Congressional District 3 Congressional District (VA) — Elections 1876–2024

Virginia 3rd Congressional District, Virginia: Democratic loyalist district. In 2024, voted D+35%. Democratic peak: D+74 in 1912.

Key facts

2024 presidential margin: D+35MIT Election Lab
Political archetype: Democratic loyalistAkashic typology
Population: 687,5102024 5-year
Median household income: $68,4542024 5-year
White (non-Hispanic): 40.9%2024 5-year
Black: 43.0%2024 5-year
Hispanic / Latino: 8.9%2024 5-year
Peak Democratic margin: D+74 in 1912MIT Election Lab
Peak Republican margin: R+25 in 1972MIT Election Lab

2024 results by constituent county

10 counties · 8 D · 2 R

R+60

D+60

One cell per constituent county. Ordered by 2024 D-vs-R margin (bluest first). Hover for county-level numbers.

38 presidential elections

Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024).
Year	Won	Margin	Democratic	Republican	Total
2024	D	+34.9%	188,822	89,908	283,820
2020	D	+38.4%	203,889	89,070	299,167
2016	D	+33.7%	179,727	85,209	280,158
2012	D	+37.9%	200,865	89,346	294,184
2008	D	+35.5%	201,499	95,234	299,231
2004	D	+14.5%	140,322	104,464	246,469
2000	D	+16.8%	122,418	86,613	213,436
1996	D	+21.1%	115,944	73,098	203,001
1992	D	+11.3%	110,400	84,937	226,150
1988	R	−3.2%	100,592	107,343	209,914
1984	R	−6.9%	102,857	118,258	222,252
1980	D	+8.2%	98,967	83,083	192,989
1976	D	+14.7%	106,825	78,678	191,621
1972	R	−24.7%	52,839	88,978	146,026
1968	D	+7.9%	69,827	55,866	176,293
1964	D	+25.5%	64,559	38,187	103,542
1960	D	+7.4%	53,142	45,743	99,525
1956	R	−7.9%	38,115	44,884	86,083
1952	D	+2.4%	36,859	35,127	72,157
1948	D	+24.3%	27,505	15,942	47,526
1944	D	+49.3%	32,784	11,114	43,998
1940	D	+60.5%	28,063	6,854	35,041
1936	D	+61.0%	27,808	6,671	34,635
1932	D	+33.3%	20,509	10,110	31,192
1928	R	−17.0%	13,583	19,153	32,737
1924	D	+36.0%	10,432	4,525	16,410
1920	D	+37.0%	12,563	5,709	18,517
1916	D	+49.7%	6,621	2,139	9,011
1912	D	+74.1%	6,979	490	8,762
1908	D	+37.3%	5,108	2,307	7,502
1904	D	+55.9%	5,348	1,456	6,965
1900	D	+26.6%	9,408	5,427	14,978
1896	D	+5.6%	6,229	5,556	12,082
1892	D	+26.7%	8,939	5,112	14,340
1888	—	No data	—	—	—
1884	—	No data	—	—	—
1880	—	No data	—	—	—
1876	—	No data	—	—	—

Demographics

Race, ethnicity, and ancestry

Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.

English

8.2%

German

7.2%

Irish

6.5%

American

5.5%

Italian

3.0%

Polish

1.4%

Scottish

1.3%

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.

Age distribution by sex

Median age: 34.7 in this county, 39.1 nationally

Male

Age

Female

0.4%

85+

0.9%

1.7%

75–84

2.5%

4.0%

65–74

4.9%

5.5%

55–64

6.2%

4.7%

45–54

5.3%

6.4%

35–44

6.6%

8.7%

25–34

8.2%

6.5%

18–24

5.5%

7.9%

5–17

7.6%

3.3%

3.2%

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.

Median household income

2024 inflation-adjusted dollars

$68,454

Congressional District 3 ranks near the middle of US counties.

Congressional District 3$68,454

Virginia$93,170

United States$80,734

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.

Poverty rate

All persons below federal poverty line

15.0%

Children face moderate poverty.

Children under 1822.1%

Working age (18–64)12.8%

Seniors (65+)13.4%

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.

Language at home

Population aged 5 and older

90.3%

speak English only

Spanish5.0%

Asian & Pacific Islander2.0%

Other Indo-European1.9%

Other languages0.8%

Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.

Religious adherents

Adherents per capita by tradition

Other Christian

14.5%

Baptist

11.5%

Catholic & Orthodox

8.5%

Methodist

3.9%

Non-Christian

3.6%

Mainline Protestant

3.4%

Pentecostal & Holiness

2.8%

Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 51.8% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Virginia 3rd Congressional District sits in the Mid-Atlantic and Appalachia. Its political identity has been Democratic for as long as anyone now living can remember. 2 consecutive presidential elections in modern records have gone for the Democratic candidate, often by margins that would be considered landslide territory anywhere else.

The Democratic margin in Virginia 3rd Congressional District reached its widest at seventy-four points in 1912. The margin in 2024 was thirty-five points — still decisive.

Its loyalty is rooted in its place. Median household income of $68,454, a 41% non-Hispanic-white share, and a population of 687,510 together describe a district whose political habits are deeply settled.

Cite this page

All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.

Congressional District 3, Virginia — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cd/5103/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.

License: CC BY 4.0

Frequently asked questions

How did Congressional District 3, Virginia vote in 2024?

In 2024, Congressional District 3, Virginia voted Democratic by 34.9 points (D+35), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 283,820 votes cast, 188,822 went Democratic and 89,908 went Republican.

What is Congressional District 3, Virginia's political archetype?

Akashic classifies Congressional District 3, Virginia as a "Democratic loyalist" district based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the district has voted Democratic 29 times, Republican 5 times, and other 0 times.

When did Congressional District 3, Virginia last vote Republican?

The most recent presidential election in which Congressional District 3, Virginia voted Republican was 1988.

How many people live in Congressional District 3, Virginia?

Congressional District 3, Virginia has a population of 687,510 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.

What is the median household income in Congressional District 3, Virginia?

Median household income in Congressional District 3, Virginia is $68,454 — below the national median of $80,734. The Virginia state median is $93,170.

What is the political history of Congressional District 3, Virginia?

Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Congressional District 3, Virginia from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 29 went Democratic and 5 went Republican. The district's archetype — "Democratic loyalist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.

Virginia 3rd Congressional District has voted Democratic in nine straight presidential cycles.

Key facts

Demographics

Frequently asked questions