every even-numbered year, state Senate elections occurring every other odd-numbered year, and state House elections occurring every odd-numbered year. The chart below shows turnout among registered voters in elections from 1997 to 2016. Note that turnout in presidential election years was the highest and that turnout in odd-numbered years tended to be lower than turnout in even-numbered years from 2008 to 2016.

The chart below shows voter turnout in odd-year elections from 1997 to 2015. The Virginia House of Delegates held elections every odd-numbered year from 1997 to 2015, while the Virginia State Senate held elections in 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, and 2015. Turnout tended to be higher in the years following presidential elections, which were also years where Virginia held gubernatorial elections.

The chart below shows the number of registered voters, ballots cast, and the turnout rate for all elections from 1997 to 2016. All data comes from the Virginia Department of Elections.^[33]

Voter turnout in Virginia elections: 1997-2016
Year	Registered voters	Ballots cast	Turnout
2016	5,529,742	3,984,631	72.1%
2015	5,196,436	1,509,864	29.1%
2014	5,281,011	2,194,346	41.6%
2013	5,240,286	2,253,418	43.0%
2012	5,428,833	3,858,043	71.1%
2011	5,116,929	1,463,761	28.6%
2010	5,032,144	2,214,503	44.0%
2009	4,955,750	2,000,812	40.4%
2008	5,034,660	3,723,260	74.0%
2007	4,549,864	1,374,526	30.2%
2006	4,554,683	2,398,589	52.7%
2005	4,452,225	2,000,052	44.9%
2004	4,517,980	3,198,367	70.8%
2003	4,217,227	1,296,955	30.8%
2002	4,219,957	1,331,915	31.6%
2001	4,109,127	1,905,511	46.4%
2000	4,073,644	2,739,447	67.2%
1999	3,808,754	1,373,527	36.1%
1998	3,724,683	1,229,139	33.0%
1997	3,565,697	1,764,476	49.5%

Historical partisan balance[edit]

Between 1991 and 2015, partisan control of the Virginia House of Delegates shifted in favor of the Republican Party. As a result of the 1991 elections, Democrats held a 52-47 majority. Republicans gained control of the chamber in 1999 and, by 2015, expanded their majority to 66-34. The table below shows the partisan history of the Virginia House of Delegates following every general election from 1992 to 2016. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

Virginia House of Delegates Party Control: 1991-2015

Party	91	93	95	97	99	01	03	05	07	09	11	13	15
Democrats	52	52	52	50	47	31	37	39	44	39	32	33	34
Republicans	47	47	47	49	52	67	61	58	54	59	67	67	66

Republicans began making gains in the state House after the 1997 elections, when they picked up two seats. The chamber moved to a 52-47 Republican majority after the 1999 elections. The largest change in the partisan balance of the state House occurred as a result of the 2001 elections, when Republicans expanded their majority by 15 seats. Democrats gained 13 seats between 2003 and 2007. In 2011, Republicans gained eights eats, moving the chamber to a 67-32 Republican majority.

Two-thirds of members present in both chambers must vote to override a veto. If all members are in attendance, this is 67 of the 100 members in the Virginia House of Delegates and 27 of the 40 members in the Virginia State Senate.

Competitiveness[edit]

See also: A "Competitiveness Index" for capturing competitiveness in state legislative elections

Every year since 2010, Ballotpedia has used official candidate lists from each state to examine the competitiveness of state legislative elections throughout the country. Nationally, there was a steady decline in electoral competitiveness between 2010 and 2016. Most notable is that the number of districts with general election competition dropped by more than

Open seats[edit]

See also: Open seats in the 2017 state legislative elections

In 2017, seven incumbents (7 percent) did not file to run for re-election, leaving seven seats open.

Open Seats in the Virginia House of Delegates: 2011 - 2017
Year	Total seats	Open seats	Seats with incumbents running for re-election
2017	100	7 (7 percent)	93 (93 percent)
2015	100	9 (9 percent)	91 (91 percent)
2013	100	9 (9 percent)	91 (91 percent)
2011	100	14 (14 percent)	86 (86 percent)

Major party candidates with and without major party competition[edit]

See also: Major party candidates with major party competition in the November 2017 state legislative elections

In 2017, there were 40 seats in the Virginia House where a major party candidate faced no major party opposition. These 40 seats included 28 Democratic seats and 12 Republican seats. In 2015, the last time the Virginia House held elections prior to 2017, there were 71 seats where candidates faced no major party opposition. These seats included 27 Democratic seats and 44 Republican seats.

On November 7, 2017, Democrats sought to defend six seats against Republican challengers, while Republicans sought to defend 54 seats against Democratic challengers.

