Virginia's 8th Congressional District election, 2020
- Election date: Nov. 3
- Registration deadline(s): Oct. 15
- Online registration: Yes
- Same-day registration: No
- Recount laws
- Early voting starts: Sept. 18
- Absentee/mail voting deadline(s): Nov. 3 (postmarked); Nov. 6 (received)
- Processing, counting, and challenging absentee/mail-in ballots
- Voter ID: Non-photo ID
- Poll times: 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.
2022 →
← 2018
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| Virginia's 8th Congressional District |
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 |
| Democratic primary Republican primary General election |
| Election details |
| Filing deadline: March 26, 2020 |
| Primary: June 23, 2020 General: November 3, 2020 Pre-election incumbent: Don Beyer (Democrat) |
| How to vote |
| Poll times: 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voting in Virginia |
| Race ratings |
Inside Elections: Solid Democratic Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Democratic |
| Ballotpedia analysis |
| U.S. Senate battlegrounds U.S. House battlegrounds Federal and state primary competitiveness Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2020 |
| See also |
U.S. Senate • 1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th • 5th • 6th • 7th • 8th • 9th • 10th • 11th Virginia elections, 2020 U.S. Congress elections, 2020 U.S. Senate elections, 2020 U.S. House elections, 2020 |
All U.S. congressional districts, including the 8th Congressional District of Virginia, held elections in 2020.
In Virginia, political parties decide for themselves whether to nominate their candidates via primary or convention. In Virginia's 8th Congressional District, a Democratic primary was scheduled for June 23, 2020, and a Republican convention was scheduled for May 30, 2020.
Incumbent Donald Sternoff Beyer Jr. won election in the general election for U.S. House Virginia District 8.
| Candidate filing deadline | Primary election | General election |
|---|---|---|
Heading into the election the incumbent was Democrat Don Beyer, who was first elected in 2014.
Post-election analysis
The table below compares the vote totals in the 2020 presidential election and 2020 U.S. House election for this district. The presidential election data was compiled by Daily Kos.
| Presidential and congressional election results, Virginia's 8th Congressional District, 2020 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Race | Presidential | U.S. House |
Democratic candidate  |
77.6 | 75.8 |
Republican candidate  |
21.1 | 24 |
| Difference | 56.5 | 51.8 |
Election procedure changes in 2020
Ballotpedia provided comprehensive coverage of how election dates and procedures changed in 2020. While the majority of changes occurred as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some changes occurred for other reasons.
Virginia modified its absentee/mail-in voting and candidate filing procedures for the November 3, 2020, general election as follows:
- Absentee/mail-in voting: Drop-boxes to return absentee and mail-in ballots were used for the general election. The witness requirement for absentee voting was suspended, and all absentee and mail-in ballots had prepaid return postage.
- Voter registration: The state's voter registration deadline was extended from October 13, 2020, to October 15, 2020.[1]
- Candidate filing procedures: Petition signature requirements for unaffiliated and minor-party candidates for federal office in Virginia were reduced as follows: 2,500 signatures for presidential candidates; 3,500 signatures for U.S. Senate candidates; and 350 signatures for U.S. House candidates. The filing deadline for unaffiliated and minor-party congressional candidates was extended to August 1.
For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.
Candidates and election results
General election
General election for U.S. House Virginia District 8
Incumbent Donald Sternoff Beyer Jr. defeated Jeff Jordan in the general election for U.S. House Virginia District 8 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Donald Sternoff Beyer Jr. (D) | 75.8 | 301,454 |
 | Jeff Jordan (R)  | 24.0 | 95,365 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 926 | ||
| Total votes: 397,745 | |||
| = 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
- Andrew Straw (Independent)
Democratic primary election
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Incumbent Donald Sternoff Beyer Jr. advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Virginia District 8.
Republican convention
Republican convention for U.S. House Virginia District 8
Jeff Jordan defeated Mark Ellmore in the Republican convention for U.S. House Virginia District 8 on May 30, 2020.
Candidate | ||
 | Mark Ellmore (R) | |
| ✔ | | Jeff Jordan (R) |
| ||||
| = 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
- Heerak Christian Kim (R)
- Mike Webb (R)
Pivot Counties
- See also: Pivot Counties by state
Five of 133 Virginia counties—3.8 percent—are Pivot Counties. Pivot Counties are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.
| Counties won by Trump in 2016 and Obama in 2012 and 2008 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| County | Trump margin of victory in 2016 | Obama margin of victory in 2012 | Obama margin of victory in 2008 | ||||
| Buckingham County, Virginia | 11.28% | 2.43% | 0.87% | ||||
| Caroline County, Virginia | 5.02% | 8.24% | 11.97% | ||||
| Essex County, Virginia | 2.14% | 7.30% | 10.35% | ||||
| Nelson County, Virginia | 5.59% | 2.72% | 9.15% | ||||
| Westmoreland County, Virginia | 7.14% | 6.95% | 10.24% | ||||
Note: Although it is highlighted in the map above, the city of Chesapeake is not considered a county and not included in our calculations as such.
