Virginia's 3rd congressional district

Virginia's third congressional district is a United States congressional district in the Commonwealth of Virginia, serving the independent cities of Franklin, Newport News, and Portsmouth, parts of the independent cities of Chesapeake, Hampton, Norfolk, and Suffolk, and all of the county of Isle of Wight. The current representative is Bobby Scott (D).

Virginia's 3rd congressional district
New boundaries of Virginia's 3rd congressional district since January 3, 2017.
Representative	Bobby Scott D–Newport News
Distribution	95.01% urban[1] 4.99% rural
Population (2019)	760,127[2]
Median household income	$56,455[3]
Ethnicity	45.85% Black 45.12% White 6.31% Hispanic 2.61% Asian 0.2% Native American
Cook PVI	D+16[4]

2016 redistricting

This image shows the 2016 court-ordered VA Congressional districts.

The Virginia Legislature's 2012 redistricting was found unconstitutional and replaced with a court-ordered redistricting on January 16, 2016 for the 2016 elections.[5][6][7][8][9] One reason for the redistricting is the racial gerrymandering.[10][11] From 1993 to 2016, the 3rd had covered most of the majority-black precincts in and around Hampton Roads and Richmond. The court-drawn map shifted the area near Richmond to the 4th District. The dispute over the district borders went to the U.S. Supreme Court in Wittman v. Personhuballah.

Recent election results from statewide races

Year	Office	Results
1996	President	Clinton 72%–22%
	Senator	Warner 72%–28%
1997	Governor	Beyer 67%–31%
	Lieutenant Governor	Payne 66%–28%
	Attorney General	Dolan 64%–36%
2000	President	Gore 66%–32%
	Senator	Robb 67%–33%
2001	Governor	Warner 71%–28%
	Lieutenant Governor	Kaine 73%–26%
	Attorney General	McEachin 63%–37%
2004	President	Kerry 66%–33%[12]
2008	President	Obama 76%–24%[13]
2012	President	Obama 79%–20%[14]
2013	Governor	McAuliffe 75%–19%–5%[15]
	Lieutenant Governor	Northam 79%–20%[16]
	Attorney General	Herring 77%–23%[17]
2014	Senator	Warner 77%–21%[18]
2016	President	Clinton 63%–32%[19]
2017	Governor	Northam 68%–31%[20]
2018	Senator	Kaine 70%–28%[21]
2020	President	Biden 67%–31%

Historical composition of the district

In 1788 Virginia's 3rd Congressional District consisted of all of modern Virginia including and west of the counties of Carroll, Floyd, Roanoke, Botetourt, Augusta and Rockingham. It also included what is today Pendleton County, West Virginia and also about the southern third of West Virginia which in 1788 was all Greenbrier County. This area that is today about 48 counties and 13 independent cities was in 1788 only nine counties.[22]

In the 1790 census this area had a population of 66,045.[23]

For the 1792 congressional elections the number of congressional districts in Virginia rose from 10 to 19. The only county that remained in the third district was Pendleton County. Harrison, Randolph, Hardy, Hampshire, Monongalia and Ohio Counties, all now in West Virginia were also in the district.[24] This was all of northern West Virginia except the far eastern panhandle area. The new district's 1790 population was 30,145.[25]

The 1800 Census lead to another increase in Virginia's congressional districts in 1802. The third district was again moved, this time to what was then Frederick and Shenandoah Counties in Virginia, which besides those counties also included the modern counties of Clarke, Warren and part of Page.[26] The new 3rd district had a population of 38,767 in 1800.[27]

For most of the time from the end of the Civil War to 1993, the 3rd District was a relatively compact district centered on Richmond.

The district's current configuration dates to 1993, when the Justice Department ordered Virginia to create a majority-minority district. At that time, portions of the old 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th districts were combined to create a new 3rd District.

