State Senate District 5 State Senate District (VA) — Elections 1876–2024

Virginia 5th State Senate District, Virginia: Populist district. In 2024, voted R+42%. Republican peak: R+42 in 2024.

Key facts

2024 presidential margin: R+42MIT Election Lab
Political archetype: PopulistAkashic typology
Population: 193,3872024 5-year
Median household income: $59,0532024 5-year
White (non-Hispanic): 89.6%2024 5-year
Black: 3.9%2024 5-year
Hispanic / Latino: 2.6%2024 5-year
Peak Democratic margin: D+24 in 1912MIT Election Lab
Peak Republican margin: R+42 in 2024MIT Election Lab

2024 results by constituent county

9 counties · 2 D · 7 R

R+60

D+60

One cell per constituent county. Ordered by 2024 D-vs-R margin (bluest first). Hover for county-level numbers.

38 presidential elections

Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024).
Year	Won	Margin	Democratic	Republican	Total
2024	R	−42.0%	27,390	67,960	96,604
2020	R	−39.5%	27,868	65,250	94,729
2016	R	−39.0%	24,295	58,109	86,684
2012	R	−27.7%	28,890	51,789	82,531
2008	R	−18.0%	32,892	47,665	81,938
2004	R	−20.4%	29,904	45,527	76,507
2000	R	−12.5%	29,336	38,036	69,703
1996	D	+2.8%	29,752	27,873	66,072
1992	D	+0.1%	31,397	31,308	73,380
1988	R	−13.5%	27,459	36,222	64,710
1984	R	−24.1%	26,252	43,125	70,035
1980	R	−1.2%	29,400	30,179	62,478
1976	D	+6.9%	29,773	25,840	57,133
1972	R	−33.6%	9,633	19,690	29,931
1968	R	−17.9%	15,448	24,154	48,597
1964	D	+6.5%	14,087	12,364	26,566
1960	R	−7.5%	15,333	17,827	33,360
1956	R	−21.8%	13,239	20,741	34,398
1952	R	−21.5%	11,072	17,142	28,295
1948	R	−10.2%	9,352	11,621	22,182
1944	D	+6.6%	11,779	10,327	22,153
1940	D	+16.5%	12,554	8,995	21,604
1936	D	+14.2%	12,191	9,150	21,413
1932	D	+18.5%	11,841	8,100	20,199
1928	R	−15.4%	8,949	12,211	21,160
1924	D	+2.7%	9,745	9,213	19,572
1920	R	−5.4%	7,960	8,875	16,902
1916	R	−1.2%	5,518	5,649	11,304
1912	D	+24.2%	4,681	2,284	9,909
1908	R	−12.3%	4,336	5,560	9,966
1904	R	−11.7%	4,295	5,454	9,866
1900	R	−13.7%	6,451	8,518	15,076
1896	R	−8.0%	7,135	8,397	15,728
1892	D	+15.9%	7,693	5,453	14,091
1888	—	No data	—	—	—
1884	—	No data	—	—	—
1880	—	No data	—	—	—
1876	—	No data	—	—	—

Demographics

Race, ethnicity, and ancestry

Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.

American

22.7%

English

13.5%

German

9.8%

Irish

9.0%

Italian

2.1%

Scottish

1.7%

Polish

1.0%

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.

Age distribution by sex

Median age: 40.7 in this county, 39.1 nationally

Male

Age

Female

0.7%

85+

1.1%

2.8%

75–84

3.6%

5.6%

65–74

6.2%

6.4%

55–64

6.6%

6.3%

45–54

6.0%

5.7%

35–44

5.2%

6.1%

25–34

5.6%

7.5%

18–24

7.1%

6.7%

5–17

6.6%

2.1%

2.2%

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.

Median household income

2024 inflation-adjusted dollars

$59,053

State Senate District 5 ranks near the middle of US counties.

State Senate District 5$59,053

Virginia$93,170

United States$80,734

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.

Poverty rate

All persons below federal poverty line

18.4%

Children face moderate poverty.

Children under 1819.9%

Working age (18–64)18.5%

Seniors (65+)11.3%

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.

Language at home

Population aged 5 and older

95.6%

speak English only

Spanish1.5%

Other Indo-European1.5%

Asian & Pacific Islander1.0%

Other languages0.3%

Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.

Religious adherents

Adherents per capita by tradition

Other Christian

11.5%

Methodist

9.5%

Baptist

6.5%

Pentecostal & Holiness

4.0%

Mainline Protestant

3.4%

Catholic & Orthodox

1.8%

Non-Christian

0.2%

Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 62.9% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

With a 2024 presidential margin exceeding R+48, this district sits far outside Virginia's competitive zone, reflecting a rural or exurban constituency that votes with unusual consistency for Republican candidates at every level.

The Democratic margin in Virginia 5th State Senate District peaked at twenty-four points in 1912. By 2000 the district had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was forty-two points, the most Republican-leaning result in the district's modern history.

The economic context is the key. The median household income of $59,053 sits well below state and national norms, and 18% of residents live below the federal poverty line. The shift here is part of a broader realignment of working-class places across the country.

Compare two places, side by side

Twelve curated comparisons line up election history, demographics, and the divergence story for two places at a glance. Browse all comparisons →

Cite this page

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

State Senate District 5, Virginia. Akashic. https://akashic.app/sld-upper/51005/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.

License: CC BY 4.0

Frequently asked questions

How did State Senate District 5, Virginia vote in 2024?

In 2024, State Senate District 5, Virginia voted Republican by 42.0 points (R+42), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 96,604 votes cast, 27,390 went Democratic and 67,960 went Republican.

What is State Senate District 5, Virginia's political archetype?

Akashic classifies State Senate District 5, Virginia as a "Populist" district based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the district has voted Democratic 11 times, Republican 23 times, and other 0 times.

When did State Senate District 5, Virginia last vote Democratic?

The most recent presidential election in which State Senate District 5, Virginia voted Democratic was 1996.

How many people live in State Senate District 5, Virginia?

State Senate District 5, Virginia has a population of 193,387 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.

What is the median household income in State Senate District 5, Virginia?

Median household income in State Senate District 5, Virginia is $59,053 — below the national median of $80,734. The Virginia state median is $93,170.

What is the political history of State Senate District 5, Virginia?

Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in State Senate District 5, Virginia from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 11 went Democratic and 23 went Republican. The district's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.

Virginia 5th State Senate District was solidly Democratic for decades. In the last twenty years, it flipped.

Key facts

Demographics

Compare two places, side by side

Frequently asked questions