Virginia's 21st Senate district

Virginia's 21st Senate district is one of 40 districts in the Senate of Virginia. It has been represented by Democratic Senator John S. Edwards since 1996. Although it voted for both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, it is currently the most Republican-leaning district to be represented by a Democrat.

Virginia's 21st State Senate District
Senator	John S. Edwards D–Roanoke
Demographics	72% White 16% Black 5% Hispanic 5% Asian 2% Other
Population (2017)	205,138[1]
Registered voters	127,285[2]

Geography

District 21 comprises the most Democratic-leaning parts of Southwest Virginia, including all of the City of Roanoke and Giles County, as well as part of Montgomery County (where Blacksburg is located) and a small sliver of Roanoke County.[3]

The district overlaps with U.S. congressional districts 6 and 9, and Virginia House of Delegates districts 7, 8, 11, 12, and 17.[4] It borders the state of West Virginia.[1]

Recent election results

2019

2019 Virginia Senate election, District 21[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John S. Edwards (incumbent)	26,570	65.5
	Independent	Steven Nelson	13,662	33.7
Total votes			40,541	100
	Democratic hold

2015

2015 Virginia Senate election, District 21[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John S. Edwards (incumbent)	20,881	50.9
	Republican	Nancy Dye	17,438	42.5
	Independent	Donald Caldwell	2,626	6.4
Total votes			40,987	100
	Democratic hold

2011

2011 Virginia Senate election, District 21[6]

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	David Nutter	1,854	66.3
	Republican	Everett Carl Tripp Godsey, III	944	33.7
Total votes			2,798	100
General election
	Democratic	John S. Edwards (incumbent)	21,259	55.9
	Republican	David Nutter	16,728	44.0
Total votes			38,037	100
	Democratic hold

Federal and statewide results in District 21

Year	Office	Results[7]
2017	Governor	Northam 56.1–42.3%
2016	President	Clinton 50.7–42.9%
2014	Senate	Warner 54.2–42.1%
2013	Governor	McAuliffe 49.1–40.9%
2012	President	Obama 54.0–43.6%
	Senate	Kaine 56.9–43.1%

Historical results

All election results below took place prior to 2011 redistricting, and thus were under different district lines.

2007

2007 Virginia Senate election, District 21[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John S. Edwards (incumbent)	22,282	98.2
Total votes			22,698	100
	Democratic hold

2003

2003 Virginia Senate election, District 21[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John S. Edwards (incumbent)	21,349	99.9
Total votes			21,367	100
	Democratic hold

1999

1999 Virginia Senate election, District 21[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John S. Edwards (incumbent)	23,091	58.9
	Republican	William Fralin	16,133	41.1
Total votes			39,228	100
	Democratic hold

1995

1995 Virginia Senate election, District 21[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John S. Edwards	23,956	54.6
	Republican	Brandon Bell (incumbent)	19,946	45.4
Total votes			43,909	100
	Democratic gain from Republican

References

1. "State Senate District 21, VA". Census Reporter. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
2. "Registrant Counts by District Type" (PDF). Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Elections. June 2019.
3. "District 21 Description". John S. Edwards. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
4. David Jarman. "How do counties, House districts, and legislative districts all overlap?". Daily Kos. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
5. "Virginia State Senate District 21". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
6. "Elections Database". Virginia Board of Elections. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
7. "Daily Kos Elections Statewide Results by LD". Daily Kos. Retrieved 17 August 2019.