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Virginia's 7th congressional district is a United States congressional district in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The district is currently represented by Democrat Abigail Spanberger, first elected in 2018.

Virginia's 7th congressional district
Virginia's 7th congressional district since January 3, 2017
Representative	Abigail Spanberger D–Glen Allen
Area	3,117.9 sq mi (8,075 km2)
Distribution	73.1% urban[1] 26.9% rural
Population (2021)	830,040[2]
Median household income	$89,823[3]
Ethnicity	65.5% White 18.4% Black 7.3% Hispanic 5.1% Asian 0.3% Native American
Cook PVI	R+3[4]

2016 redistricting

The Virginia Legislature's 2012 redistricting of the adjacent 3rd district was found unconstitutional and replaced with a court-ordered redistricting on January 16, 2016 for the 2016 elections.[5][6][7][8][9][10]

Recent election results

2000s

2000 Virginia's 7th congressional district election[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Eric Cantor	192,652	66.9
	Democratic	Warren Stewart	94,935	33.0
	Write-ins		304	0.1
Total votes			287,891	100.00

2002 Virginia's 7th congressional district election[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Eric Cantor (incumbent)	113,658	69.4
	Democratic	Ben Jones	49,854	30.5
	Write-ins		153	0.1
Total votes			163,665	100.00

2004 Virginia's 7th congressional district election[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Eric Cantor (incumbent)	230,765	75.5
	Independent	Ben Jones	74,325	24.3
	Write-ins		568	0.2
Total votes			305,658	100.00

2006 Virginia's 7th congressional district election[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Eric Cantor (incumbent)	163,706	63.8
	Democratic	James Nachman	88,206	34.4
	Independent	Brad Blanton	4,213	1.6
	Write-ins		272	0.1
Total votes			256,397	100.00

2008 Virginia's 7th congressional district election[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Eric Cantor (incumbent)	233,531	62.7
	Democratic	Anita Hartke	138,123	37.1
	Write-ins		683	0.2
Total votes			372,337	100.00

2010s

2010 Virginia's 7th congressional district election[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Eric Cantor (incumbent)	138,209	59.2
	Democratic	Rick Waugh	79,616	34.1
	Green	Floyd Bayne	15,164	6.5
	Write-ins		413	0.2
Total votes			233,402	100.00

2012 Virginia's 7th congressional district election[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Eric Cantor (incumbent)	222,983	58.4
	Democratic	Wayne Powell	158,012	41.4
	Write-ins		914	0.2
Total votes			381,909	100.00

2014 Virginia's 7th congressional district election[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	David Brat	148,026	60.8
	Democratic	Jack Trammell	89,914	36.9
	Libertarian	James Carr	5,086	2.1
	Write-ins		325	0.1
Total votes			243,351	100.00

2016 Virginia's 7th congressional district election[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	David Brat (incumbent)	218,057	57.5
	Democratic	Eileen Bedell	160,159	42.2
	Write-ins		947	0.2
Total votes			379,163	100.00

2018 Virginia's 7th congressional district election[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Abigail Spanberger	176,079	50.3
	Republican	David Brat (incumbent)	169,295	48.4
	Libertarian	Joe Walton	4,216	1.2
	Write-ins		213	0.1
Total votes			349,831	100.00

2020s

2020 Virginia's 7th congressional district election[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Abigail Spanberger (incumbent)	232,995	50.9
	Republican	Nick Freitas	224,679	49.1
Total votes			457,674	100.00

