Virginia's 8th congressional district

Virginia's 8th congressional district
Virginia's 8th congressional district - since January 3, 2013.
Current Representative		Don Beyer (D–Alexandria)
Population (2011)	767,596
Median income	$92,181
Ethnicity	64.5% White, 13.7% Black, 9.5% Asian, 16.4% Hispanic, 0.3% Native American, 0.5% other
Cook PVI	D+16[1]

Virginia's 8th congressional district is a United States congressional district in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It comprises all of Arlington County, portions of Fairfax County and all of the independent cities of Alexandria and Falls Church.

The residents of the 8th district are currently represented by Democratic Congressman Don Beyer, first elected to the 8th's seat in the House of Representatives in 2014. It is the second-most Democratic district in Virginia (only the 3rd district is more Democratic), and one of the most Democratic white-majority districts in the South.

Election results from statewide races

Year	Office	Results
1996	President	Clinton 55 – 40%
	Senator	Warner 51 – 49%
1997	Governor	Beyer 55 – 44%
	Lieutenant Governor	Payne 54 – 42%
	Attorney General	Dolan 55 – 45%
2000	President	Gore 58 – 38%
	Senator	Robb 60 – 40%
2001	Governor	Warner 62 – 37%
	Lieutenant Governor	Kaine 61 – 38%
	Attorney General	McEachin 57 – 43%
2004	President	Kerry 64 – 35%
2008	President	Obama 69 – 30%

Geography

Encompassing much of Northern Virginia's suburbs of Washington, D.C., Virginia's 8th District includes Arlington County, parts of Fairfax County, and the independent cities of Alexandria and Falls Church.

Demographics

As of 2000, the district has 643,503 residents, 13.7% are African American, 9.5% are Asian, 16.4% are Hispanic and 64.5% are white.^[2]

Virginia's eighth congressional district is traditionally a Democratic stronghold, most notably in the urban communities of Arlington and Alexandria.

Recent elections

Virginia's 8th congressional district election, 1960
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Howard W. Smith (inc.)	42,809	75.7
	Republican	Lawrence M. Traylor	13,410	23.7
	Write-ins		364	0.6
Total votes			56,583	100.00
	Democratic hold

Virginia's 8th congressional district election, 1962
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Howard W. Smith (inc.)	20,931	98.7
	Write-ins		267	1.3
Total votes			21,198	100.00
	Democratic hold

Virginia's 8th congressional district election, 1964
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Howard W. Smith (inc.)	49,440	69.4
	Independent	Floyd Caldwell Bagley	21,813	30.6
	Write-ins		4	<0.1
Total votes			71,257	100.00
	Democratic hold

Virginia's 8th congressional district election, 1966
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	William L. Scott	50,782	57.2
	Democratic	George Rawlings	37,929	42.7
	Write-ins		21	<0.1
Total votes			88,732	100.00
	Republican gain from Democratic

Virginia's 8th congressional district election, 1968
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	William L. Scott (inc.)	68,167	64.9
	Democratic	Andrew H. McCutcheon	49,731	35.1
	Write-ins		1	<0.1
Total votes			141,853	100.00
	Republican hold

Virginia's 8th congressional district election, 1970
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	William L. Scott (inc.)	68,167	63.8
	Democratic	Darrell Stearns	38,680	36.2
	Write-ins		8	<0.1
Total votes			106,855	100.00
	Republican hold

Virginia's 8th congressional district election, 1972
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Stanford Parris	60,446	44.4
	Democratic	Robert F. Horan	51,444	37.8
	Independent	William Durland	18,654	13.7
	Independent	Robert E. Harris	5,553	4.1
	Write-ins		2	<0.1
Total votes			136,099	100.00
	Republican hold

Virginia's 8th congressional district election, 1974
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Herbert Harris	53,074	57.6
	Republican	Stanford Parris (inc.)	38,997	42.4
	Write-ins		11	<0.1
Total votes			92,082	100.00
	Democratic gain from Republican

Virginia's 8th congressional district election, 1976
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Herbert Harris (inc.)	83,245	51.6
	Republican	James R. Tate	68,729	42.6
	Independent	Michael D. Cannon	9,292	5.8
	Write-ins		61	<0.1
Total votes			161,327	100.00
	Democratic hold

Virginia's 8th congressional district election, 1978
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Herbert Harris (inc.)	56,137	50.5
	Independent	Charles Coe	52,396	47.1
	Republican	Jack Herrity	2,632	2.4
	Write-ins		5	<0.1
Total votes			111,170	100.00
	Democratic hold

Virginia's 8th congressional district election, 1980
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Stanford Parris	95,624	48.8
	Democratic	Herbert Harris (inc.)	94,530	48.3
	Independent	Deborah Frantz	5,729	2.9
	Write-ins		14	<0.1
Total votes			195,897	100.00
	Republican gain from Democratic

Virginia's 8th congressional district election, 1982
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Stanford Parris (inc.)	69,620	49.7
	Democratic	Herbert Harris	68,071	48.6
	Independent	Austin Morrill	2,373	1.7
	Write-ins		6	<0.1
Total votes			140,070	100.00
	Republican hold

