Virginia's 7th Congressional District election, 2022 (June 21 Republican primary)

Elections in Virginia, 2022

• Primary date: June 21
• Mail-in registration deadline: May 31
• Online reg. deadline: May 31
• In-person reg. deadline: May 31

• Early voting starts: May 6
• Early voting ends: June 18
• Poll times: 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Absentee/mail-in deadline: June 21

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On the ballot: U.S. House • Special state legislative • School boards • Municipal • Recalls • 

2024 → ← 2020
Virginia's 7th Congressional District
Democratic primary Republican primary General election
Election details
Filing deadline: April 7, 2022
Primary: June 21, 2022 General: November 8, 2022
How to vote
Poll times: 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voting in Virginia
Race ratings
Cook Partisan Voter Index (2022): D+1 Cook Political Report: Toss-up Inside Elections: Tilt Democratic Sabato's Crystal Ball: Lean Democratic
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds U.S. House battlegrounds Federal and state primary competitiveness Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2022
See also
Virginia's 7th Congressional District 1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th • 5th • 6th • 7th • 8th • 9th • 10th • 11th Virginia elections, 2022 U.S. Congress elections, 2022 U.S. Senate elections, 2022 U.S. House elections, 2022 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

Yesli Vega defeated Derrick Anderson, Bryce Reeves, Crystal Vanuch, and two other candidates in the Republican primary for Virginia's 7th Congressional District on June 21, 2022. Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D) ran for re-election in the redrawn 7th District. As of 9:30 p.m. Eastern Time on June 21, Vega had 28.9% of the vote to Anderson's 24%, Reeves' 20%, and Vanuch's 17%.

Anderson served as a Green Beret in the U.S. Army. After retiring from active duty, he received a J.D. from Georgetown University. In Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection Survey, Anderson listed his three priorities as "standing up for our veterans, keeping our country and communities safe, and stand up for our conservative values." Based on fundraising totals reported to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) in April 2022, Anderson led the field in fundraising and spending. U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Greene County Supervisor Davis Lamb endorsed Anderson.

Reeves was elected to the Virginia State Senate in 2011. He served in the U.S. Army and worked for the Prince William County Police Vice/Narcotics Bureau. Reeves raised and spent the second most of the six candidates based on FEC reporting. Reeves campaigned on his legislative record and his history of winning in what he called "Democrat districts," citing victories in 2011 and 2019. U.S. Sens. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and Del. Nick Freitas (R) endorsed Reeves.

At the time of the primary election, Vanuch served on the Stafford County Board of Supervisors and worked in the health care field helping individuals with terminal or chronic illnesses find affordable treatment. In Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection Survey, Vanuch listed her three priorities as decreasing government spending, defending law enforcement, and supporting the right of parents to make decisions for their children. U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) endorsed Vanuch.

At the time of the primary election, Vega served on the Prince William County Board of Supervisors and worked in law enforcement. Her campaign website detailed a platform that included advocating for the "conservative values of freedom, limited government, the rule of law, and a firm reliance on our Creator." Former U.S. Rep. Dave Brat (R-Va.), who lost to Spanberger in 2018, endorsed Vega, along with U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Ginni Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

The general election is expected to be competitive. Three independent forecasting outlets rated the general election as Toss-up, Lean Democratic, and Tilt Democratic. Nathan Gonzales of Roll Call said that President Joe Biden (D) would have won the district by seven percentage points in the 2020 presidential election and Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) would have won the district by six points in the 2021 gubernatorial election. Spanberger defeated Brat by two points in 2018 and Freitas by two points in 2020.

Also running in the primary were Gina Ciarcia and David Ross.

Derrick Anderson (R) and Crystal Vanuch (R) completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Click on a candidate's name to view that candidate's responses.

