Virginia's 5th Congressional District election, 2024 (June 18 Democratic primary)

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Virginia's 5th Congressional District
Democratic primary Republican primary General election
Election details
Filing deadline: April 4, 2024
Primary: June 18, 2024 General: November 5, 2024
How to vote
Poll times: 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voting in Virginia
Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Solid Republican DDHQ and The Hill: Safe Republican Inside Elections: Solid Republican Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Republican
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds U.S. House battlegrounds Federal and state primary competitiveness Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2024
See also
Virginia's 5th Congressional District U.S. Senate • 1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th • 5th • 6th • 7th • 8th • 9th • 10th • 11th Virginia elections, 2024 U.S. Congress elections, 2024 U.S. Senate elections, 2024 U.S. House elections, 2024 Alabama U.S. House racesAlaska U.S. House racesArizona U.S. House racesArkansas U.S. House racesCalifornia U.S. House racesColorado U.S. House racesConnecticut U.S. House racesDelaware U.S. House racesFlorida U.S. House racesGeorgia U.S. House racesHawaii U.S. House racesIdaho U.S. House racesIllinois U.S. House racesIndiana U.S. House racesIowa U.S. House racesKansas U.S. House racesKentucky U.S. House racesLouisiana U.S. House racesMaine U.S. House racesMaryland U.S. House racesMassachusetts U.S. House racesMichigan U.S. House racesMinnesota U.S. House racesMississippi U.S. House racesMissouri U.S. House racesMontana U.S. House racesNebraska U.S. House racesNevada U.S. House racesNew Hampshire U.S. House racesNew Jersey U.S. House racesNew Mexico U.S. House racesNew York U.S. House racesNorth Carolina U.S. House racesNorth Dakota U.S. House racesOhio U.S. House racesOklahoma U.S. House racesOregon U.S. House racesPennsylvania U.S. House racesRhode Island U.S. House racesSouth Carolina U.S. House racesSouth Dakota U.S. House racesTennessee U.S. House racesTexas U.S. House racesUtah U.S. House racesVermont U.S. House racesVirginia U.S. House racesWashington U.S. House racesWest Virginia U.S. House racesWisconsin U.S. House racesWyoming U.S. House racesSubmit

A Democratic Party primary took place on June 18, 2024, in Virginia's 5th Congressional District to determine which Democratic candidate would run in the district's general election on November 5, 2024.

Gloria Tinsley Witt advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Virginia District 5.

All 435 seats were up for election. At the time of the election, Republicans had a 220 to 212 majority with three vacancies. As of June 2024, 45 members of the U.S. House had announced they were not running for re-election. To read more about the U.S. House elections taking place this year, click here.

In the 2022 election in this district, the Republican candidate won 57.6%-42.2%. Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Donald Trump (R) would have defeated Joe Biden (D) 53.4%-45.2%.

Candidate filing deadline	Primary election	General election
April 4, 2024	June 18, 2024	November 5, 2024

A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Virginia utilizes an open primary process in which registered voters do not have to be members of a party to vote in that party's primary.

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

This page focuses on Virginia's 5th Congressional District Democratic primary. For more in-depth information on the district's Republican primary and the general election, see the following pages:

• Virginia's 5th Congressional District election, 2024 (June 18 Republican primary)
• Virginia's 5th Congressional District election, 2024

Candidates and election results

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Virginia District 5

Gloria Tinsley Witt defeated Gary Terry and Paul Riley in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Virginia District 5 on June 18, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Gloria Tinsley Witt	57.2	14,188
		Gary Terry	22.4	5,566
		Paul Riley	20.4	5,063

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 24,817
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Candidate profiles

This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.

Paul Riley

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Submitted Biography:  "Paul Riley is currently an Intelligence Solutions Lead with a defense contractor and lives in Crozet, Virginia. He was born in Norwich, New York, where he lived most of his childhood before his family moved to Florida. He worked his way through and graduated from Florida State University in 1989. Riley served in the United States Army in the military intelligence field both as an enlisted soldier and as an officer from 1989 until his retirement in 2010. He has been married to his wife, Jani, for 32 years, and has three children: McKenna, Nathaniel, and Keegan. He is an avid outdoor enthusiast and enjoys traveling, hiking, fishing, and hunting."

