2016 United States presidential election in Virginia
Updated: Wikipedia source
The 2016 United States presidential election in Virginia was held on November 8, 2016, as part of the 2016 general election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. Virginia voters chose electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote pitting the Republican nominee, businessman Donald Trump, and running mate Indiana Governor Mike Pence against Democratic nominee, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her running mate, Virginia Senator Tim Kaine. The Democratic candidate, Hillary Clinton of New York, carried Virginia with a 49 % plurality in the popular vote against businessman Donald Trump of New York, who carried 44 %, a victory margin of 5 %. Clinton seemed to benefit from having former Virginia governor Tim Kaine on the ticket. Whereas the national popular vote swung 1 % Republican from the previous election, Virginia swung 1 % Democratic. However, due to a higher third-party vote, Clinton's percentage was lower than Obama's in both 2008 and 2012 (although her raw vote total slightly improved from Obama in 2012). This was the first time Virginia voted for a losing Democratic candidate since 1924. The state would later vote for a Democratic nominee who lost the popular vote in 2024 by a larger margin than Clinton's 2016 margin, solidifying the state's status as a blue state. Conversely, Trump became the first Republican since Calvin Coolidge in 1924 to win the presidency without carrying Virginia. Virginia had been a traditionally Democratic-leaning state from the party's founding until 1952. It then became reliably Republican-leaning from 1952 until 2004, after which point it has voted Democratic in every presidential election. As of the 2024 election, Trump in 2016 is the most recent Republican candidate to win Chesapeake, Chesterfield County, James City County, Stafford County, and Virginia Beach.