Virginia's 5th Congressional District election, 2024

	2026 → ← 2022
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

Virginia 2024 elections

U.S. Senate • U.S. House • Special state legislative • State ballot measures • Local ballot measures • School boards • Municipal • How to run for office

All U.S. House districts, including the 5th Congressional District of Virginia, held elections in 2024. The general election was November 5, 2024. The primary was June 18, 2024. The filing deadline was April 4, 2024. The outcome of this race affected the partisan balance of the U.S. House of Representatives in the 119th Congress. All 435 House districts were up for election.

At the time of the election, Republicans held a 220-212 majority with three vacancies.^[1] As a result of the election, Republicans retained control of the U.S. House, winning 220 seats to Democrats' 215.^[2] To read more about the 2024 U.S. House elections, 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%.^[3]

The United Democracy Project (UDP) is a super PAC affiliated with the pro-Israel lobbying group the American Israel Public Affairs Commission (AIPAC). UDP contributed satellite spending in Virginia's 5th Congressional District election in 2024. To learn more about how influencers, including activists, lobbyists, and philanthropists influence elections, click here.

Ballotpedia identified the June 18 Republican primary as a battleground race. For more on the Republican primary, click here.

For more information about the primaries in this election, click on the links below:

Candidates and election results

General election

General election for U.S. House Virginia District 5

John McGuire defeated Gloria Tinsley Witt in the general election for U.S. House Virginia District 5 on November 5, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	John McGuire (R)	57.3	249,564
	Gloria Tinsley Witt (D)	42.3	184,229
	Other/Write-in votes	0.5	2,046

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 435,839
= 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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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

	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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Virginia District 5

John McGuire defeated incumbent Bob Good in the Republican primary for U.S. House Virginia District 5 on June 18, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	John McGuire	50.3	31,583
	Bob Good	49.7	31,209

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 62,792
= 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.

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.

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."

Key Messages

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

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

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.

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.

John McGuire

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office:

Virginia State Senate District 10 (Assumed office: 2024)
Virginia House of Delegates District 56 (2018–2024)

Biography: After graduating from high school, McGuire joined the U.S. Navy, going on to serve 10 years as a Navy SEAL. After leaving the Navy, McGuire founded SEAL Team PT Inc., a fitness organization.

Key Messages

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

McGuire said Good had hurt Republicans' political prospects by voting to remove Kevin McCarthy (R) as House Speaker and by supporting Ron DeSantis (R) in the 2024 presidential primary: "If you’re on the Republican team, but you’re helping the Democrat team, that’s why I call him a RINO."

McGuire said he had a record of accomplishment in the state legislature that included "fighting to secure better services for our veterans, law enforcement, and first responders, tackling the Heroin/Opioid epidemic, [and] making sure our tax dollars are being used efficiently"

McGuire said he had a record of service to the country including serving ten years as a Navy SEAL and working as a personal trainer.

Show sources

Sources: John McGuire 2024 campaign website, "About," accessed April 2, 2024; Cardinal News, "Republican primary battle between McGuire and Good heats up," January 17, 2024; John McGuire 2024 campaign website, "About," accessed April 2, 2024; Senate of Virginia, "John J. McGuire, III," accessed April 2, 2024

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: Nov. 5, 2024, election.

What was the voter registration deadline?

In-person: Nov. 5, 2024
By mail: Postmarked by Oct. 15, 2024
Online: Oct. 15, 2024

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

Yes

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

In-person: Oct. 25, 2024
By mail: Received by Oct. 25, 2024
Online: Oct. 25, 2024

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

In-person: Nov. 5, 2024
By mail: Postmarked by Nov. 5, 2024

Was early voting available to all voters?

Yes

What were the early voting start and end dates?

Sep. 20, 2024 to Nov. 2, 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)

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?

Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/GloriaTinsleyWitt2024.jpg

Gloria Tinsley Witt (D)

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

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.

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.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Gloria Tinsley Witt (D)

Workforce development to ensure that every high school graduate have access to a career technical education for young people that opt out of or can not afford to attend a 4-year institution.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Gloria Tinsley Witt (D)

Appropriation of the budget, create legislation that fulfills the preamble in the Constitution that talks about creating a "more perfect union."

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

Gloria Tinsley Witt (D)

The death of Martin Luther King Jr. I was 7 years old.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Gloria Tinsley Witt (D)

Immigrant worker in the tobacco fields in Hartford, CT. It was a summer job that I worked from age 14 to 18.

What do you perceive to be the United States’ greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

Gloria Tinsley Witt (D)

Inflation, Affordable Housing, Accessible Healthcare and quality public education.

Do you believe that two years is the right term length for representatives?

Gloria Tinsley Witt (D)

No. Three or four year terms are more reasonable.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

Gloria Tinsley Witt (D)

Creating a system of staggard term limits are needed for both the Senate and the House.

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

Gloria Tinsley Witt (D)

Yes. America is a diverse nation and therefore, we must search for common ground, collaborate, and compromise to move the nation forward.

What committees interest you?

Gloria Tinsley Witt (D)

House Committee on Agriculture, House Committee on Appropriations, House Committee on Energy & Commerce,

Campaign finance

Name	Party	Receipts*	Disbursements**	Cash on hand	Date
Bob Good	Republican Party	$1,421,078	$1,431,065	$4,371	As of December 31, 2024
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
John McGuire	Republican Party	$1,848,418	$1,827,771	$34,219	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.

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.^[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 5th Congressional District election, 2024
Race tracker	Race ratings
	November 5, 2024	October 29, 2024	October 22, 2024	October 15, 2024
The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican
Decision Desk HQ and The Hill	Safe Republican	Safe Republican	Safe Republican	Safe Republican
Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball	Safe Republican	Safe Republican	Safe Republican	Safe Republican
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.

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

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^[8]	1	4	31.3%	2	18.2%
2020	11	11	0	31	15^[9]	4	2	40.0%	2	18.2%
2018	11	11	2	37	17^[10]	6	3	52.9%	2	22.2%
2016	11	11	2	29	20^[11]	1	4	25.0%	2	22.2%
2014	11	11	2	32	20^[12]	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.^[13]

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.^[14] 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

District history

The section below details election results for this office in elections dating back to 2018.