As of 2016, the 3rd district has been ruled unconstitutional. The new map gave the 3rd a slight plurality of blacks.[28][29]

List of members representing the district

Representative	Party	Term	Cong ress	Electoral history
District created March 4, 1789
Andrew Moore	Anti-Administration	March 4, 1789 – March 3, 1793	1st 2nd	Elected in 1789. Re-elected in 1790. Redistricted to the 2nd district.
Joseph Neville	Anti-Administration	March 4, 1793 – March 3, 1795	3rd	Elected in 1793. Lost re-election.
George Jackson	Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1795 – March 3, 1797	4th	Elected in 1795. Lost re-election.
James Machir	Federalist	March 4, 1797 – March 3, 1799	5th	Elected in 1797. Retired.
George Jackson	Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1799 – March 3, 1803	6th 7th	Elected in 1799. Re-elected in 1801. Redistricted to the 1st district and retired.
John Smith	Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1803 – March 3, 1815	8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th	Redistricted from the 1st district and re-elected in 1803. Re-elected in 1805. Re-elected in 1807. Re-elected in 1809. Re-elected in 1811. Re-elected in 1813. Retired.
Henry S. Tucker	Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1815 – March 3, 1819	14th 15th	Elected in 1815. Re-elected in 1817. Retired.
Jared Williams	Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1819 – March 3, 1823	16th 17th	Elected in 1819. Re-elected in 1821. Redistricted to the 17th district.
William S. Archer	Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1823 – March 3, 1825	18th 19th 20th 21st 22nd 23rd	Redistricted from the 17th district and re-elected in 1823. Re-elected in 1825. Re-elected in 1827. Re-elected in 1829. Lost re-election.
	Jacksonian	March 4, 1825 – March 3, 1835
John W. Jones	Jacksonian	March 4, 1835 – March 3, 1837	24th 25th 26th 27th	[data unknown/missing] Redistricted to the 6th district.
	Democratic	March 4, 1837 – March 3, 1843
Walter Coles	Democratic	March 4, 1843 – March 3, 1845	28th	Redistricted from the 6th district. Retired.
William M. Tredway	Democratic	March 4, 1845 – March 3, 1847	29th	[data unknown/missing] Lost re-election.
Thomas S. Flournoy	Whig	March 4, 1847 – March 3, 1849	30th	[data unknown/missing] Lost re-election.
Thomas H. Averett	Democratic	March 4, 1849 – March 3, 1853	31st 32nd	[data unknown/missing] Lost re-election.
John S. Caskie	Democratic	March 4, 1853 – March 3, 1859	33rd 34th 35th	Redistricted from the 6th district. Lost re-election.
Daniel C. DeJarnette Sr.	Independent Democratic	March 4, 1859 – March 3, 1861	36th	[data unknown/missing] Resigned.
Inactive		March 4, 1861 – January 27, 1870	37th 38th 39th 40th	Civil War/Reconstruction
Charles H. Porter	Republican	January 27, 1870 – March 3, 1873	41st 42nd	[data unknown/missing] Retired.
John A. Smith	Republican	March 4, 1873 – March 3, 1875	43rd	[data unknown/missing] Lost re-election.
Gilbert C. Walker	Democratic	March 4, 1875 – March 3, 1879	44th 45th	[data unknown/missing] Retired.
Joseph E. Johnston	Democratic	March 4, 1879 – March 3, 1881	46th	[data unknown/missing] Retired.
George D. Wise	Democratic	March 4, 1881 – April 11, 1890	47th 48th 49th 50th 51st	Election invalidated.
Edmund Waddill Jr.	Republican	April 12, 1890 – March 3, 1891	51st	[data unknown/missing] Retired.
George D. Wise	Democratic	March 4, 1891 – March 3, 1895	52nd 53rd	[data unknown/missing] Retired.
Tazewell Ellett	Democratic	March 4, 1895 – March 3, 1897	54th	[data unknown/missing] Lost re-election.
John Lamb	Democratic	March 4, 1897 – March 3, 1913	55th 56th 57th 58th 59th 60th 61st 62nd	[data unknown/missing] Lost re-election.
Andrew J. Montague	Democratic	March 4, 1913 – March 3, 1933	63rd 64th 65th 66th 67th 68th 69th 70th 71st 72nd	[data unknown/missing] Redistricted to the at-large seat.
District eliminated March 4, 1933
District recreated January 3, 1935
Andrew J. Montague	Democratic	January 3, 1935 – January 24, 1937	74th 75th	[data unknown/missing] Died.
Vacant		January 24, 1937 – November 2, 1937	75th
David E. Satterfield Jr.	Democratic	November 2, 1937 – February 15, 1945	75th 76th 77th 78th 79th	Elected to finish Montague's term. Resigned.
Vacant		February 15, 1945 – March 6, 1945	79th
J. Vaughan Gary	Democratic	March 6, 1945 – January 3, 1965	79th 80th 81st 82nd 83rd 84th 85th 86th 87th 88th	Elected to finish Satterfield's term. Retired.
David E. Satterfield III	Democratic	January 3, 1965 – January 3, 1981	89th 90th 91st 92nd 93rd 94th 95th 96th	Elected in 1964. Re-elected in 1966. Re-elected in 1968. Re-elected in 1970. Re-elected in 1972. Re-elected in 1974. Re-elected in 1976. Re-elected in 1978. Retired.
Thomas J. Bliley Jr.	Republican	January 3, 1981 – January 3, 1993	97th 98th 99th 100th 101st 102nd	Elected in 1980. Re-elected in 1982. Re-elected in 1984. Re-elected in 1986. Re-elected in 1988. Re-elected in 1990. Redistricted to the 7th district.
Robert C. Scott	Democratic	January 3, 1993 – Present	103rd 104th 105th 106th 107th 108th 109th 110th 111th 112th 113th 114th 115th 116th 117th	Elected in 1992. Re-elected in 1994. Re-elected in 1996. Re-elected in 1998. Re-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. Re-elected in 2014. Re-elected in 2016. Re-elected in 2018. Re-elected in 2020.