Virginia's 8th congressional district election, 1984
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Stanford Parris (inc.)	125,015	55.8
	Democratic	Richard L. Saslaw	97,250	43.4
	Independent	Donald W. Carpenter	1,814	0.8
	Write-ins		12	<0.1
Total votes			224,091	100.00
	Republican hold

Virginia's 8th congressional district election, 1986
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Stanford Parris (inc.)	72,670	61.8
	Democratic	James H. Boren	44,965	38.2
	Write-ins		20	<0.1
Total votes			117,655	100.00
	Republican hold

Virginia's 8th congressional district election, 1988
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Stanford Parris (inc.)	154,761	62.3
	Democratic	David Brickley	93,561	37.7
	Write-ins		78	<0.1
Total votes			248,400	100.00
	Republican hold

Virginia's 8th congressional district election, 1990
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jim Moran	88,475	51.7
	Republican	Stanford Parris (inc.)	76,367	44.6
	Independent	Robert Murphy	5,958	3.5
	Write-ins		321	0.2
Total votes			171,121	100.00
	Democratic gain from Republican

Virginia's 8th congressional district election, 1992
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jim Moran (inc.)	138,542	56.1
	Republican	Kyle E. McSlarrow	102,717	41.6
	Independent	Alvin West	5,601	2.3
	Write-ins		266	0.1
Total votes			247,126	100.00
	Democratic hold

Virginia's 8th congressional district election, 1994
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jim Moran (inc.)	120,281	59.3
	Republican	Kyle E. McSlarrow	79,568	39.3
	Independent	R. Ward Edmonds	1,858	0.9
	Independent	William Jones	868	0.4
	Write-ins		98	<0.1
Total votes			202,673	100.00
	Democratic hold

Virginia's 8th congressional district election, 1996
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jim Moran (inc.)	152,334	66.4
	Republican	John Otey	64,562	28.1
	Reform	R. Ward Edmonds	6,243	2.7
	Independent	Sarina Grosswald	5,239	2.3
	Independent	Charles Severance	740	0.3
	Write-ins		303	0.1
Total votes			229,421	100.00
	Democratic hold

Virginia's 8th congressional district election, 1998
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jim Moran (inc.)	97,545	66.7
	Republican	Demaris H. Miller	48,352	33.1
	Write-ins		390	0.3
Total votes			146,287	100.00
	Democratic hold

Virginia's 8th congressional district election, 2000
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jim Moran (inc.)	164,178	63.3
	Republican	Demaris H. Miller	88,262	34.1
	Independent	Ronald V. Crickenberger	3,483	1.3
	Independent	Rick Herron	2,805	1.1
	Write-ins		471	0.2
Total votes			259,199	100.00
	Democratic hold

Virginia's 8th congressional district election, 2002
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jim Moran (inc.)	102,759	59.8
	Republican	Scott C. Tate	64,121	37.3
	Independent	Ronald V. Crickenberger	4,558	2.7
	Write-ins		361	0.2
Total votes			171,799	100.00
	Democratic hold

Virginia's 8th congressional district election, 2004
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jim Moran (inc.)	171,986	59.7
	Republican	Lisa Marie Cheney	106,231	36.9
	Independent	Jim Hurysz	9,004	3.1
	Write-ins		698	0.2
Total votes			287,919	100.00
	Democratic hold

Virginia's 8th congressional district election, 2006
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jim Moran (inc.)	144,700	66.4
	Republican	Tom M. O'Donoghue	66,639	30.6
	Independent	Jim Hurysz	6,094	2.8
	Write-ins		476	0.2
Total votes			217,909	100.00
	Democratic hold

Virginia's 8th congressional district election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jim Moran (inc.)	222,986	67.9
	Republican	Mark W. Ellmore	97,425	29.7
	Independent Greens	J. Ron Fisher	6,829	2.1
	Other	Write-in candidates	957	0.3
Total votes			328,197	100
	Democratic hold

Virginia's 8th congressional district election, 2010
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jim Moran (inc.)	116,293	61.0
	Republican	Patrick Murray	71,108	37.3
	Independent Greens	J. Ron Fisher	2,704	1.4
	Other	Write-in candidates	492	0.2
Total votes			233,368	100
Voter turnout			49.0%
	Democratic hold

Virginia's 8th Congressional District election, 2012 [3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jim Moran (inc.)	226,847	64.6
	Republican	Patrick Murray	107,370	30.6
	Independent	Jason Howell	10,180	2.9
	Independent Greens	Janet Murphy	5,985	1.7
	Write-in		805	0.2
Total votes			351,187	100
	Democratic hold

Virginia's 8th Congressional District election, 2014 [4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Don Beyer	128,102	63.1
	Republican	Micah Edmond	63,810	31.4
	Independent	Gwendolyn Beck	5,420	2.7
	Libertarian	Jeffrey Carson	4,409	2.2
	Independent Greens	Gerry Blais	963	0.5
	Write-in		372	0.2
Total votes			203,076	100
	Democratic hold

