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state house district

Virginia 42nd State House District

Office (updates table and map)

President margin by year

Place winner margin

1876–2024 · D minus R

Full record · 1876 → 2024

2024

Boundary by 2024 margin · Precinct returns · VEST · MIT Election Lab

The precinct map shows the 2024 presidential vote; the timeline scrubs the district’s overall result across 1892–2024, on its current boundaries.

People and households

Who lives here

Exact values for this place, its state, and the United States.

Race · ethnicity · ancestry

Communities and origins

American20.1%8.4%5.3%

English13.7%12.0%9.5%

German10.2%10.1%12.5%

Irish9.2%9.1%9.4%

Italian2.8%3.9%4.8%

Scottish1.9%1.9%1.3%

Polish1.2%1.6%2.2%

Scotch-Irish1.1%——

African American†5.5%15.6%9.9%

Mexican1.4%2.4%11.3%

Puerto Rican0.5%1.4%1.8%

Asian Indian0.3%1.8%1.4%

Chinese0.3%0.8%1.3%

Hispanic or Latino counts residents of any race; the race groups count only their non-Hispanic residents, so the groups are mutually exclusive and sum to 100%. Expand a row to see ancestries reported within that group.

Age and life stage

Measure	VA HD 42	Virginia	United States
Median age	39.5	39.3	39.1
Age 18–24	19.3%	9.2%	9.2%
Age 65 and older	17.7%	16.7%	17.2%

Household economy

Measure	VA HD 42	Virginia	United States
Median household income	$66,839	$93,170	$84,427
Poverty rate	14.4%	10.0%	12.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher (25+)	29.7%	42.3%	35.6%

Housing and tenure

Measure	VA HD 42	Virginia	United States
Owner-occupied homes	64.5%	67.3%	65.2%
Renter-occupied homes	35.5%	32.7%	34.8%
Median home value	$217,300	$383,700	$332,700
Median gross rent (monthly)	$1,031	$1,579	$1,413
Renters paying 30%+ of income	42.7%	48.5%	51.1%
Vacant housing units	14.4%	8.7%	10.1%

Getting to work

Measure	VA HD 42	Virginia	United States
Mean commute	21.8 min	27.3 min	26.4 min
Commutes 60 minutes or more	3.9%	8.9%	8.6%
Drives alone to work	80.9%	67.6%	68.8%
Takes public transit	0.6%	2.3%	3.2%
Works from home	6.8%	18.3%	15.1%

Languages at home

Measure	VA HD 42	Virginia	United States
Speaks a non-English language at home	4.8%	17.5%	22.3%
Spanish	1.5%	7.9%	13.6%

Religious landscape

Measure	VA HD 42	Virginia	United States
Catholic	—	10.2%	18.6%
Evangelical Protestant	—	19.9%	16.5%
Unclaimed / not counted	—	54.3%	51.5%

Origins and service

Measure	VA HD 42	Virginia	United States
Foreign-born residents	3.3%	13.1%	14.1%
Naturalized citizens	1.6%	7.4%	7.4%
Not U.S. citizens	1.7%	5.7%	6.8%
Veterans (18+)	6.8%	9.4%	6.2%
Income inequality (Gini)	0.444	0.471	0.483

American Community Survey 2024 5-year (CVAP, income, age, poverty, education, language, race, ancestry) · 2020 U.S. Religion Census (ASARB) — congregational adherents; unclaimed is the residual not counted by congregations · American Community Survey 2024 — housing and tenure (B25003, B25002, B25077, B25064, B25070), commuting (B08013, B08303, B08301), origins and service (B05002, B21001, B19083).

President results by year

Modeled candidate-vote estimate on current district boundaries

HarrisDemocratic36.9%16,854TrumpRepublican61.9%28,221OtherAll other candidates1.2%547

R+24.9

Lead: 11,367
Total: 45,622
vs nation: R+23.4

modeled Census-place estimatemodeled estimate

BidenDemocratic37.1%16,132TrumpRepublican60.6%26,333OtherAll other candidates2.3%981

R+23.5

Lead: 10,201
Total: 43,446
vs nation: R+27.9

modeled Census-place estimatemodeled estimate

ClintonDemocratic34.1%13,268TrumpRepublican59.9%23,341OtherAll other candidates6.0%2,352

R+25.9

Lead: 10,073
Total: 38,961
vs nation: R+27.9

modeled Census-place estimatemodeled estimate

ObamaDemocratic39.8%14,582RomneyRepublican57.7%21,180OtherAll other candidates2.5%920

R+18.0

Lead: 6,598
Total: 36,682
vs nation: R+21.8

modeled Census-place estimatemodeled estimate

ObamaDemocratic43.2%16,007McCainRepublican55.2%20,441OtherAll other candidates1.5%564

R+12.0

Lead: 4,434
Total: 37,012
vs nation: R+19.3

modeled Census-place estimatemodeled estimate

KerryDemocratic39.1%12,834BushRepublican59.8%19,628OtherAll other candidates1.2%379

R+20.7

Lead: 6,794
Total: 32,841
vs nation: R+18.2

modeled Census-place estimatemodeled estimate

GoreDemocratic40.8%11,877BushRepublican55.6%16,180OtherAll other candidates3.5%1,030