In the 2016 presidential election, Virginia was a battleground state. Hillary Clinton (D) won Virginia with 49.7 percent of the vote. Donald Trump (R) received 44.4 percent. In presidential elections between 1900 and 2016, Virginia voted Democratic 56.67 percent of the time and Republican 43.33 percent of the time. In the five presidential elections between 2000 and 2016, Virginia voted Democratic three times (2008, 2012, and 2016) and Republican two times (2000 and 2004).
District analysis
- See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index
- See also: FiveThirtyEight's elasticity scores
The 2017 Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was D+21, meaning that in the previous two presidential elections, this district's results were 21 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made Virginia's 8th Congressional District the 58th most Democratic nationally.[2]
FiveThirtyEight's September 2018 elasticity score for states and congressional districts measured "how sensitive it is to changes in the national political environment." This district's elasticity score was 0.82. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 0.82 points toward that party.[3]
Campaign finance
The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.
| Name | Party | Receipts* | Disbursements** | Cash on hand | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Donald Sternoff Beyer Jr. | Democratic Party | $1,735,398 | $2,077,823 | $640,022 | As of December 31, 2020 |
| Jeff Jordan | Republican Party | $103,260 | $103,260 | $0 | As of November 23, 2020 |
|
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2020. 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." |
|||||
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.[4]
- 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.[5][6][7]
| Race ratings: Virginia's 8th Congressional District election, 2020 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race tracker | Race ratings | ||||||||
| November 3, 2020 | October 27, 2020 | October 20, 2020 | October 13, 2020 | ||||||
| The Cook Political Report | Solid Democratic | Solid Democratic | Solid Democratic | Solid Democratic | |||||
| Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales | Solid Democratic | Solid Democratic | Solid Democratic | Solid Democratic | |||||
| Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball | Safe Democratic | Safe Democratic | Safe Democratic | Safe Democratic | |||||
| Note: Ballotpedia updates external race ratings every week throughout the election season. | |||||||||
Candidate ballot access
The table below details filing requirements for 8th Congressional District candidates in Virginia in the 2020 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Virginia, click here.
| Filing requirements, 2020 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Office | Party | Signatures required | Signature formula | Filing fee | Filing fee formula | Filing deadline | Source |
| Virginia | 8th Congressional District | Qualified party | 1,000 | Fixed number | $3,480.00 | 2% of annual salary | 3/26/2020 | Source |
| Virginia | 8th Congressional District | Unaffiliated | 350 | Fixed number (reduced by court order) | N/A | N/A | 8/1/2020 | Source |
District election history
2018
General election
General election for U.S. House Virginia District 8
Incumbent Donald Sternoff Beyer Jr. defeated Thomas Oh in the general election for U.S. House Virginia District 8 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Donald Sternoff Beyer Jr. (D) | 76.1 | 247,137 |
 | Thomas Oh (R) | 23.7 | 76,899 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 712 | ||
| Total votes: 324,748 | |||
| = 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
- Mike Webb (Independent)
Democratic primary election
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Incumbent Donald Sternoff Beyer Jr. advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Virginia District 8.
Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled. Thomas Oh advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Virginia District 8.
2016
Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Democratic. Incumbent Don Beyer (D) defeated Charles Hernick (R) and Julio Gracia (I) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Hernick defeated Mike Webb in the Republican convention on May 7, 2016.[8][9]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic |  Don Beyer Incumbent |
68.4% | 246,653 | |
| Republican | Charles Hernick | 27.3% | 98,387 | |
| Independent | Julio Gracia | 4.1% | 14,664 | |
| N/A | Write-in | 0.3% | 972 | |
| Total Votes | 360,676 | |||
| Source: Virginia Department of Elections | ||||
2014
The 8th Congressional District of Virginia held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. Former Lieutenant Governor Don Beyer (D) defeated Micah Edmond (R), Jeffrey Carson (L), Gerard Blais (G) and Gwendolyn Beck (I) in the general election.
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Don Beyer |
63.1% | 128,102 | |
| Republican | Micah Edmond | 31.4% | 63,810 | |
| Libertarian | Jeffrey Carson | 2.2% | 4,409 | |
| Green | Gerard Blais | 0.5% | 963 | |
| Independent | Gwendolyn Beck | 2.7% | 5,420 | |
| N/A | Write-in | 0.2% | 372 | |
| Total Votes | 203,076 | |||
| Source: Virginia Department of Elections | ||||
See also
- United States House of Representatives elections in Virginia, 2020
- United States House of Representatives elections, 2020
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ This change was not due to COVID-19. This deadline was extended after the state's voter registration website crashed.
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "Introducing the 2017 Cook Political Report Partisan Voter Index," April 7, 2017
- ↑ FiveThirtyEight, "Election Update: The Most (And Least) Elastic States And Districts," September 6, 2018
- ↑ Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
- ↑ Facebook, "Mike Webb for Congress," May 8, 2016
- ↑ Virginia Department of Elections, "List of Candidates," accessed September 8, 2016