Recent results in statewide elections

Year	Office	Results
1996	President	Dole 58%–35%[22]
	Senator	Warner 59%–41%[23]
1997	Governor	Gilmore 64%–34%[24]
	Lieutenant Governor	Hager 59%–37%[25]
	Attorney General	Earley 66%–34%[26]
2000	President	Bush 61%–37%[27]
	Senator	Allen 61%–38%[28]
2001	Governor	Earley 55%–44%[29]
	Lieutenant Governor	Katzen 52%–47%
	Attorney General	Kilgore 70%–30%
2002	Senator	Warner 86%–8%–6%[30]
2004	President	Bush 61%–38%[31]
2006	Senator	Allen 57%–42%[32]
2005	Governor	Kilgore 52%–46%[33]
	Lieutenant Governor	Bolling 58%–42%[34]
	Attorney General	McDonnell 58%–42%[35]
2008	President	McCain 53%–46%[36]
	Senator	Warner 60%–39%[37]
2009	Governor	McDonnell 65%–35%[38]
	Lieutenant Governor	Bolling 63%–37%[39]
	Attorney General	Cuccinelli 65%–35%[40]
2012	President	Romney 57%–42%[41]
	Senator	Allen 55%–45%[42]
2013	Governor	Cuccinelli 52%–38%–10%[43]
	Lieutenant Governor	Northam 51%–49%[44]
	Attorney General	Obenshain 58%–42%[45]
2014	Senator	Gillespie 56%–41%–3%[46]
2016	President	Trump 50%–44%[47]
2017	Governor	Gillespie 51%–48%[48]
	Lieutenant Governor	Vogel 53%–47%[49]
	Attorney General	Adams 53%–47%[50]
2018	Senator	Kaine 52%–46%[51]
2020	President	Biden 49%–48%[52]
2021	Governor	Youngkin 55%–44%[53]

Geography

The district spans across much of Central Virginia including all of Orange, Culpeper, Goochland, Louisa, Nottoway, Amelia, and Powhatan counties. The district also includes large portions of Chesterfield and Henrico counties in the suburbs of Richmond. However, Richmond is not currently in the 7th. Spotsylvania County also has a large portion in the 7th district just outside of Fredericksburg.[54]

Prior to 1993, the 7th District stretched from the fringes of the Washington, D.C. suburbs to Charlottesville. Until the 1970s, it included most of the Shenandoah Valley. After the 1973 census, it lost most of the Valley except for Winchester, while picking up Manassas and Fredericksburg. The district's current configuration dates from 1993, when Virginia was forced to create a majority-minority district by a Justice Department directive. At that time, most of Richmond, which had been entirely in the old 3rd District for over a century, was shifted to a newly created 3rd District. The remaining territory in the old 3rd was combined with some more rural areas to the north to form the new 7th District.

From 2013 to 2017, the 7th District stretched from the west end of Richmond through the wealthier portions of Henrico and Chesterfield counties before taking in all of Goochland, Hanover, Louisa, New Kent, Orange, Culpeper, Page and Rappahannock counties and a portion of Spotsylvania County.

Demographics

According to the United States Census Bureau's 2017 data for Virginia's 7th Congressional District, the total population of the district is 790,084. Median age for the district is 39.7 years. 65.5% of the district is Non-Hispanic White, 18.4% Black, 5.1% Asian, 0.3% Native American or Alaskan, and 3.4% some other race with 7.3% Hispanic or Latino. Owner-occupied housing is 73.0% and renter-occupied housing is 27.0%.[55] The median value of single-family owner-occupied homes is $266,500. 91.6% of the district population has at least a high school diploma, 40.4% at least a bachelor's degree or higher. 9.1% of the district are civilian veterans. 9.1% are foreign born and 11.9% speak a language other than English at home. 9.9% are of disability status.[56] 68.2% of the district is in the labor force, which consists of those 16 years and older. Mean travel time to work is 29.3 minutes. Median household income is $77,533. Per capita income is $37,567. 5.3% of the population account for families living below the poverty level, and 7.7% of individuals live below the poverty level.[57] 9.5% of Children live below the poverty line.[58]