This page focuses on Virginia's 7th Congressional District Republican primary. For more in-depth information on the district's Democratic primary and the general election, see the following pages:

• Virginia's 7th Congressional District election, 2022 (June 21 Democratic primary)
• Virginia's 7th Congressional District election, 2022

Candidates and election results

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Virginia District 7

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. House Virginia District 7 on June 21, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Yesli Vega	28.9	10,913
		Derrick Anderson	23.8	8,966
		Bryce Reeves	20.1	7,580
		Crystal Vanuch	17.0	6,400
	Submit photo	David Ross	6.1	2,284
		Gina Ciarcia	4.2	1,565

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 37,708
= 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• John McGuire (R)
• Craig Ennis (R)
• Gary Barve (R)
• Tina Ramirez (R)
• Taylor Keeney (R)
• Amanda Chase (R)
• John Castorani (R)
• Gary Adkins (R)
• Michael Monteforte (R)

Candidate comparison

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.

Derrick Anderson

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Submitted Biography:  "Derrick Anderson is a native of Spotsylvania County, a graduate of Courtland High School, was in the Corps of Cadets at Virginia Tech, and received his J.D. from Georgetown Law. He is a former Special Forces “Green Beret” with 6 tours of duty overseas, including 80 combat missions in Afghanistan, Iraq, and various countries throughout the Middle East. Following his time in the Army and attending law school, he clerked for two federal judges. Derrick currently serves as a Major in the United States Army National Guard. He lives in Spotsylvania County with his dog, Ranger, a Dalmatian."

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Key Messages

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

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I am the only conservative combat veteran in the race. Having served as Green Beret team leader across the globe, with 6 tours of duty, and 80 combat missions in Afghanistan, I am best prepared to go toe-to-toe with Abigail Spanberger on all issues foreign policy-related.

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I was raised in the district. The 7th is my home. I was raised in Spotsylvania County and relate to the problems our voters are facing under the current administration. I-95 and our general infrastructure and roads is the lifeblood of our district, and we must keep up with the increase in traffic and people coming through the 7th. Our farmers are taking the brunt of the increase in fuel prices and the struggling supply chains across the world. We must be better advocates for our agricultural community here in the district. As a veteran, I will be a fighter for them in Washington and in the district, including making the new VA in Fredericksburg is up to standards.

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I am the only true political outsider in this race, having never run for office or held public office. Virginians are ready for new blood and political outsiders to lead.

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Virginia District 7 in 2022.

Bryce Reeves

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: 

Virginia State Senate District 17 (Assumed office: 2012)

Biography:  Reeves received his B.S. in industrial education from Texas A&M University and his M.P.A. in public policy from George Mason University. Reeves' professional experience includes working for the Prince William County Police Vice/Narcotics Bureau. Reeves served in the United States Army, where he attained the rank of captain.

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Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.

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Reeves cited his victories in 2011 and 2019 in Democratic districts as a reason he should be the Republican nominee. "I have a proven track record of winning in a Democrat district, running against a female Democrat, and I think we’ve done a lot of good bipartisan things and work for the people in my community," he said.

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Reeves said that changes to the election processes in the state had created a distrust of the election system. He said, "As your congressman, I promise to fight for free, fair, and secure elections so that we don’t repeat the disaster of the 2020 election."

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Reeves listed education as a top priority on his campaign website. "I will advocate against Critical Race Theory and the toxic culture that the left is pushing on our children," he said.

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Show sources

Sources: Bryce Reeves' 2022 campaign website, "Issues," accessed June 6, 2022 ; The Washington Post, "State Sen. Bryce Reeves enters race for GOP nod to challenge Rep. Spanberger," October 22, 2021; Bryce Reeves' 2022 campaign website, "Meet Bryce," accessed June 6, 2022

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Virginia District 7 in 2022.

