Virginia 21st State Senate District, Virginia: Populist district. In 2024, voted D+41%. Democratic peak: D+79 in 1912.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- D+41MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 214,4542024 5-year
- Median household income
- $66,1092024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 43.2%2024 5-year
- Black
- 39.6%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 10.1%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+79 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+19 in 1972MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for State Senate District 21, VAOne cell per constituent county, colored by 2024 presidential margin from deep red (Republican) through neutral to deep blue (Democratic), ordered bluest first.
R+60D+60
One cell per constituent county. Ordered by 2024 D-vs-R margin (bluest first). Hover for county-level numbers.
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | 55,029 | 22,379 | 78,961 | ||
| D | 59,159 | 21,522 | 82,516 | ||
| D | 52,350 | 19,786 | 76,552 | ||
| D | 57,550 | 21,250 | 79,910 | ||
| D | 57,671 | 22,781 | 81,198 | ||
| D | 39,952 | 24,238 | 64,787 | ||
| D | 35,089 | 20,124 | 56,870 | ||
| D | 34,569 | 17,161 | 55,197 | ||
| D | 34,521 | 20,530 | 63,370 | ||
| D | 34,682 | 28,036 | 63,246 | ||
| D | 35,724 | 33,380 | 69,328 | ||
| D | 32,240 | 25,252 | 61,693 | ||
| D | 36,075 | 25,796 | 64,633 | ||
| R | 23,628 | 35,239 | 60,791 | ||
| D | 26,143 | 20,474 | 60,435 | ||
| D | 29,734 | 16,919 | 47,322 | ||
| D | 20,231 | 15,767 | 36,238 | ||
| R | 18,909 | 21,306 | 41,721 | ||
| R | 17,101 | 18,159 | 35,314 | ||
| D | 12,913 | 8,617 | 23,455 | ||
| D | 16,045 | 5,954 | 22,040 | ||
| D | 13,407 | 3,786 | 17,240 | ||
| D | 13,124 | 3,563 | 16,759 | ||
| D | 10,778 | 5,026 | 16,090 | ||
| R | 6,707 | 9,469 | 16,176 | ||
| D | 4,646 | 2,246 | 7,275 | ||
| D | 5,465 | 2,190 | 7,727 | ||
| D | 2,969 | 884 | 3,940 | ||
| D | 3,249 | 179 | 3,882 | ||
| D | 2,085 | 910 | 3,022 | ||
| D | 2,349 | 420 | 2,824 | ||
| D | 3,565 | 2,112 | 5,734 | ||
| D | 2,817 | 1,832 | 4,801 | ||
| D | 454 | 201 | 703 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
8.0%
English
8.0%
Irish
7.7%
American
5.3%
Italian
3.4%
Polish
1.6%
Scottish
1.5%
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: 32.7 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
85+
75–84
65–74
55–64
45–54
35–44
25–34
18–24
5–17
<5
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Median household income
2024 inflation-adjusted dollars
$66,109
State Senate District 21 ranks near the middle of US counties.
State Senate District 21$66,109
Virginia$93,170
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
16.5%
Children face higher poverty than working-age adults.
Children under 1825.2%
Working age (18–64)14.0%
Seniors (65+)14.6%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
88.2%
speak English only
Spanish5.9%
Asian & Pacific Islander2.7%
Other Indo-European2.5%
Other languages0.7%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 52.2% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
With a 2024 presidential margin of R+69.7, this rural southwestern Virginia district ranks among the most heavily one-sided constituencies in the state, reflecting the region's deep cultural and economic ties to coal country.
The Democratic margin in Virginia 21st State Senate District peaked at seventy-nine points in 1912. By 1976 the district had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was forty-one points, the most Democratic-leaning result in the district's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $66,109 sits well below state and national norms, and 17% 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 21, Virginia. Akashic. https://akashic.app/sld-upper/51021/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did State Senate District 21, Virginia vote in 2024?
In 2024, State Senate District 21, Virginia voted Democratic by 41.3 points (D+41), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 78,961 votes cast, 55,029 went Democratic and 22,379 went Republican.
What is State Senate District 21, Virginia's political archetype?
Akashic classifies State Senate District 21, Virginia as a "Populist" district based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the district has voted Democratic 30 times, Republican 4 times, and other 0 times.
When did State Senate District 21, Virginia last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which State Senate District 21, Virginia voted Republican was 1972.
How many people live in State Senate District 21, Virginia?
State Senate District 21, Virginia has a population of 214,454 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 21, Virginia?
Median household income in State Senate District 21, Virginia is $66,109 — below the national median of $80,734. The Virginia state median is $93,170.
What is the political history of State Senate District 21, Virginia?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in State Senate District 21, Virginia from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 30 went Democratic and 4 went Republican. The district's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.