List of members representing the district

Representative	Party	Term	Cong ress	Electoral history
John Page	Anti-Administration	March 4, 1789 – March 3, 1793	1st 2nd	Elected in 1789. Re-elected in 1790. Redistricted to the 12th district.
Abraham B. Venable	Anti-Administration	March 4, 1793 – March 3, 1795	3rd 4th 5th	Redistricted from the 6th district and re-elected in 1793. Re-elected in 1795. Re-elected in 1797. Retired.
	Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1795 – March 3, 1799
John Randolph	Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1799 – March 3, 1803	6th 7th	Elected in 1799. Re-elected in 1801. Redistricted to the 15th district.
Joseph Lewis Jr.	Federalist	March 4, 1803 – March 3, 1813	8th 9th 10th 11th 12th	Elected in 1803. Re-elected in 1805. Re-elected in 1807. Re-elected in 1809. Re-elected in 1811. Redistricted to the 8th district.
Hugh Caperton	Federalist	March 4, 1813 – March 3, 1815	13th	Elected in 1813. Lost re-election.
Ballard Smith	Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1815 – March 3, 1821	14th 15th 16th	Elected in 1815. Re-elected in 1817. Re-elected in 1819. Lost re-election.
William Smith	Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1821 – March 3, 1823	17th	Elected in 1821. Redistricted to the 21st district.
Jabez Leftwich	Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1823 – March 3, 1825	18th	Redistricted from the 14th district and re-elected in 1823. Lost re-election.
Nathaniel Claiborne	Jacksonian	March 4, 1825 – March 3, 1835	19th 20th 21st 22nd 23rd 24th	Elected in 1825. Re-elected in 1827. Re-elected in 1829. Re-elected in 1831. Re-elected in 1833. Re-elected in 1835. Lost re-election.
	Anti-Jacksonian	March 4, 1835 – March 3, 1837
Archibald Stuart	Democratic	March 4, 1837 – March 3, 1839	25th	Elected in 1837. Lost re-election.
William L. Goggin	Whig	March 4, 1839 – March 3, 1843	26th 27th	Elected in 1839. Re-elected in 1841. Lost re-election.
Henry A. Wise	Democratic	March 4, 1843 – February 12, 1844	28th	Elected in 1843. Resigned.
Vacant		February 13, 1844 – May 5, 1844
Thomas H. Bayly	Democratic	May 6, 1844 – March 3, 1853	28th 29th 30th 31st 32nd	Elected to finish Wise's term. Re-elected in 1845. Re-elected in 1847. Re-elected in 1849. Re-elected in 1851. Redistricted to the 1st district.
William Smith	Democratic	March 4, 1853 – March 3, 1861	33rd 34th 35th 36th	Elected in 1853. Re-elected in 1855. Re-elected in 1857. Re-elected in 1859. Resigned.
Vacant		March 4, 1861 – May 22, 1861	37th
Charles H. Upton	Unionist	May 23, 1861 – February 27, 1862		Election invalidated.
Vacant		February 28, 1862 – February 15, 1863
Lewis McKenzie	Unionist	February 16, 1863 – March 3, 1863		Elected to finish Upton's term. Lost re-election.[59]
Inactive		March 4, 1863 – January 30, 1870	38th 39th 40th 41st	Civil War/Reconstruction
Lewis McKenzie	Conservative	January 31, 1870 – March 3, 1871	41st	Elected in 1870. Lost re-election.
Elliott M. Braxton	Democratic	March 4, 1871 – March 3, 1873	42nd	Elected in 1870. Lost re-election.
John T. Harris	Democratic	March 4, 1873 – March 3, 1881	43rd 44th 45th 46th	Elected in 1872. Re-elected in 1874. Re-elected in 1876. Re-elected in 1878. Retired.
John Paul	Readjuster	March 4, 1881 – September 5, 1883	47th 48th	Elected in 1880. Re-elected in 1882. Appointed U.S. District Court judge.
Vacant		September 6, 1883 – May 4, 1884	48th
Charles T. O'Ferrall	Democratic	May 5, 1884 – December 28, 1893	48th 49th 50th 51st 52nd 53rd	Elected to finish Paul's term. Re-elected in 1884. Re-elected in 1886. Re-elected in 1888. Re-elected in 1890. Re-elected in 1892. Retired to run for Governor of Virginia.
Vacant		December 29, 1893 – January 29, 1894	53rd