Crystal Vanuch

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Submitted Biography:  "I was born on Election Day in 1983 to a lower middle-class family in Prince William County. My father was a Marine and Prince William County Police Officer, and my mother raised our family full-time on my father’s public servant income. I was raised and educated in Stafford County attending Stafford Elementary School, Stafford Middle School, Brooke Point High School then graduated Magna Cum Laude at Virginia Wesleyan University. I now proudly represent the Rock Hill District on the Stafford County Board of Supervisors and am currently serving as Chairman of the Board for the second year in a row, fighting for our conservative values. I am married to a Marine who fought in Iraq for our very freedoms that have been under constant attack by the extreme Democrats in Washington, DC. I have seen firsthand how the federal government and Veterans Affairs have failed the men and women who gave all or some for our Country. Here’s what you need to know about me – I am not a career politician. I am a small business owner that understands the sacrifices business owners make every day. My career has been dedicated to advocating for terminally and chronically ill patients to gain access to affordable treatments for their healthcare conditions at the state and federal levels. "

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Key Messages

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

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As your Congresswoman, I will stop the out-of-control spending, help businesses find employees so they can get back on their feet, and oppose Biden’s big government policies and tax increases.

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In Congress, I will always stand with our law enforcement and ensure they have the resources and equipment they need to keep us safe. I will DEFEND qualified immunity for each and every officer across the country. We must DEFEND - not defund – our men and women in blue.

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As your representative in Congress, I won’t be silenced. I will stand up to Biden and his liberal allies and stop unconstitutional government mandates that strip away your personal freedoms and I will stand with parents to make decisions for their children, not government bureaucracies.

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Virginia District 7 in 2022.

Yesli Vega

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: 

Prince William County Board of Supervisors (Assumed office: 2020)

Biography:  Vega's professional experience includes working in law enforcement with the Alexandria Police Department, Manassas Park Police Department, and Prince William County Sheriff’s Office.

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Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.

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Vega cited her law enforcement experience and said she opposed any effort to decrease funding for local police departments. "I will never succumb to the defunding of, or the new term 'reimagining of' police and law enforcement. The results are already in, and these ideas have been proven to have dangerous and deadly consequences," she said.

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Vega said she opposed federal legislation related to voting (such as HR 1) and supported photo identification requirements for voting.

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Vega said she would advocate for the "conservative values of freedom, limited government, the rule of law, and a firm reliance on our Creator."

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Show sources

Sources: Yesli Vega's 2022 campaign website, "On the Issues," accessed June 6, 2022; Yesli Vega's 2022 campaign website, "Meet Yesli," accessed June 6, 2022

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Virginia District 7 in 2022.

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. The section below shows responses from candidates in this race who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Survey responses from candidates in this race

Click on a candidate's name to visit their Ballotpedia page.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Expand all | Collapse all

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Derrick Anderson (R)

I am the only conservative combat veteran in the race. Having served as Green Beret team leader across the globe, with 6 tours of duty, and 80 combat missions in Afghanistan, I am best prepared to go toe-to-toe with Abigail Spanberger on all issues foreign policy-related.

I was raised in the district. The 7th is my home. I was raised in Spotsylvania County and relate to the problems our voters are facing under the current administration. I-95 and our general infrastructure and roads is the lifeblood of our district, and we must keep up with the increase in traffic and people coming through the 7th. Our farmers are taking the brunt of the increase in fuel prices and the struggling supply chains across the world. We must be better advocates for our agricultural community here in the district. As a veteran, I will be a fighter for them in Washington and in the district, including making the new VA in Fredericksburg is up to standards.

I am the only true political outsider in this race, having never run for office or held public office. Virginians are ready for new blood and political outsiders to lead.

Crystal Vanuch (R)

As your Congresswoman, I will stop the out-of-control spending, help businesses find employees so they can get back on their feet, and oppose Biden’s big government policies and tax increases.

In Congress, I will always stand with our law enforcement and ensure they have the resources and equipment they need to keep us safe. I will DEFEND qualified immunity for each and every officer across the country. We must DEFEND - not defund – our men and women in blue.

