congressional districtVirginia 3rd Congressional District
presidential margin
2004–2024 · Democratic minus Republican
2004D+14.7
2008D+35.0
2012D+37.5
2016D+33.3
2020D+38.1
2024D+34.6
net swing · 2004→2024D+19.9D+14.7 → D+34.6
vs. U.S. · 2024D+36.0D+34.6 vs R+1.5
presidential returns
2024 turnout 55.0% of 583,698 citizens 18+
Year
Democrat
Republican
Others
Total
CVAP
Turnout
2024
213,163
102,225
5,543
320,931
583,698
55.0%
2020
230,309
101,396
6,978
338,683
585,991†
57.8%
2016
202,637
97,246
16,904
316,787
586,363†
54.0%
2012
225,707
101,456
4,474
331,637
575,426†
57.6%
2008
226,226
108,237
2,876
337,339
579,511†
58.2%
2004
158,081
117,385
1,874
277,340
583,596†
47.5%
† Citizen voting-age population estimated for prior cycles from the constituent-county ACS trend anchored to the current figure. Source: ACS 5-year, table B05003.
——
D+60R+60
20042024
District by 2024 margin · Precinct returns · VEST · MIT Election Lab
People and households
Who lives here
Exact values for this place, its state, and the United States.
Race · ethnicity · ancestry
Communities and origins
GroupVA-3VirginiaUnited States
African American†40.8%15.6%9.9%
African1.4%0.9%0.5%
Jamaican0.7%0.3%0.4%
Nigerian0.3%0.2%0.2%
Haitian0.2%—0.3%
English8.5%12.0%9.5%
German7.5%10.1%12.5%
Irish6.7%9.1%9.4%
American5.7%8.4%5.3%
Italian3.1%3.9%4.8%
Polish1.4%1.6%2.2%
Scottish1.4%1.9%1.3%
French1.2%1.3%1.6%
Mexican3.0%2.4%11.3%
Puerto Rican2.2%1.4%1.8%
Honduran0.5%0.7%0.3%
Cuban0.4%—0.7%
Dominican0.4%—0.7%
Guatemalan0.2%0.7%0.5%
Salvadoran0.2%2.1%0.7%
Spaniard0.2%——
Filipino1.3%0.9%0.9%
Chinese0.3%0.8%1.3%
Vietnamese0.3%0.7%0.6%
Korean0.2%0.8%0.4%
Asian Indian0.2%1.8%1.4%
Hispanic or Latino counts residents of any race; the race groups count only their non-Hispanic residents, so the groups are mutually exclusive and sum to 100%. Expand a row to see ancestries reported within that group.
Age and life stage
Measure
VA-3
Virginia
United States
Median age
34.6
39.3
39.1
Age 18–24
12.0%
9.2%
9.2%
Age 65 and older
14.4%
16.7%
17.2%
Household economy
Measure
VA-3
Virginia
United States
Median household income
$67,878
$93,170
$84,427
Poverty rate
15.0%
10.0%
12.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher (25+)
30.6%
42.3%
35.6%
Languages at home
Measure
VA-3
Virginia
United States
Speaks a non-English language at home
9.7%
17.5%
22.3%
Spanish
5.0%
7.9%
13.6%
Religious landscape
Measure
VA-3
Virginia
United States
Catholic
—
10.2%
18.6%
Evangelical Protestant
—
19.9%
16.5%
Unclaimed / not counted
—
54.3%
51.5%
American Community Survey 2024 5-year (CVAP, income, age, poverty, education, language, race, ancestry) · presidential returns from MIT Election Lab through 2024 · 2020 U.S. Religion Census (ASARB) — congregational adherents; unclaimed is the residual not counted by congregations.
Virginia 3rd Congressional District
presidential history
Presidential margin, 2004–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
Presidential margin over time
Year
Margin (D minus R)
2004
+14.7%
2008
+35.0%
2012
+37.5%
2016
+33.3%
2020
+38.1%
2024
+34.6%
DemocraticRepublican
6 presidential elections
Third column names the leading third-party or independent finisher. Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024). Swing · margin change from the prior cycle. vs U.S. · margin relative to the national result that year. Third-party votes in 2012 are allocated from certified county totals by this place's share of each county's two-party vote — that cycle's precinct source records two-party splits. † 2004 sub-county results are estimated: the source's block-level detail for this cycle was unreliable — either county/municipality-level consolidated reporting (COVID-era) or a precinct-to-block allocation that misplaced votes — so the figures are allocated from the constituent county totals in proportion to the place and scaled to certified totals.
Federal officeholders only. State and local officeholders are planned for the next data pass.
Congressional elections · 25 House races · 17 Senate races
U.S. House
Each result reflects the U.S. House district as it was drawn for that election; redistricting has redrawn these lines over time, so they can differ from the current 120th-Congress district shown on the map above.
Source · MIT Election Lab (MEDSL), House. CC-BY 4.0.