Smith S. Turner	Democratic	January 30, 1894 – March 3, 1897	53rd 54th	Elected to finish O'Ferrall's term. Re-elected in 1894. Retired.
James Hay	Democratic	March 4, 1897 – October 1, 1916	55th 56th 57th 58th 59th 60th 61st 62nd 63rd 64th	Elected in 1896. Re-elected in 1898. Re-elected in 1900. Re-elected in 1902. Re-elected in 1904. Re-elected in 1906. Re-elected in 1908. Re-elected in 1910. Re-elected in 1912. Re-elected in 1914. Appointed U.S. Claim Court judge.
Vacant		October 2, 1916 – November 6, 1916	64th
Thomas W. Harrison	Democratic	November 7, 1916 – December 15, 1922	64th 65th 66th 67th	Elected to finish Hay's term. Re-elected in 1916. Re-elected in 1918. Election invalidated.
John Paul Jr.	Republican	December 15, 1922 – March 3, 1923	67th	Elected in 1922. Lost re-election.
Thomas W. Harrison	Democratic	March 4, 1923 – March 3, 1929	68th 69th 70th	Elected in 1922. Re-elected in 1924. Re-elected in 1926. Lost re-election.
Jacob A. Garber	Republican	March 4, 1929 – March 3, 1931	71st	Elected in 1928. Lost re-election.
John W. Fishburne	Democratic	March 4, 1931 – March 3, 1933	72nd	Elected in 1930. Retired.
District eliminated March 4, 1933
District recreated January 3, 1935
Absalom Willis Robertson	Democratic	January 3, 1935 – November 5, 1946	74th 75th 76th 77th 78th 79th	Elected in 1934. Re-elected in 1936. Re-elected in 1938. Re-elected in 1940. Re-elected in 1942. Re-elected in 1944. Resigned to run for U.S. senator.
Burr Harrison	Democratic	November 5, 1946 – January 3, 1963	79th 80th 81st 82nd 83rd 84th 85th 86th 87th	Elected to finish Robertson's term. Re-elected in 1946. Re-elected in 1948. Re-elected in 1950. Re-elected in 1952. Re-elected in 1954. Re-elected in 1956. Re-elected in 1958. Re-elected in 1960. Retired.
John O. Marsh Jr.	Democratic	January 3, 1963 – January 3, 1971	88th 89th 90th 91st	Elected in 1962. Re-elected in 1964. Re-elected in 1966. Re-elected in 1968. Retired.
J. Kenneth Robinson	Republican	January 3, 1971 – January 3, 1985	92nd 93rd 94th 95th 96th 97th 98th	Elected in 1970. Re-elected in 1972. Re-elected in 1974. Re-elected in 1976. Re-elected in 1978. Re-elected in 1980. Re-elected in 1982. Retired.
D. French Slaughter Jr.	Republican	January 3, 1985 – November 5, 1991	99th 100th 101st 102nd	Elected in 1984. Re-elected in 1986. Re-elected in 1988. Resigned.
George F. Allen	Republican	November 5, 1991 – January 3, 1993	102nd	Elected to finish Slaughter's term. Re-elected in 1990. Retired to run for Governor of Virginia.
Thomas J. Bliley Jr.	Republican	January 3, 1993 – January 3, 2001	103rd 104th 105th 106th	Redistricted from the 3rd district and re-elected in 1992. Re-elected in 1994. Re-elected in 1996. Re-elected in 1998. Retired.
Eric Cantor	Republican	January 3, 2001 – August 18, 2014	107th 108th 109th 110th 111th 112th 113th	Elected in 2000. Re-elected in 2002. Re-elected in 2004. Re-elected in 2006. Re-elected in 2008. Re-elected in 2010. Re-elected in 2012. Lost renomination and then resigned.
Vacant		August 18, 2014 – November 4, 2014	113th
Dave Brat	Republican	November 4, 2014 – January 3, 2019	113th 114th 115th	Elected to finish Cantor's term and also to the next term. Re-elected in 2016. Lost re-election.
Abigail Spanberger	Democratic	January 3, 2019 – present	116th 117th	Elected in 2018. Re-elected in 2020. Re-elected in 2022.

Historical district boundaries

See also

• Virginia's congressional districts
• List of United States congressional districts

References

• Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
• Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
• Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present

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