As your representative in Congress, I won’t be silenced. I will stand up to Biden and his liberal allies and stop unconstitutional government mandates that strip away your personal freedoms and I will stand with parents to make decisions for their children, not government bureaucracies.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Derrick Anderson (R)

I will be heavily focused on our veterans, infrastructure, and standing up for our farmers. The newest VA hospital in Virginia will be in Fredericksburg, and as a veteran myself, I will make it a top priority that our service members are given the care they deserve. In fact I will be setting up a congressional office in this VA if I am elected. I-95 runs through the heart of the district, and people rely on it to commute to and from their jobs, schools, grocery stores, and right now, it is unsustainable. We must make sure that our infrastructure can sustain the rapid growth of the district and the population that passes through the district. Our farmers feed the Commonwealth and the country, yet they are taking on undue burdens with rising fuel costs and supply chain problems. I will make sure our farmers and the agricultural industry as a whole in the district has a fighter in Washington looking out for them. Lastly, we must secure our border. The fentanyl alone spilling into our country is a pandemic, not to mention the danger and crime that is coming into our neighborhoods and communities. We must secure the border, this must be a top priority.

Crystal Vanuch (R)

This is what I've accomplished on the Board of Supervisors and what I am going to fight for in Congress:

Protected law enforcement and first responders, helping to secure one of the largest pay increases in my first year and annual pay increases for the brave men and women who keep us safe. Stood with parents and students and voted to strip funding from Stafford schools that taught Critical Race Theory. Helped secure $96 million in funding to repair damaged roads and bridges in my district. Kept our students safe by demanding that School Resource Officers remain in schools. Never voted to increase taxes on residents.

Defended our Second Amendment rights and led the effort to make Stafford County a sanctuary county for law abiding gun owners.

Campaign advertisements

This section includes a selection of up to three campaign advertisements per candidate released in this race, as well as links to candidates' YouTube, Vimeo, and/or Facebook video pages. If you are aware of other links that should be included, please email us.

Derrick Anderson

April 28, 2022

October 15, 2021

View more ads here:

• YouTube

Gina Ciarcia

Ballotpedia did not come across any campaign ads for Gina Ciarcia while conducting research on this election. If you are aware of any ads that should be included, please email us.

Bryce Reeves

May 31, 2022

May 11, 2022

May 9, 2022

View more ads here:

• YouTube

David Ross

Ballotpedia did not come across any campaign ads for David Ross while conducting research on this election. If you are aware of any ads that should be included, please email us.

Crystal Vanuch

Ballotpedia did not come across any campaign ads for Crystal Vanuch while conducting research on this election. If you are aware of any ads that should be included, please email us.

Yesli Vega

January 24, 2022

View more ads here:

• YouTube

News and conflicts in this primary

This race was featured in The Heart of the Primaries, a newsletter capturing stories related to conflicts within each major party. Click here to read more about conflict in this and other 2022 Republican U.S. House primaries. Click here to subscribe to the newsletter.

• Heart of the Primaries 2022, Republicans-Issue 6 (January 20, 2022)

Noteworthy endorsements

See also: Ballotpedia: Our approach to covering endorsements

This section lists noteworthy endorsements issued in this election, including those made by high-profile individuals and organizations, cross-party endorsements, and endorsements made by newspaper editorial boards. It also includes a bulleted list of links to official lists of endorsements for any candidates who published that information on their campaign websites. Please note that this list is not exhaustive. If you are aware of endorsements that should be included, please click here.

• David Ross

Republican primary endorsements
Endorser	Derrick Anderson	Bryce Reeves	David Ross	Crystal Vanuch	Yesli Vega
Government officials
U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton (R)  source	✔
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R)  source					✔
U.S. Sen. Mike Lee (R)  source		✔
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio  source		✔
U.S. Rep. Louis B. Gohmert Jr. (R)  source					✔
U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R)  source				✔
State Sen. Amanda Chase (R)  source			✔
State Del. Nick Freitas (R)  source		✔
State Del. John McGuire (R)  source					✔
Individuals
Frmr. U.S. Rep. David Brat  source					✔
VA-10 candidate Hung Cao  source	✔
Frmr. candidate John Castorani  source	✔
Frmr. Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli  source					✔
Frmr. state Del. Bill Howell  source		✔
Frmr. state Del. Bob Marshall  source					✔
Frmr. U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry  source		✔
2021 attorney general candidate Chuck Smith  source			✔
2018 U.S. Senate candidate Corey Stewart  source					✔
Organizations
BlakPAC  source					✔
FreedomWorks for America  source		✔
House Conservatives Fund  source					✔
SEAL PAC Supporting Electing American Leaders PAC  source 1 source 2	✔	✔
Veterans for American First  source					✔