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Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

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I want to protect the constitutional rights of all Virginia's. This includes a women's right to choose her own health care, the right to responsibly bear arms and the right to privacy. I believe that women have the constitutional right to make their own choices about their bodies, without interference from government. I believe no government should have the power to determine any woman's most important decisions about her life. I will always vote to defend and uphold women's right to choose. I will oppose Republican attempts to continue eliminating choice in the states. I believe that a constitutional right applies to everyone regardless of the color of your skin, how much money you make, or what state you live in, and I will work to ensure

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As a retired Army officer, I am a strong advocate for veterans. I am committed to working with members of both parties to hold VA accountable, pass meaningful legislative reforms, hold true to our country's steadfast commitment to take care of the men and women who served in uniform. We must work to improve veterans' access to health care, benefits, jobs, education, transportation, and housing. No veteran should fall through the cracks and no veteran should be homeless.

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I am a staunch advocate for Virginia's seniors. I will fight to fund and protect Medicare, Social Security, Meals on Wheels, Senior Corps, and other initiatives that help seniors lead healthy, independent lives. Social Security remains an essential benefit that seniors have paid into and earned over a lifetime of work. I oppose any attempt to privatize Social Security, and I will introduce common sense legislation to ensure it remains solvent for this generation of recipients and future generations. For too many folks, Social Security is their sole source of retirement income and to tray and take it away is a non-stater. Medicare ensures seniors have access to quality affordable health care, and I will oppose any attempt to cut Medicare or

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Virginia District 5 in 2024.

Gary Terry

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Submitted Biography:  "Gary is an accomplished servant leader with many years of professional experience in the private sector as well as the non-profit sector. He is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and served five years as an Army Officer. He has worked for two Fortune 500 companies, an international software company, as an Executive Director for the YMCA and as CEO for the Boys & Girls Clubs in Danville, VA. In addition, he has been the Board Chair for two youth serving non-profit organizations. Gary is a moderate, pragmatic problem solver that wants government to work efficiently. He believes that the federal government serves to protect its citizens and provides infrastructure for states, local governments and its citizens. As such, his priorities will focus on the areas of Economic Development, Healthcare, National Security and Good Governance. These four broad areas encompass health and welfare of citizens, protection of civil liberties, security from foreign threats, creating economically strong and thriving communities, and ensuring that the government continues to effectively serve all Americans.  Gary wants to use the skills he developed in the military, private, and non-profit sectors as a problem solver who can reach across the aisle to guarantee the rights, freedoms, and benefits government can provide when we set aside our differences and agree that America is one nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all."

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Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

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Healthcare is a major issue in my campaign. As your representative, I will protect Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security and will fight any attempts to privatize Social Security. I will work with others to introduce legislation to protect and ensure the solvency of these programs now and for future generations. In addition, I will work with others to streamline the healthcare system to make it more user friendly and to introduce legislation to cap the prices of drugs that are needed by citizens in our communities.

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I will protect the rights and civil liberties of all Americans regardless of race, color, creed, sexual orientation or religion. These rights include, but are not limited to a woman's right to choose without any interference from government, the right to vote and protecting the rights of those in the LBGTQ+ community. I promise that I will work tirelessly to enshrine women's rights in our Constitution. I believe in "putting people first" when creating and introducing legislation. As such, I will always consider the rights of citizens when crafting new legislation.

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Good Governance is a major driving point in my decision to seek office. It is my belief that the role of the federal government is to protect its citizens and to create the infrastructure so that state and local governments can be successful in creating thriving communities where all citizens have the opportunity to succeed. As your representative, it is my responsibility to work with others, regardless of political affiliation to solve the issues that our citizens see as important. In addition, it is my responsibility to be able to remain acutely aware of future needs and prepare our communities and government to help meet those needs.

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Virginia District 5 in 2024.

Gloria Tinsley Witt

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Submitted Biography:  "Born and raised in Amherst County, Virginia, Gloria Tinsley Witt is a country girl who values faith, family, justice, and community building. Our rights and fundamental freedoms are under attack, and I want to use my voice to energize dissatisfied voters and build bridges to advance legislation for ‘we the people.’ I believe in breaking down walls and building bridges to support a thriving community. With three decades of leadership experience in corporate, a small business owner, and a community servant, I am a listener that fosters collaborative outcomes to achieve forward progress. I will champion the needs of the 5th District by focusing on solutions that upholds democracy, spurs smart economic growth, represent the collective voices that strengthen families, rethinks education, and expands access to voting."