Election results

Year	Democratic	Republican	Independents
1970	David E. Satterfield, III: 73,104	J. Harvie Wilkinson, III: 35,229	Ulrich Troubetskoy: 371
1972	David E. Satterfield, III: 102,523
1974	David E. Satterfield, III: 64,627		Alan Robert Ogden: 7,574
1976	David E. Satterfield, III: 129,066		Alan Robert Ogden: 17,503
1978	David E. Satterfield, III: 104,550		Alan Robert Ogden: 14,453
1980	John A. Mapp: 60,962	Thomas J. Bliley, Jr.: 96,524	Howard H. Carwile: 19,549
1982	John A. Waldrop, Jr.: 63,946	Thomas J. Bliley, Jr.: 92,928
1984		Thomas J. Bliley, Jr.: 169,987	Roger L. Coffey: 28,556
1986	Kenneth E. Powell: 32,961	Thomas J. Bliley, Jr.: 74,525	J. Stephen Bodges: 3,675
1988		Thomas J. Bliley, Jr.: 187,354
1990	James A. Starke, Jr.: 36,253	Thomas J. Bliley, Jr.: 77,125	Rose L. Simpson: 4,317
1992	Robert C. Scott: 132,432	Daniel Jenkins: 35,780
1994	Robert C. Scott: 108,532	Thomas E. Ward: 28,080
1996	Robert C. Scott: 118,603	Elsie Goodwyn Holland: 25,781
1998	Robert C. Scott: 48,129		R. S. Barnett: 14,453
2000	Robert C. Scott: 137,527
2002	Robert C. Scott: 87,521
2004	Robert C. Scott: 159,373	Winsome E. Sears: 70,194
2006	Robert C. Scott: 133,546
2008	Robert C. Scott: 239,911
2010	Robert C. Scott: 114,754	C. L. Smith, Jr.: 44,553	John D. Kelly: 1,927
2012	Robert C. Scott: 259,199	Dean J. Longo: 58,931
2014	Robert C. Scott: 139,197
2016	Robert C. Scott': 208,337	Martin L. Williams: 103,289
2018	Robert C. Scott: 198,615
2020	Robert C. Scott: 233,326	John Collick: 107,299