Election competitiveness

Polls

See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls

Polls are conducted with a variety of methodologies and have margins of error or credibility intervals. The Pew Research Center wrote, "A margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level means that if we fielded the same survey 100 times, we would expect the result to be within 3 percentage points of the true population value 95 of those times." For tips on reading polls from FiveThirtyEight, click here. For tips from Pew, click here.

The links below show polls for this race aggregated by FiveThirtyEight and RealClearPolitics, where available. Click here to read about FiveThirtyEight's criteria for including polls in its aggregation.

• FiveThirtyEight
• RealClearPolitics

General election race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

• Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
• Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
• Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.
• Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.

Race ratings: Virginia's 7th Congressional District election, 2022
Race tracker	Race ratings
	November 8, 2022	November 1, 2022	October 25, 2022	October 18, 2022
The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter	Toss-up	Toss-up	Toss-up	Lean Democratic
Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales	Tilt Democratic	Tilt Democratic	Tilt Democratic	Tilt Democratic
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball	Lean Democratic	Lean Democratic	Lean Democratic	Lean Democratic
Note: Ballotpedia reviews external race ratings every week throughout the election season and posts weekly updates even if the media outlets have not revised their ratings during that week.

Election spending

Campaign finance

This section contains campaign finance figures from the Federal Election Commission covering all candidate fundraising and spending in this election. It does not include information on fundraising before the current campaign cycle or on spending by satellite groups. The numbers in this section are updated as candidates file new campaign finance reports. Candidates for Congress are required to file financial reports on a quarterly basis, as well as two weeks before any primary, runoff, or general election in which they will be on the ballot and upon the termination of any campaign committees. Click here to view the reporting schedule for candidates for U.S. Congress in 2022.

U.S. Congress campaign reporting schedule, 2022
Report	Close of books	Filing deadline
Year-end 2021	12/31/2021	1/31/2022
April quarterly	3/31/2022	4/15/2022
July quarterly	6/30/2022	7/15/2022
October quarterly	9/30/2022	10/15/2022
Pre-general	10/19/2022	10/27/2022
Post-general	11/28/2022	12/08/2022
Year-end 2022	12/31/2022	1/31/2023

Name	Party	Receipts*	Disbursements**	Cash on hand	Date
Derrick Anderson	Republican Party	$637,085	$633,470	$3,615	As of December 31, 2022
Gina Ciarcia	Republican Party	$88,781	$88,781	$0	As of October 20, 2022
Bryce Reeves	Republican Party	$798,891	$793,697	$5,194	As of December 31, 2022
David Ross	Republican Party	$196,535	$196,535	$0	As of July 15, 2022
Crystal Vanuch	Republican Party	$521,405	$520,616	$790	As of December 31, 2022
Yesli Vega	Republican Party	$3,679,372	$3,591,974	$87,398	As of December 31, 2022
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2022. 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.

Satellite spending

See also: Satellite spending

Satellite spending describes political spending not controlled by candidates or their campaigns; that is, any political expenditures made by groups or individuals that are not directly affiliated with a candidate. This includes spending by political party committees, super PACs, trade associations, and 501(c)(4) nonprofit groups.

If available, this section includes links to online resources tracking satellite spending in this election. To notify us of a resource to add, email us.