Year
District
Won
Democratic
Republican
Total
2024
3
D
70.0%219,926
29.8%93,801
314,397
2022
3
D
67.2%139,659
32.6%67,668
207,850
2020
3
D
68.4%233,326
31.4%107,299
341,361
2018
3
D
91.2%198,615
0.0%0
217,722
2016
3
D
66.7%208,337
33.1%103,289
312,340
2014
3
D
94.4%139,197
0.0%0
147,402
2012
3
D
81.3%259,199
18.5%58,931
318,936
2010
3
D
70.0%114,754
27.2%44,553
163,900
2008
3
D
97.0%239,911
0.0%0
247,288
2006
3
D
96.1%133,546
0.0%0
138,994
2004
3
D
69.3%159,373
30.5%70,194
229,892
2002
3
D
96.1%87,521
0.0%0
91,073
2000
3
D
97.7%137,527
0.0%0
140,753
1998
3
D
76.0%48,129
0.0%0
63,354
1996
3
D
82.1%118,603
17.9%25,781
144,418
1994
3
D
79.4%108,532
20.6%28,080
136,620
1992
3
D
78.6%132,432
21.2%35,780
168,473
1990
3
R
30.7%36,253
65.3%77,125
118,154
1988
3
R
0.0%0
99.7%187,354
187,898
1986
3
R
29.6%32,961
67.0%74,525
111,179
1984
3
R
0.0%0
85.6%169,987
198,567
1982
3
R
40.8%63,946
59.2%92,928
156,891
1980
3
R
32.6%60,962
51.6%96,524
186,912
1978
3
D
87.7%104,550
0.0%0
119,217
1976
3
D
87.9%129,066
0.0%0
146,788
U.S. Senate
The statewide Senate race, counted in this district — aggregated from the precinct-level returns that fall inside its boundaries (not a statewide figure).
Votes · MIT Election Lab (MEDSL) precinct returns (CC BY 4.0); aggregated to the district over VEST precinct geometry (CC BY-NC 4.0).
Year
Won
Democratic
Republican
Total
2024
D
68.8%217,877
31.0%98,159
316,456
2020
D
56.0%2,466,500
44.0%1,934,199
4,400,699
2018
D
57.1%1,910,370
41.1%1,374,313
3,346,248
2014
D
49.2%1,073,667
48.4%1,055,940
2,182,709
2012
D
53.0%2,010,067
47.0%1,785,542
3,795,609
2008
D
65.1%2,369,327
33.8%1,228,830
3,640,116
2006
D
49.6%1,175,606
49.3%1,166,277
2,367,985
2002
R
0.0%0
83.0%1,229,894
1,481,051
2000
R
47.7%1,296,093
52.3%1,420,460
2,716,553
1996
R
47.5%1,115,982
52.5%1,235,744
2,351,726
1994
D
45.6%938,376
42.9%882,213
2,056,026
1990
R
0.0%0
81.7%876,782
1,073,537
1988
D
71.3%1,474,086
28.7%593,652
2,067,738
1984
R
29.9%601,142
70.0%1,406,194
2,007,487
1982
R
48.8%690,839
51.2%724,571
1,415,410
1978
R
49.8%608,511
50.2%613,232
1,221,743
1976
O
38.3%596,009
0.0%0
1,557,346
2024 U.S. Senate — every candidate counted in this district
Tim Kaine · Democrat68.8%217,877
Hung Cao · Republican31.0%98,159
Write-In0.1%420
Virginia's 3rd stretches from Richmond through parts of the Hampton Roads region, drawing its heavily Democratic lean from a majority-Black electorate and dense urban precincts that have delivered Democratic presidential margins above 30 points in recent cycles.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 38.1 points in 2020. Between 2020 and 2024 the district moved 3.5 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 34.6 points.
A population of 779,533, a 39% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $67,878 describe the district. The district's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Congressional District 7 and Congressional District 4.
Akashic
Political twins — districts
The congressional districts whose fingerprint — 2000–2024 trajectory, demographics, ancestry, religion — sits closest to this one, and why.
Twin score (0–100) = weighted cosine between tier-standardized fingerprints: presidential margins 2000–2024 with 12-yr trend and elasticity, ACS income, age, education, population and race, top reported ancestries, and religious adherence — chips name the closest-shared dimensions and the widest gap. Re-weight the groups in the twins explorer.
Compare two places, side by side
Twelve curated comparisons line up election history, demographics, and the divergence story for two places at a glance. Browse all comparisons →
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All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Virginia 3rd Congressional District. Akashic. https://akashic.app/cd/5103/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
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How did Virginia 3rd Congressional District vote in 2024?
In 2024, Virginia 3rd Congressional District voted Democratic by 34.6 points (D+34.6), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 320,931 votes cast, 213,163 went Democratic and 102,225 went Republican.
How many people live in Virginia 3rd Congressional District?
Virginia 3rd Congressional District has a population of 779,533 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Virginia 3rd Congressional District?
Median household income in Virginia 3rd Congressional District is $67,878 — below the national median of $80,734. The Virginia state median is $93,170.
What is the political history of Virginia 3rd Congressional District?
Akashic tracks 6 presidential elections in Virginia 3rd Congressional District from 2004 to 2024. Of those, 6 went Democratic and 0 went Republican.
