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2015 Virginia House of Delegates elections

← 2013 November 3, 2015 2017 →
All 100 seats in the Virginia House of Delegates 51 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	29.1% 13.9
Majority party Minority party   Leader Bill Howell David Toscano Party Republican Democratic Leader since January 8, 2003 November 19, 2011 Leader's seat 28th 57th Last election 67 33 Seats won 66 34 Seat change 1 1 Popular vote 798,868 451,865 Percentage 60.8% 34.4% Swing 7.0% 6.0%
Results:      Republican hold      Republican gain      Democratic hold      Democratic gain
Speaker before election Bill Howell Republican Elected Speaker Bill Howell Republican

Elections in Virginia
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v t e

The Virginia House of Delegates election of 2015 was held on Tuesday, November 3. All 100 seats of the Virginia House of Delegates were on the ballot. While Republicans maintained an enormous edge against Democrats in the chamber, their net loss of one seat cost them their previously held veto-proof majority against Governor Terry McAuliffe.

Background

The filing deadline for Republicans and Democrats to participate in the June 9 primaries was March 26. Incumbents Mamye BaCote, Ed Scott, Tom Rust, Rob Krupicka, and David Ramadan announced their intent to retire from the House. Joseph E. Preston, Michael Futrell, and Scott Surovell chose to run for the 16th, 29th, and 36th district senate seats, respectively, rather than seek reelection. Freshman delegate and Tea Party activist Mark Berg was defeated in the Republican primary by Chris Collins, and twenty-year incumbent Johnny Joannou was defeated by Steve Heretick in the Democratic primary. Races were uncontested in sixty-two districts, and there was only one major party candidate on the ballot in seventy-one districts.

In October, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld the boundaries of twelve House districts in a Democratic Party-supported lawsuit alleging racial gerrymandering.

Delegates not running for re-election

Results

Democrats picked up two seats, with Jennifer Boysko and John Bell being elected to succeed the retiring Tom Rust and David Ramadan. Mark Dudenhefer gave the Republicans a single pickup when he won back the seat he lost two years earlier to Michael Futrell. For the first time since the Virginia Public Access Project started tracking state elections in 1995, every single incumbent running for reelection was successful.

Overall

Seats, of total, by party

Votes, of total, by party

Party		Leader	Delegates				Votes
				Of total		±		Of total		±
Republican Party		William J. Howell	66	66%	66 / 100	1	798,868	60.79%
Democratic Party		David Toscano	34	34%	34 / 100	1	451,865	34.38%
Other parties
Independent / Other		N/A	0	0%	0 / 100		47,574	3.62%
Independent Green Party		N/A	0	0%	0 / 100		8,576	0.65%
Libertarian Party		N/A	0	0%	0 / 100		4,996	0.38%
Green Party		N/A	0	0%	0 / 100		2,367	0.18%

By district

Seats that changed hands

Democratic to Republican (1)

• 2nd district

Republican to Democratic (2)

• 86th district
• 87th district

Aftermath

Reaction

FairVote criticized the election results as demonstrative of Republican gerrymandering and the failures of winner-take-all voting. Stephen J. Farnsworth, a University of Mary Washington described the election in The Washington Post as a "tribute to gerrymandering," highlighting the lack of competitive races. The Democratic Party of Virginia framed "Democratic gains" in the House as having successfully "bucked the national trend as both a Southern state and presidential battleground state."

See also

• 2015 United States elections
• 2015 Virginia elections
  • 2015 Virginia Senate election

References

1. "Registration/Turnout Statistics". Virginia Department of Elections. Archived from the original on October 18, 2018. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
2. ^ Nolan, Jim (November 6, 2015). "Both sides declare win, but neither really did". Woodbridge: Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
3. "November 3, 2015 General Election: Candidacy Requirements for General Assembly Offices" (PDF). Elections.virginia.gov. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
4. Nolan, Jim (June 10, 2015). "Low turnout exposed incumbents vulnerable to upsets". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
5. ^ "List of Candidates, 2015 November General, Member House of Delegates" (PDF). Elections.virginia.gov. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
6. Cain, Andrew (October 22, 2015). "Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball - Vying for Virginia: The 2015 General Assembly Elections". University of Virginia Center for Politics. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
7. Cain, Andrew (October 22, 2015). "Three-judge panel upholds boundaries in 12 House of Delegates districts". Woodbridge: Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
8. Fain, Travis (January 15, 2015). "Newport News Delegate BaCote likely to retire post-session". Daily Press. Woodbridge. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
9. Kiser, Uriah (December 3, 2014). "Futrell Eyes Senate, Won't Seek Woodbridge — Stafford House Seat". Woodbridge: Potomac Local. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
10. Rothstein, Ethan (March 16, 2015). "Del. Rob Krupicka Won't Seek Re-Election". Arlington: ARLnow. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
11. "Preston to challenge Dance for Senate seat". Richmond Free Press. March 12, 2015. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
12. Portnoy, Jenna; Vozzella, Laura (April 15, 2015). "Del. David Ramadan, vocal critic of Dulles Greenway tolls, calls it quits". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
13. "Del. Rust announces he will not seek 8th term". Leesburg: InsideNoVA. February 25, 2015. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
14. "Ed Scott won't seek re-election to state House". The Daily Progress. February 3, 2015. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
15. "Surovell to announce run for state Senate". The Washington Post. January 17, 2015. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
16. Wilson, Patrick (November 5, 2015). "In a first, every Virginia General Assembly incumbent re-elected". The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
17. "2015 November General". results.elections.virginia.gov. Archived from the original on April 7, 2017. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
18. Smith, Haley (November 9, 2015). "Virginia Legislative Elections Highlight Problems with Winner-Take-All Elections". FairVote. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
19. Farnsworth, Stephen J. (November 5, 2015). "The 2015 election in Virginia: A tribute to gerrymandering". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 29, 2017.

• 2015 Virginia elections
• November 2015 events in the United States
• Virginia House of Delegates elections
• 2015 state legislature elections in the United States