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Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

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Uphold democracy - Ensure our individual freedoms are protected against all forms of discrimination and advocating for the John Lewis Voting Act.

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Smart economic growth that provides living wage jobs by integrating business workforce skill needs, K-12 public education, and community college technical skill training to create a ready workforce that can inspire growth of current businesses and promote new business investment.

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Strengthen Families by advocating to codify women’s reproductive freedom. We must restore Roe a a basic right for women. Continue to lower prescription costs and and continued funding rural healthcare accessibility. Protect social security and the Affordable Health Care Act and the PACT Act for veterans.

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Virginia District 5 in 2024.

Voting information

See also: Voting in Virginia

Election information in Virginia: June 18, 2024, election.

What was the voter registration deadline?

• In-person: June 18, 2024
• By mail: Postmarked by May 28, 2024
• Online: May 28, 2024

Was absentee/mail-in voting available to all voters?

N/A

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot request deadline?

• In-person: June 7, 2024
• By mail: Received by June 7, 2024
• Online: June 7, 2024

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline?

• In-person: June 18, 2024
• By mail: Received by June 18, 2024

Was early voting available to all voters?

N/A

What were the early voting start and end dates?

May 3, 2024 to June 15, 2024

Were all voters required to present ID at the polls? If so, was a photo or non-photo ID required?

N/A

When were polls open on Election Day?

6:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. (EST)

Campaign finance

Name	Party	Receipts*	Disbursements**	Cash on hand	Date
Paul Riley	Democratic Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Gary Terry	Democratic Party	$13,465	$9,050	$3,663	As of May 29, 2024
Gloria Tinsley Witt	Democratic Party	$362,897	$353,530	$9,366	As of December 31, 2024
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2024. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC). * According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." ** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election. *** Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.

District analysis

Click the tabs below to view information about voter composition, past elections, and demographics in both the district and the state.

• District map - A map of the district in place for the election.
• Competitiveness - Information about the competitiveness of 2024 U.S. House elections in the state.
• Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the district and the state.
• State party control - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.

• District map
• Competitiveness
• Presidential elections
• State party control

Below was the map in use at the time of the election. Click the map below to enlarge it.

See also: Primary election competitiveness in state and federal government, 2024

This section contains data on U.S. House primary election competitiveness in Virginia.

Virginia U.S. House competitiveness, 2014-2024
Office	Districts/ offices	Seats	Open seats	Candidates	Possible primaries	Contested Democratic primaries	Contested Republican primaries	% of contested primaries	Incumbents in contested primaries	% of incumbents in contested primaries
2024	11	11	2	53	22	6	3	40.9%	2	22.2%
2022	11	11	0	33	16	1	4	31.3%	2	18.2%
2020	11	11	0	31	15	4	2	40.0%	2	18.2%
2018	11	11	2	37	17	6	3	52.9%	2	22.2%
2016	11	11	2	29	20	1	4	25.0%	2	22.2%
2014	11	11	2	32	20	1	3	20.0%	2	22.2%

Post-filing deadline analysis

The following analysis covers all U.S. House districts up for election in Virginia in 2024. Information below was calculated on June 16, 2024, and may differ from information shown in the table above due to candidate replacements and withdrawals after that time.

Fifty-three candidates ran for Virginia’s 11 U.S. House districts, including 33 Democrats and 20 Republicans. That’s an average of 4.81 candidates per district.

This was also the most candidates who ran in primary elections in Virginia in the last 10 years.

The 7th and 10th Congressional Districts were open in 2024. The last time a seat was open in Virginia was in 2018 when two seats were open.

Incumbent Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-07) did not run for re-election because she will run for Governor of Virginia in 2025. Incumbent Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-10) retired from public office.

Sixteen candidates—12 Democrats and four Republicans—ran for the open 10th Congressional District, the most candidates who ran for a district in Virginia in 2024.

Nine primaries—six Democratic and three Republican—were contested in 2024. Between 2014 and 2022, an average of 5.8 primaries were contested each election year.