Historical district boundaries

2003–2013

See also

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

Sources

1. Geography, US Census Bureau. "Congressional Districts Relationship Files (state-based)". www.census.gov. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
2. Bureau, Center for New Media & Promotion (CNMP), US Census. "My Congressional District". www.census.gov. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
3. https://www.census.gov/mycd/?st=51&cd=03
4. "Partisan Voting Index – Districts of the 115th Congress" (PDF). The Cook Political Report. April 7, 2017. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
5. "Court Ordered Redistricting". Redistricting.dls.virginia.gov. 2015-09-03. Retrieved 2017-05-06.
6. http://redistricting.dls.virginia.gov/2010/Data/Court%20Ordered%20Redistricting/2016%2001%2007%20Personnhuballah%20v%20Alcorn%20Civil%20Action%20No.%203-13cv678.pdf
7. "Supreme Court weighs legality of Virginia redistricting". The Hill. Retrieved 2017-05-06.
8. Lydia Wheeler (2016-02-01). "Supreme Court Allows Virginia Redistricting to Stand in 2016". Rollcall.com. Retrieved 2017-05-06.
9. Andrew Cain (2016-01-07). "Judges impose new Va. congressional map, redrawing 3rd, 4th Districts | Virginia Politics". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved 2017-05-06.
10. Weiner, Rachel (2014-10-07). "Court declares Virginia's congressional map unconstitutional". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2017-05-06.
11. Farnsworth, Stephen J. (2015-11-05). "The 2015 election in Virginia: A tribute to gerrymandering". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2017-05-06.
12. "Official Results/President". Commonwealth of Virginia/November 2nd – General Election. Virginia State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on December 28, 2012.
13. "President>President And Vice President>Votes By District". November 2008 Official Results. Virginia State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016.
14. "President>President And Vice President>Votes By District". November 6, 2012 General Election Official Results. Virginia State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on August 9, 2016.
15. "Governor>Votes by District". November 2013 General Election Official Results. Virginia State Board of Elections. Retrieved 2020-07-05.
16. "Lieutenant Governor>Votes by District". November 2013 General Election Official Results. Virginia State Board of Elections. Retrieved 2020-07-05.
17. "Attorney General>Votes by District". November 2013 General Election Official Results. Virginia State Board of Elections. Retrieved 2020-07-05.
18. "Turnout by Congressional District". The Virginia Public Access Project. Retrieved 2020-07-04.
19. "2016 November General President". Retrieved November 26, 2016.
20. "2017 Governor's Election Results by Congressional District". The Virginia Public Access Project. Retrieved 2018-06-16.
21. "2018 U.S. Senate Results by Congressional District". The Virginia Public Access Project. Retrieved 2018-06-16.
22. Parsons, Stanley B, William W. Beach and Dan Hermann. United States Congressional Districts 1788-1841. (Westport: Greenwood Press, 1978) p. 29
23. Parsons. Congressional Districts. p. 28
24. Parsons. Congressional Districts. p. 71
25. Parsons. Congressional Districts. p. 70
26. Parsons. Congressional Districts. p. 129
27. Parsons. Congressional Districts. p. 128
28. "Virginia Politics: Court orders redistricting". Daily Press. Retrieved 2017-05-06.
29. By $${element.Contributor} (2016-01-07). "Judges Select New Virginia Congressional Map". Rollcall.com. Retrieved 2017-05-06.

• 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