List of representatives

Representative	Party	Years	Electoral history
Josiah Parker	Anti-Administration	March 4, 1789 – March 3, 1793	Elected to Virginia 11th District
Thomas Claiborne	Anti-Administration	March 4, 1793 – March 3, 1795	Re-elected as Democratic-Republican
	Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1795 – March 3, 1799	Lost re-election
Samuel Goode	Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1799 – March 3, 1801	Lost re-election
Thomas Claiborne	Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1801 – March 3, 1803	Elected to Virginia 17th District
Walter Jones	Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1803 – March 3, 1811	Retired
John P. Hungerford	Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1811 – November 29, 1811	Election invalid
John Taliaferro	Democratic-Republican	November 29, 1811 – March 3, 1813	Lost re-election
Joseph Lewis, Jr.	Federalist	March 4, 1813 – March 3, 1817	Lost re-election
Charles F. Mercer	Federalist	March 4, 1817 – March 3, 1823	Elected to Virginia 14th District
Burwell Bassett	Crawford D-R	March 4, 1823 – March 3, 1825
	Jackson	March 4, 1825 – March 3, 1829	Lost re-election
Richard Coke, Jr.	Jackson	March 4, 1829 – March 3, 1833	Retired
Henry A. Wise	Jackson	March 4, 1833 – March 3, 1837	[Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
	Whig	March 4, 1837 – March 3, 1843	Elected to Virginia 7th District
Willoughby Newton	Whig	March 4, 1843 – March 3, 1845	Lost re-election
Robert M. T. Hunter	Whig	March 4, 1845 – March 3, 1847	Elected to U.S. Senate
Richard L. T. Beale	Democratic	March 4, 1847 – March 3, 1849	Retired
Alexander R. Holladay	Democratic	March 4, 1849 – March 3, 1853	Retired
Charles J. Faulkner, Sr.	Democratic	March 4, 1853 – March 3, 1859	Appointed Minister to France
Alexander R. Boteler	Opposition	March 4, 1859 – March 3, 1861	Retired
Vacant		March 4, 1861 – January 28, 1870	Civil War
James K. Gibson	Conservative	January 28, 1870 – March 3, 1871	Retired
William Terry	Democratic	March 4, 1871 – March 3, 1873	Lost re-election
Eppa Hunton	Democratic	March 4, 1873 – March 3, 1881	Retired
John S. Barbour, Jr.	Democratic	March 4, 1881 – March 3, 1887	Retired
William H. F. Lee	Democratic	March 4, 1887 – October 15, 1891	Died
Vacant		October 16, 1891 – December 8, 1891
Elisha E. Meredith	Democratic	December 9, 1891 – March 3, 1897	Retired
John F. Rixey	Democratic	March 4, 1897 – February 8, 1907	Died
Vacant		February 9, 1907 – November 4, 1907
Charles C. Carlin	Democratic	November 5, 1907 – March 3, 1919	Resigned
Vacant			March 4, 1919 – April 26, 1919
R. Walton Moore	Democratic	April 27, 1919 – March 3, 1931	Retired
Howard W. Smith	Democratic	March 4, 1931 – March 3, 1933	Elected to Virginia At-Large District
District eliminated March 4, 1933
District recreated: January 3, 1935
Howard W. Smith	Democratic	January 3, 1935 – January 3, 1967	Lost re-election
William L. Scott	Republican	January 3, 1967 – January 3, 1973	Elected to U.S. Senate
Stanford E. Parris	Republican	January 3, 1973 – January 3, 1975	Lost re-election
Herbert E. Harris	Democratic	January 3, 1975 – January 3, 1981	Lost re-election
Stanford E. Parris	Republican	January 3, 1981 – January 3, 1991	Lost re-election
Jim Moran	Democratic	January 3, 1991 – January 3, 2015	Retired
Don Beyer	Democratic	January 3, 2015 –	First elected in 2014

Historical district boundaries

2003 - 2013

See also

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

References

1. "Partisan Voting Index Districts of the 113th Congress: [prpvi2012_82cH~pspvi11~MC29] [82~PVIRANK~2B]" (PDF). The Cook Political Report. 2013. Retrieved 2013-04-27.
2. http://fastfacts.census.gov/servlet/CWSFacts?_event=ChangeGeoContext&geo_id=50000US5108&_geoContext=01000US%7C04000US51%7C50000US5107&_street=&_county=&_cd=50000US5108&_cityTown=&_state=04000US51&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&ActiveGeoDiv=&_useEV=&pctxt=fph&pgsl=500&_content=&_keyword=&_industry= Retrieved 2007-09-20.
3. "November 6, 2012 General Election Official Results". Virginia State Board of Elections. Retrieved December 14, 2012.
4. http://cms.sbe.virginia.gov/public/?p=election_summary&id=1&loc=true

Further reading

• 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

Coordinates: 38°46′46″N 77°08′23″W / 38.77944°N 77.13972°W