By candidate	By election
Federal Election Commission - Derrick Anderson Federal Election Commission - Gina Ciarcia Federal Election Commission - Bryce Reeves Federal Election Commission - David Ross Federal Election Commission - Crystal Vanuch Federal Election Commission - Yesli Vega	Open Secrets - Virginia's 7th Congressional District Election Federal Election Commission - Virginia's 7th Congressional District Election

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 before and after redistricting.
• Effect of redistricting - How districts in the state changed as a result of redistricting following the 2020 census.
• Competitiveness - Information about the competitiveness of 2022 U.S. House elections in the state.
• Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the district and the state.
• Demographics - Information about the state's demographics and how they compare to the country as a whole.
• State party control - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.

District map

Below was the map in use at the time of the election, enacted as part of the 2020 redistricting cycle, compared to the map in place before the election.

Virginia District 7
until January 2, 2023

Click a district to compare boundaries.

Virginia District 7
starting January 3, 2023

Click a district to compare boundaries.

Effect of redistricting

See also: Redistricting in Virginia after the 2020 census

The table below details the results of the 2020 presidential election in each district at the time of the 2022 election and its political predecessor district. This data was compiled by Daily Kos Elections.

2020 presidential results by Congressional district, Virginia
District	2022 district		Political predecessor district
	Joe Biden	Donald Trump	Joe Biden	Donald Trump
Virginia's 1st	46.2%	52.3%	47.0%	51.4%
Virginia's 2nd	50.1%	48.2%	51.4%	46.7%
Virginia's 3rd	68.3%	30.0%	67.2%	31.2%
Virginia's 4th	67.2%	31.5%	61.8%	36.8%
Virginia's 5th	45.2%	53.4%	45.1%	53.6%
Virginia's 6th	38.4%	60.0%	38.6%	59.8%
Virginia's 7th	52.6%	45.8%	49.8%	48.7%
Virginia's 8th	77.4%	21.3%	77.6%	21.1%
Virginia's 9th	28.5%	70.3%	28.4%	70.4%
Virginia's 10th	58.3%	40.2%	58.9%	39.6%
Virginia's 11th	70.0%	28.7%	70.3%	28.3%

Competitiveness

See also: Primary election competitiveness in state and federal government, 2022

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

Post-filing deadline analysis

The following analysis covers all U.S. House districts up for election in Virginia in 2022. Information below was calculated on June 7, 2022, and may differ from information shown in the table above due to candidate replacements and withdrawals after that time.

Thirty-three candidates filed to run for Virginia's 11 U.S. House districts, including 12 Democrats and 21 Republicans. That's three candidates per district, more than the 2.36 candidates per district in 2020 and less than the 4.09 in 2018.

This was the first election to take place under new district lines following the 2020 census. Virginia was apportioned 11 districts, the same number it was apportioned after the 2010 census.

All 11 incumbents filed to run for re-election, meaning there were no open seats this year for the first time since 2012.

There were five contested primaries — one Democratic and four Republican — this year. That's the fewest contested primaries since 2014, when four primaries were contested.

Two incumbents — Rep. Ben Cline (R) from the 6th district and Rep. Don Beyer (D) from the 8th district — faced primary challengers, the same number as every year since 2014, except for 2016, when only one incumbent faced a primary challenger.

Republican and Democratic candidates filed to run in all 11 districts, so no seats were guaranteed to either party this year. Seven candidates, including incumbent Abigail Spanberger (D), filed to run in the 7th district, the most candidates who ran in a district that held primaries this year.

Presidential elections

Partisan Voter Index

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

Heading into the 2022 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was D+1. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 1 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made Virginia's 7th the 207th most Democratic 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 7th based on 2022 district lines
Joe Biden	Donald Trump
52.6%	45.8%

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

Demographics

The table below details demographic data in Virginia and compares it to the broader United States as of 2019. {{{Demo widget}}}

State party control

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of Virginia's congressional delegation as of November 2022.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Virginia, November 2022
Party	U.S. Senate	U.S. House	Total
Democratic	2	7	9
Republican	0	4	4
Independent	0	0	0
Vacancies	0	0	0
Total	2	11	13

State executive

The table below displays the officeholders in Virginia's top four state executive offices as of November 2022.