R+14.8

Lead: 4,303
Total: 29,087
vs nation: R+15.3

modeled Census-place estimatereview required

ClintonDemocratic43.7%11,969DoleRepublican44.3%12,150OtherAll other candidates12.0%3,297

R+0.7

Lead: 181
Total: 27,416
vs nation: R+9.2

modeled Census-place estimatereview required

Key facts

2024 presidential margin: R+24.9MIT Election Lab
Population: 84,7972024 5-year
Population density: 125 / sq mi2024 5-year · TIGER/Line
Land area: 680 sq miTIGER/Line
Median household income: $66,8392024 5-year
White (non-Hispanic): 84.8%2024 5-year
Black: 5.9%2024 5-year
Hispanic / Latino: 3.3%2024 5-year
Peak Democratic margin: D+41.2 in 1876MIT Election Lab
Peak Republican margin: R+43.2 in 1972MIT Election Lab
Most similar: State House District 68, VA · twin score 89.4

presidential history

Party record book

Virginia 42nd State House District · the strongest Democratic and Republican presidential performances recorded here, measured three ways.

2004–2024 · 6 presidential cycles

Largest share of the presidential candidate vote cast here.

Democratic

Barack Obama2008

43.2%

16,007 votes · R+12.0 · modeled estimate

Runner-up · Barack Obama, 2012 · 39.8%

Republican

Donald Trump2024

61.9%

28,221 votes · R+24.9 · modeled estimate

Runner-up · Donald Trump, 2020 · 60.6%

Most votes

Largest number of votes cast for the party’s presidential nominee here.

Democratic

Kamala Harris2024

16,854votes

36.9% of the vote · R+24.9 · modeled estimate

Runner-up · Joe Biden, 2020 · 16,132 votes

Republican

Donald Trump2024

28,221votes

61.9% of the vote · R+24.9 · modeled estimate

Runner-up · Donald Trump, 2020 · 26,333 votes

Best relative to the U.S.

This Place’s margin against the national margin in the same election — positive when it leaned toward the party more than the country did.

Democratic

John Kerry2004

−18.2pts D vs U.S.

Place R+20.7 · U.S. R+2.5 · modeled estimate

Runner-up · Barack Obama, 2008 · −19.3 pts

Republican

Donald Trump2016

+27.9pts R vs U.S.

Place R+25.9 · U.S. D+2.1 · modeled estimate

Runner-up · Donald Trump, 2020 · +27.9 pts

current representation

Current officeholders

RJason BallardState House · 42

State legislative officeholder from OpenStates nightly current-legislator data.

U.S. House elections · 2 House

Senate and governor results are in the Office selector at the top of this page.

U.S. House

Each row is a county-allocated estimate of U.S. House votes for this district — county returns apportioned onto its boundary, not precinct-counted. “Vote lead” is the estimated local lead here, not necessarily the winner of the full contest.

Source · Akashic county-allocated estimate from certified county returns, House; not precinct-counted.
Year	Vote lead	Democratic	Republican	Total
2024	R	36.7%15,189	63.3%26,228	41,417
2018	R	44.8%13,494	55.2%16,639	30,133

With a 2024 presidential margin of R+24.8, this district sits well outside competitive range, reflecting a constituency whose voting patterns have shown little movement in recent cycles.

Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 41.2 points in 1876 and a Republican high of 43.2 points in 1972. Between 2020 and 2024 the district moved 1.4 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 24.9 points.

A population of 84,797, a 85% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $66,839 describe the district. The district's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of State House District 68 and State House District 46.

Political twins — state-house districts

The state-house districts whose fingerprint — 2000–2024 trajectory, demographics, ancestry, religion — sits closest to this one, and why.

State House District 68

American ancestry2016–2024 trajectory≠ median age

State House District 46

% CatholicAmerican ancestry% White≠ median age

State House District 4

% CatholicAmerican ancestry% White≠ 2008 margin

Twin score (0–100) = weighted cosine between tier-standardized fingerprints: presidential margins 2000–2024 with 12-yr trend and elasticity, ACS income, age, education, population and race, top reported ancestries, and religious adherence — chips name the closest-shared dimensions and the widest gap. Re-weight the groups in the twins explorer.

District research tools

Open the source-auditable district brief for electoral baseline, electorate, current-cycle coverage, geography, official dates, and methodology. Open campaign intelligence report → · Browse all comparisons →

Cite this page

All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.

Virginia 42nd State House District. Akashic. https://akashic.app/sld-lower/51042/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.

License: CC BY 4.0

Virginia at the ballot boxAll elections →

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Places within Virginia 42nd State House District

counties it covers4

Giles County Montgomery County Pulaski County Radford city

Frequently asked questions

How did Virginia 42nd State House District vote in 2024?

In 2024, Virginia 42nd State House District voted Republican by 24.9 points (R+24.9), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 45,622 votes cast, 16,854 went Democratic and 28,221 went Republican.

When did Virginia 42nd State House District last vote Democratic?

The most recent presidential election in which Virginia 42nd State House District voted Democratic was 1976.

How many people live in Virginia 42nd State House District?

Virginia 42nd State House District has a population of 84,797 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.

What is the median household income in Virginia 42nd State House District?

Median household income in Virginia 42nd State House District is $66,839 — below the national median of $80,734. The Virginia state median is $93,170.

What is the political history of Virginia 42nd State House District?

Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Virginia 42nd State House District from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 16 went Democratic and 22 went Republican.