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Day 2 –
Virginia Political History
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The “Solid South”
(Presidential Elections)
Virginia voted for Republican Candidate in 1872, 1928, 1952, and 1956
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Partisan Breakdown in Virginia – Presidential Elections (1960-2016)
1960-1968 1972 1976 1980-2004 2008-2016
Current Virginia At the beginning of 2017, Virginia was one of 19 states under divided government Statewide offices (Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, United States Senators) controlled by Democrats. House of Delegates and State Senate Controlled by Republicans (House 66-34, Senate 21-19) House of Representatives – 7 Republicans, 4 Democrats
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Recent Virginia Election History Presidential elections 1992-2016, Republican candidates won four times, Democratic candidates won three times. In 2016, Virginia was a closely watched battleground state Democrat Hillary Clinton defeated Republican Donald Trump 49.7% to 44.0%
2016 Presidential Election Clinton defeated Trump in 51 out of 100 House of Delegates districts Trump defeated Clinton in six of 11 Congressional districts Five counties in Virginia—Buckingham, Caroline, Essex, Nelson, and Westmoreland—voted for Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012 but voted for Trump in 2016.
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Virginian Election History From 1977 through 2009, the Virginia Gubernatorial Election went against the Presidential Election from the previous year: 1977 – Republican wins after Carter (D) wins in 1976 1981 – Democrat wins after Reagan (R) wins in 1980 1985 – Democrat wins after Reagan (R) wins in 1984 1989 – Democrat wins after Bush (R) wins in 1988 1993 – Republican wins after Clinton (D) wins in 1992 1997 – Republican wins after Clinton (D) wins in 1996 2001 – Democrat wins after Bush (R) wins in 2000 2005 – Democrat wins after Bush (R) wins in 2004 2009 – Republican wins after Obama (D) wins in 2008
Partisan Breakdown in Virginia - Governors
Number of Years Party Breakdown Governors
1874-1902 8 All Democrats
1906-1966 16 All Democrats
6 Republicans, 1970-2014 12 6 Democrats
Partisan Breakdown in Virginia – United States Senators Years Congress Party Breakdown 1881-1887 47th – 49th 1 Republican, 1 Democrat 1887-1965 50th - 88th 2 Democrats 1965-1973 89th – 92nd 1 Independent, 1 Democrat 1973-1983 93rd – 97th 1 Independent, 1 Republican 1983-1989 98th – 100th 2 Republicans 1989-2001 101st – 106th 1 Republican, 1 Democrat 2001-2007 107th – 109th 2 Republicans 2007-2009 110th 1 Republican, 1 Democrat 2009-2017 111th – 115th 2 Democrats
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Partisan Breakdown in Virginia – United States House of Representatives Number of Number of Years Party Breakdown Districts Elections 1885-1901 10 8 73 Democrats, 7 Republicans
1903-1933 10 16 145 Democrats, 15 Republicans
1935-1953 9 10 All Democrats
1955-1967 10 8 79 Democrats, 11 Republicans
1969-1991 10 12 42 Democrats, 78 Republicans 64 Democrats, 78 Republicans,1 1993-2017 11 13 Independent
(Current)
Partisan Breakdown in Virginia – State Senate Year Democrats Republicans 1960 38 2 1970 33 7 1980 32 9 1990 30 10 2000 19 21 2010 22 18 2017 19 21 Note: --Republicans and Democrats were tied 20-20 from 1996-2000 and again from 2012-2015. When there is a tie, the Lt. Governor acts as the tie-breaker. From 1996- 2000, Lt. Gov. was a Republican. From 2012-2015, Lt. Gov. was a Democrat
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Virginia State Senate – (Current)
M. Mason
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Partisan Breakdown in Virginia – House of Delegates Year Democrats Republicans Independents 1960 96 6 0 1970 75 24 1 1980 74 25 1 1990 59 40 1 2000 50 49 1 2010 39 59 2 2016 34 66 0
Note: 1974-76 – 65 Democrats, 20 Republicans, 15 Independents
(Current)
Years Political Era 1945-53 The Byrd Organization’s Loosening Grip 1954-63 Massive Resistance 1964-67 New Democratic Coalition 1968-71 The Holton GOP 1972-75 Rapid Realignment 1976-80 Republican Ascendancy 1981-92 The Democratic Decade 1993-99 “Virginia Renaissance” 2000-06 “Sensible Center”
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