Virginia, United States

Virginia US Presidential Election 2024: The United States recently wrapped its 2024 presidential election, where Republican candidate Donald Trump emerged victorious and is once again heading to the White House. Meanwhile, the US state of Virginia was won by Democratic candidate Kamala Harris. 

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Virginians headed to the polls on November 5 like the rest of the country. The state held 13 electoral votes.

Virginia US Presidential Election 2024

Virginia was one of the first 13 colonies and the birthplace of four of the first five US presidents. Notably, the state shares a border with the US capital, Washington, DC. 

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Virginia had almost always sided with the Democratic Party but began being seen as a competitive battleground state in the 1990s due to the rapid population growth and shifting demographics around Washington, DC. 

Between 1952 and 2004, Virginia witnessed a rise in support for Republicans and it wasn’t until 2008 that the Democrats emerged victorious in the state. 

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As expected, this trend continued during this election. A pre-election poll conducted by the Washington Post-Schar School poll between October 19-23 showed Harris (49 per cent) has a lead over Trump (43 per cent) in Virginia.

SCOTUS rules in favour of Virginia’s voter roll purge

On Wednesday (Oct 30), the US Supreme Court backed Virginia's decision to purge its voter rolls of 1,600 people who state officials concluded were not American citizens. 

While it is illegal for non-citizens to vote in US federal elections, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, introduced a new policy earlier this year to rid the state’s official voter registration list of people “unable to verify that they are citizens,” with daily data sharing among state agencies. 

However, President Joe Biden’s administration and rights groups have argued that the list also included actual citizens whose names are now struck.

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The Virginia governor was sued for his order by the US justice department and civil rights groups said that the state was violating federal law, which prohibits systematic removals of voters within 90 days of a federal election. 

The SCOTUS’ 6-3 conservative majority ruled in favour of Youngkin’s policy, while three liberal justices dissented. 

How many Senate seats went for election in the state? Who are the candidates?

Virginians also chose one of its two senators to serve in the US Senate for the next six years. Incumbent Tim Kaine, a Democratic, ran against Hung Cao (Republican) for the Senate seat for which the voting took place on November 5. 

The Democratic incumbent was re-elected after securing 54.1 per cent of the votes. Kaine was first elected to the seat in 2012 (53 per cent - 47 per cent) and re-elected in 2018 (57 per cent - 41 per cent). 

How many House of Representatives seats went for election in the state? Who won?

Virginians also voted for 11 candidates to serve in the US House of Representatives from each of the state’s 11 House districts. 

According to the Associated Press (AP), the Democratic party secured six seats – Robert Scott (VA 3), Jennifer McClellan (VA 4), Eugene Vindman (VA 7), Donald Beyer (VA 8), Suhas Subramanyam (VA 10), and Gerald Connolly (VA 11). 

Meanwhile, Republicans managed to secure five seats – Rob Wittman (VA 1), Jen Kiggans (VA 2), John McGuire (VA 5), Ben Cline (VA 6), and Morgan Griffith (VA 9).

Who won the presidential election in the state in 2020?

In 2020, incumbent President Joe Biden won the state with 2,413,568 votes (54.1 per cent) and Donald Trump lost after he garnered 1,962,430 votes (44 per cent). 

Results of 2024 election

As mentioned earlier, US Vice President Harris won Virginia after securing 22,35,958 votes (51.8 per cent), while Trump managed to garner 20,11,637 votes (46.6 per cent).

(With inputs from agencies)