Two incumbents—Gerald Edward Connolly (D-11) and Bob Good (R-05)—were in contested primaries in 2024. Since 2014, there have been two incumbents in contested primaries in Virginia in every election year.

Candidates filed to run in the Republican and Democratic primaries in all 11 districts, meaning no seats are guaranteed to either party.

Partisan Voter Index

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

Heading into the 2024 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+7. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 7 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Virginia's 5th the 180th most Republican district nationally.

2020 presidential election results

The table below shows what the vote in the 2020 presidential election would have been in this district. The presidential election data was compiled by Daily Kos.

2020 presidential results in Virginia's 5th based on 2024 district lines
Joe Biden	Donald Trump
45.2%	53.4%

Inside Elections Baselines

See also: Inside Elections

Inside Elections' Baseline is a figure that analyzes all federal and statewide election results from the district over the past four election cycles. The results are combined in an index estimating the strength of a typical Democratic or Republican candidate in the congressional district. The table below displays the Baseline data for this district.

Inside Elections Baseline for 2024
Democratic Baseline	Republican Baseline	Difference
43.2	55.8	D+12.7

Presidential voting history

See also: Presidential election in Virginia, 2020

Virginia presidential election results (1900-2020)

• 17 Democratic wins
• 14 Republican wins

Year	1900	1904	1908	1912	1916	1920	1924	1928	1932	1936	1940	1944	1948	1952	1956	1960	1964	1968	1972	1976	1980	1984	1988	1992	1996	2000	2004	2008	2012	2016	2020
Winning Party	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D

See also: Party control of Virginia state government

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of Virginia's congressional delegation as of May 2024.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Virginia
Party	U.S. Senate	U.S. House	Total
Democratic	2	5	7
Republican	0	5	5
Independent	0	0	0
Vacancies	0	1	1
Total	2	11	13

State executive

The table below displays the officeholders in Virginia's top four state executive offices as of May 2024.

State executive officials in Virginia, May 2024
Office	Officeholder
Governor	Glenn Youngkin
Lieutenant Governor	Winsome Earle-Sears
Secretary of State	Kelly Gee
Attorney General	Jason Miyares

State legislature

Virginia State Senate

Party		As of February 2024
	Democratic Party	21
	Republican Party	19
	Other	0
	Vacancies	0
Total		40

Virginia House of Delegates

Party		As of February 2024
	Democratic Party	51
	Republican Party	49
	Other	0
	Vacancies	0
Total		100

Trifecta control

The table below shows the state's trifecta status from 1992 until the 2024 election.

Virginia Party Control: 1992-2024
Four years of Democratic trifectas  •  Four years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24
Governor	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R
Senate	D	D	D	D	S	S	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	R	R	D	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D
House	D	D	D	D	D	D	S	S	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	R	R	D

Ballot access

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. House candidates in Virginia in the 2024 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Virginia, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2024
State	Office	Party	Signatures required	Filing fee	Filing deadline	Source
Virginia	U.S. House	Ballot-qualified party	1,000	$3,480.00	4/4/2024	Source
Virginia	U.S. House	Unaffiliated	1,000	N/A	6/18/2024	Source

See also

• Virginia's 5th Congressional District election, 2024 (June 18 Republican primary)
• Virginia's 5th Congressional District election, 2024
• United States House elections in Virginia, 2024 (June 18 Democratic primaries)
• United States House elections in Virginia, 2024 (June 18 Republican primaries)
• United States House Democratic Party primaries, 2024
• United States House Republican Party primaries, 2024
• United States House of Representatives elections, 2024
• U.S. House battlegrounds, 2024

External links

Suggest a link

• Search Google News for this topic

Footnotes

[show]

Virginia's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Tim Kaine (D)

Mark Warner (D)

Representatives

District 1

Rob Wittman (R)

District 2

Jennifer Kiggans (R)

District 3

Bobby Scott (D)

District 4

Jennifer McClellan (D)

District 5

John McGuire (R)

District 6

Benjamin Lee Cline (R)

District 7

Eugene Vindman (D)

District 8

Donald Sternoff Beyer (D)

District 9

H. Morgan Griffith (R)

District 10

Suhas Subramanyam (D)

District 11

Vacant

Democratic Party (7)

Republican Party (5)

Vacancies (1)

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