Races with and without major party opposition in the Virginia House of Delegates
Year	Total races	Races without major party opposition	Races with major party opposition	Democrats without major party opposition	Republicans without major party opposition
2017	100	40 (40 percent)	60 (60 percent)	28	12
2015	100	71 (71 percent)	29 (29 percent)	27	44
2013	100	56 (56 percent)	64 (64 percent)	22	34

Incumbents who did not file for re-election in 2017[edit]

See also: Virginia gubernatorial election, 2017

The following incumbents did not file for re-election in 2017:^[34][35]

• Mark Dudenhefer (R) - District 2
• Bill Howell (R) - District 28
• Dave Albo (R) - District 42
• Peter Farrell (R) - District 56
• Rick Morris (R) - District 64
• Jimmie Massie (R) - District 72
• Daun Sessoms Hester (D) - District 89

Contested primaries[edit]

See also: Primary competitiveness in 2017 state legislative elections

The Virginia House of Delegates has 100 seats in 100 districts. A primary in Virginia was considered contested if more than one candidate filed to run for a seat. Virginia parties also use conventions and caucuses to select the candidates who will represent them on the general election ballot. Ballotpedia does not track conventions or caucuses, counting districts that do not have primaries as uncontested.

Out of 200 possible primaries in the Virginia House of Delegates, 26 (13 percent) were contested in 2017: 20 Democratic primaries and six Republican primaries. This was the greatest number of contested primaries and the greatest disparity between Democratic and Republican primaries since 2009.

In 2009, there were 12 contested primaries: eight Democratic primaries and four Republican primaries. In 2011, there were seven contested primaries: two Democratic primaries and five Republican primaries. In 2013, there were 12 contested primaries: three Democratic primaries and nine Republican primaries. In 2015, there were 10 contested primaries: six Democratic primaries and four Republican primaries.

Contested Primaries in the Virginia House of Delegates: 2009 to 2017
Year	Possible primaries	Total contested primaries	Democratic contested primaries	Republican contested primaries
2017	200	26 (13 percent)	20	6
2015	200	10 (5 percent)	6	4
2013	200	12 (6 percent)	3	9
2011	200	7 (4 percent)	2	5
2009	200	12 (6 percent)	8	4

Incumbents who faced primary challengers[edit]

See also: Incumbents with a primary challenger in the 2017 state legislative elections

In 2017, six incumbents faced challengers in the 2017 primary elections: four Democrats and two Republicans.^[36] In 2015 and 2013, two incumbents in the Virginia House were defeated by challengers in primary elections.

Incumbents who faced primary challengers: 2011 - 2017
Year	Total seats	Seats with incumbents running for re-election	Incumbents facing primary challengers	Incumbents defeated in a primary
2017	100	93 (93 percent)	6 (6.4 percent)	0
2015	100	91 (91 percent)	6 (6.5 percent)	2
2013	100	91 (91 percent)	7 (7.6 percent)	2
2011	100	86 (86 percent)	1 (1.1 percent)	0

Historical context[edit]

See also: Competitiveness in State Legislative Elections: 1972-2014

Uncontested elections: In 2014, 32.8 percent of Americans lived in states with an uncontested state senate election. Similarly, 40.4 percent of Americans lived in states with uncontested house elections. Primary elections were uncontested even more frequently, with 61 percent of people living in states with no contested primaries. Uncontested elections often occur in locations that are so politically one-sided that the result of an election would be a foregone conclusion regardless of whether it was contested or not.

Open seats: In most cases, an incumbent will run for re-election, which decreases the number of open seats available. In 2014, 83 percent of the 6,057 seats up for election saw the incumbent running for re-election. The states that impose term limits on their legislatures typically see a higher percentage of open seats in a given year because a portion of incumbents in each election are forced to leave office. Overall, the number of open seats decreased from 2012 to 2014, dropping from 21.2 percent in 2012 to 17.0 percent in 2014.

Incumbent win rates: Ballotpedia's competitiveness analysis of elections between 1972 and 2014 documented the high propensity for incumbents to win re-election in state legislative elections. In fact, since 1972, the win rate for incumbents had not dropped below 90 percent—with the exception of 1974, when 88 percent of incumbents were re-elected to their seats. Perhaps most importantly, the win rate for incumbents generally increased over time. In 2014, 96.5 percent of incumbents were able to retain their seats. Common convention holds that incumbents are able to leverage their office to maintain their seat. However, the high incumbent win rate may actually be a result of incumbents being more likely to hold seats in districts that are considered safe for their party.

Marginal primaries: Often, competitiveness is measured by examining the rate of elections that have been won by amounts that are considered marginal (5 percent or less). During the 2014 election, 90.1 percent of primary and general election races were won by margins higher than 5 percent. Interestingly, it is usually the case that only one of the two races—primary or general—will be competitive at a time. This means that if a district's general election is competitive, typically one or more of the district's primaries were won by more than 5 percent. The reverse is also true: If a district sees a competitive primary, it is unlikely that the general election for that district will be won by less than 5 percent. Primaries often see very low voter turnout in comparison to general elections. In 2014, there were only 27 million voters for state legislative primaries, but approximately 107 million voters for the state legislative general elections.

See also[edit]

• Virginia House of Delegates
• Virginia State Legislature
• State legislative elections, 2017

External links[edit]

• Virginia State Legislature

Footnotes[edit]