Virginia's 7th congressional district

Virginia's 7th congressional district is a United States congressional district in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The district is currently represented by Republican Congressman Dave Brat, first elected in 2014.

2016 Redistricting

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

The Virginia Legislature's 2012 redistricting of the adjacent 3rd district was found unconstitutional and replaced with a court-ordered redistricting on January 16 2016 for the 2016 elections. ^{[2][3][4][5][6]}

Recent election results

Geography

The district stretches from the west end of Richmond and its suburbs in Henrico and portions of Chesterfield Counties, through Orange, Culpeper and northward to Page and Rappahannock Counties. Its current configuration dates from 1993, when Virginia was forced to create a majority-minority district by a Justice Department directive. At that time, most of Richmond, which had been entirely in the old 3rd District for over a century, was shifted to a newly created 3rd District. The remaining territory in the old 3rd was combined with some more rural areas to the north to form the new 7th District.

Prior to 1993, the 7th District stretched from the fringes of the Washington, D.C. suburbs to Charlottesville. It included the far northern portion of the Shenandoah Valley, as well as Manassas and Fredericksburg.

Demographics

According to the United States Census Bureau's 2010 data for the 111th Congress, the total population of the district is 757,917. Median age for the district is 39.2 years. 74.3% of the district is White, 17.1% Black, 3.9% Asian, 0.3% Native American or Alaskan, and 2.1% some other race with 4.9% Hispanic or Latino. Owner-occupied housing is 72.0% and renter-occupied housing is 28.0%.^[37] The median value of single-family owner-occupied homes is $188,400.^[38] 88.1% of the district population has at least a high school diploma, 36.7% at least a bachelor's degree or higher.^[39] 9.9% of the district are civilian veterans. 12.7% are foreign born and 20.1% speak a language other than English at home.^[40] 9.9% are of disability status.^[41] 68.2% of the district is in the labor force, which consists of those 16 years and older. Mean travel time to work is 26.2 minutes. Median household income is $64,751. Per capita income is $33,628. 5.3% of the population account for families living below the poverty level, and 7.6% of individuals live below the poverty level.^[42]

List of representatives

Representative	Party	Term	Note
District created: March 4, 1789
John Page	Anti-Administration	March 4, 1789 – March 3, 1793	Redistricted to Virginia's 12th congressional district
Abraham B. Venable	Anti-Administration	March 4, 1793 – March 3, 1795	Retired
	Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1795 – March 3, 1799
John Randolph	Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1799 – March 3, 1803	Redistricted to Virginia's 15th congressional district
Joseph Lewis, Jr.	Federalist	March 4, 1803 – March 3, 1813	Redistricted to Virginia's 8th congressional district
Hugh Caperton	Federalist	March 4, 1813 – March 3, 1815	Lost re-election
Ballard Smith	Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1815 – March 3, 1821	Lost re-election
William Smith	Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1821 – March 3, 1823	Redistricted to Virginia's 21st congressional district
Jabez Leftwich	Crawford Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1823 – March 3, 1825	Lost re-election
Nathaniel Claiborne	Jacksonian	March 4, 1825 – March 3, 1835	Lost re-election
	Anti-Jacksonian	March 4, 1835 – March 3, 1837
Archibald Stuart	Democratic	March 4, 1837 – March 3, 1839	Lost re-election
William L. Goggin	Whig	March 4, 1839 – March 3, 1843	Lost re-election
Henry A. Wise	Democratic	March 4, 1843 – February 12, 1844	Resigned
Vacant		February 13, 1844 – May 5, 1844
Thomas H. Bayly	Democratic	May 6, 1844 – March 3, 1853	Redistricted to Virginia's 1st congressional district
William Smith	Democratic	March 4, 1853 – March 3, 1861	Resigned
Vacant		March 4, 1861 – May 22, 1862
Charles H. Upton	Unionist	May 23, 1861 – February 27, 1862	Election invalidated
Vacant		February 28, 1862 – February 15, 1863
Lewis McKenzie	Unionist	February 16, 1863 – March 3, 1863	Retired
Vacant		March 4, 1863 – January 30, 1870	Civil War
Lewis McKenzie	Conservative	January 31, 1870 – March 3, 1871	Lost re-election
Elliott M. Braxton	Democratic	March 4, 1871 – March 3, 1873	Lost re-election
John T. Harris	Democratic	March 4, 1873 – March 3, 1881	Retired
John Paul	Readjuster	March 4, 1881 – September 5, 1883	Appointed U.S. District Court judge
Vacant		September 6, 1883 – May 4, 1884
Charles T. O'Ferrall	Democratic	May 5, 1884 – December 28, 1893	Retired to run for Governor of Virginia
Vacant		December 29, 1893 – January 29, 1894	Special election
Smith S. Turner	Democratic	January 30, 1894 – March 3, 1897	Retired
James Hay	Democratic	March 4, 1897 – October 1, 1916	Appointed U.S. Claim Court judge
Vacant		October 2, 1916 – November 6, 1916
Thomas W. Harrison	Democratic	November 7, 1916 – December 15, 1922	Election invalidated
John Paul, Jr.	Republican	December 15, 1922 – March 3, 1923	Lost re-election
Thomas W. Harrison	Democratic	March 4, 1923 – March 3, 1929	Lost re-election
Jacob A. Garber	Republican	March 4, 1929 – March 3, 1931	Lost re-election
John W. Fishburne	Democratic	March 4, 1931 – March 3, 1933	Retired
District eliminated March 4, 1933
District recreated: January 3, 1935
Absalom Willis Robertson	Democratic	January 3, 1935 – November 5, 1946	Retired to run for U.S. Senate
Burr Harrison	Democratic	November 5, 1946 – January 3, 1963	Retired
John O. Marsh, Jr.	Democratic	January 3, 1963 – January 3, 1971	Retired
J. Kenneth Robinson	Republican	January 3, 1971 – January 3, 1985	Retired
D. French Slaughter, Jr.	Republican	January 3, 1985 – November 5, 1991	Resigned
George F. Allen	Republican	November 5, 1991 – January 3, 1993	Retired to run for Governor of Virginia
Thomas J. Bliley, Jr.	Republican	January 3, 1993 – January 3, 2001	Retired
Eric Cantor	Republican	January 3, 2001 – August 18, 2014	Resigned, having lost renomination
Vacant		August 18, 2014 – November 4, 2014
Dave Brat	Republican	November 4, 2014 – Present	First elected in a special election to finish Cantor's term and then to a full term.

Historical district boundaries

2003 - 2013

See also

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

References

• 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

Coordinates: 37°58′05″N 77°44′48″W / 37.96806°N 77.74667°W / 37.96806; -77.74667