State executive officials in Virginia, November 2022
Office	Officeholder
Governor	Glenn Youngkin
Lieutenant Governor	Winsome Earle-Sears
Secretary of State	Kay Coles James
Attorney General	Jason Miyares

State legislature

The tables below highlight the partisan composition of the Virginia General Assembly as of November 2022.

Virginia State Senate

Party		As of November 2022
	Democratic Party	21
	Republican Party	19
	Vacancies	0
Total		40

Virginia House of Delegates

Party		As of November 2022
	Democratic Party	47
	Republican Party	52
	Vacancies	1
Total		100

Trifecta control

As of November 2022, Virginia was a divided government, with Republicans controlling the governorship and a majority in the house and Democrats controlling a majority in the state senate. The table below displays the historical trifecta status of the state.

Virginia Party Control: 1992-2022
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
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
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
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

Election context

Ballot access requirements

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. House candidates in Virginia in the 2022 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Virginia, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2022
State	Office	Party	Signatures required	Filing fee	Filing deadline	Source
Virginia	U.S. House	Ballot-qualified party	1,000	$3,480.00	4/7/2022	Source
Virginia	U.S. House	Unaffiliated	1,000	N/A	6/21/2022	Source

2020

See also: Virginia's 7th Congressional District election, 2020

General election

General election for U.S. House Virginia District 7

Incumbent Abigail Spanberger defeated Nick Freitas in the general election for U.S. House Virginia District 7 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Abigail Spanberger (D)	50.8	230,893
		Nick Freitas (R)	49.0	222,623
		Other/Write-in votes	0.2	823

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 454,339
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Incumbent Abigail Spanberger advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Virginia District 7.

Republican convention

Republican convention for U.S. House Virginia District 7

The following candidates ran in the Republican convention for U.S. House Virginia District 7 on July 18, 2020.

		Candidate
✔		Nick Freitas (R)
		Pete Greenwald (R)
		Andrew Knaggs (R)
		John McGuire (R)
		Tina Ramirez (R)
		Jason Alexander Roberge (R)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Craig Ennis (R)
• Bridgette Williams (R)
• Mike Dickinson (R)

2018

See also: Virginia's 7th Congressional District election, 2018

General election

General election for U.S. House Virginia District 7

Abigail Spanberger defeated incumbent David Brat and Joe Walton in the general election for U.S. House Virginia District 7 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Abigail Spanberger (D)	50.3	176,079
		David Brat (R)	48.4	169,295
		Joe Walton (L)	1.2	4,216
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	213

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 349,803
= 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Virginia District 7

Abigail Spanberger defeated Daniel Ward in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Virginia District 7 on June 12, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Abigail Spanberger	72.7	33,210
		Daniel Ward	27.3	12,483

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 45,693
= 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Janelle Noble (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Virginia District 7

Incumbent David Brat advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Virginia District 7 on June 12, 2018.

		Candidate
✔		David Brat

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2016

See also: Virginia's 7th Congressional District election, 2016

Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Republican. Incumbent David Brat (R) defeated Eileen Bedell (D) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Neither candidate faced an opponent at the party nominating conventions.

U.S. House, Virginia District 7 General Election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	David Brat Incumbent	57.5%	218,057
	Democratic	Eileen Bedell	42.2%	160,159
	N/A	Write-in	0.2%	947
Total Votes				379,163
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

2014

General election

See also: Virginia's 7th Congressional District elections, 2014

The 7th Congressional District of Virginia held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. David Brat (R) defeated Jack Trammell (D) and James Carr (L) in the general election.

U.S. House, Virginia District 7 General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	David Brat	60.8%	148,026
	Democratic	Jack Trammell	36.9%	89,914
	Libertarian	James Carr	2.1%	5,086
	N/A	Write-in	0.1%	325
Total Votes				243,351
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Special election

See also: Virginia's 7th Congressional District special election, 2014

David Brat (R) defeated Jack Trammell (D) in the special election.

U.S. House, Virginia District 7 Special Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	David Brat	61.7%	148,841
	Democratic	Jack Trammell	37.8%	91,236
	N/A	Write-in	0.5%	1,236
Total Votes				241,313
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

2012

See also: Virginia's 7th Congressional District elections, 2012

The 7th Congressional District of Virginia held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 6, 2012. Incumbent Eric Cantor won re-election in the district.

U.S. House, Virginia District 7 General Election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	E. Wayne Powell	41.4%	158,012
	Republican	Eric Cantor Incumbent	58.4%	222,983
	Write-In	N/A	0.2%	914
Total Votes				381,909
Source: Virginia State Board of Elections "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election"

To view the electoral history dating back to 2000 for the office of Virginia's 7th Congressional District, click [show] to expand the section.

2010 On November 2, 2010, Eric Cantor won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Rick E. Waugh, Jr. (D) and Floyd C. Bayne (G) in the general election. U.S. House, Virginia District 7 General Election, 2010 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Eric Cantor incumbent 59.2% 138,209      Democratic Rick E. Waugh 34.1% 79,616      Green Floyd C. Bayne 6.5% 15,164      N/A Write-in 0.2% 413 Total Votes 233,402 2008 On November 4, 2008, Eric Cantor won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Anita Hartke (D) in the general election. U.S. House, Virginia District 7 General Election, 2008 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Eric Cantor incumbent 62.7% 233,531      Democratic Anita Hartke 37.1% 138,123      N/A Write-in 0.2% 683 Total Votes 372,337 2006 On November 7, 2006, Eric Cantor won re-election to the United States House. He defeated James M. Nachman (D) and W. Brad Blanton (I) in the general election. U.S. House, Virginia District 7 General Election, 2006 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Eric Cantor incumbent 63.8% 163,706      Democratic James M. Nachman 34.4% 88,206      Independent W. Brad Blanton 1.6% 4,213      N/A Write-in 0.1% 272 Total Votes 256,397 2004 On November 2, 2004, Eric Cantor won re-election to the United States House. He defeated W. Brad Blanton (independent) in the general election. U.S. House, Virginia District 7 General Election, 2004 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Eric Cantor incumbent 75.5% 230,765      Independent W. Brad Blanton 24.3% 74,325      N/A Write-in 0.2% 568 Total Votes 305,658 2002 On November 5, 2002, Eric Cantor won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Ben L. "Cooter" Jones (D) in the general election. U.S. House, Virginia District 7 General Election, 2002 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Eric Cantor incumbent 69.4% 113,658      Democratic Ben L. Cooter Jones 30.5% 49,854      N/A Write-in 0.1% 153 Total Votes 163,665 2000 On November 7, 2000, Eric Cantor won election to the United States House. He defeated Warren A. Stewart (D) in the general election. U.S. House, Virginia District 7 General Election, 2000 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Eric Cantor 66.9% 192,652      Democratic Warren A. Stewart 33% 94,935      N/A Write-in 0.1% 304 Total Votes 287,891

2022 battleground elections

See also: Battlegrounds

This election was a battleground race. Other 2022 battleground elections included:

• Illinois' 17th Congressional District election, 2022
• Minnesota's 2nd Congressional District election, 2022
• Nevada gubernatorial election, 2022
• United States Senate election in Alaska, 2022
• Wisconsin gubernatorial election, 2022 (August 9 Republican primary)

See also

• Virginia's 7th Congressional District election, 2022 (June 21 Democratic primary)
• Virginia's 7th Congressional District election, 2022
• United States House elections in Virginia, 2022 (June 21 Democratic primaries)
• United States House elections in Virginia, 2022 (June 21 Republican primaries)
• United States House Democratic Party primaries, 2022
• United States House Republican Party primaries, 2022
• United States House of Representatives elections, 2022
• U.S. House battlegrounds, 2022

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

James Walkinshaw (D)

Democratic Party (8)

Republican Party (5)

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