Virginia Beach is located in the heart of Virginia and is a city with a rich history and culture. It is also a popular tourist destination due to its coastal location and abundance of attractions. With regards to politics, Virginia Beach falls within the boundaries of Virginia's 2nd Congressional District which is currently represented by Republican Scott Rigell. At the state level, Virginia Beach is served by three members of the State Senate and seven delegates in the General Assembly. Locally, there are numerous elected officials including City Council members, Sheriff, Commonwealth Attorneys, Clerk of Circuit Court, and Commissioner of Revenue. Additionally, various boards and commissions oversee municipal operations in Virginia Beach such as school boards and library boards. All these elements contribute to making politics in Virginia Beach an important factor for residents who desire to stay informed on political events as well as those interested in participating in local government activities.
The political climate in Virginia Beach City County, VA is leaning liberal.
In Virginia Beach City County, VA 51.6% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 46.2% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 2.2% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Virginia Beach city county flipped moderately Democratic, 51.6% to 46.2%.
Virginia Beach city county flipped Democratic after voting Republican in the previous five Presidential elections.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Virginia Beach City County, VA is leaning liberal.
Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News Metro Area is moderately liberal.
Virginia is somewhat liberal.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index is based on recent voting in national elections, federal campaign contributions by local residents, and consumer personality profiles.
VoteWord™
Displaying 20 years of Presidential voting, visualized in one word.
Virginia Beach City, Virginia: R R r r r d
How It Works:
Here at BestPlaces, we were looking at the voting patterns since the 2000 election and realized that we could express the results of each election as one letter. R if the Republican Party candidate won, D for the Democrat and I for the Independent. The six elections (2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020) would be expressed as six-letter word (R R D R R).
Then we went a little further and added the dimension of magnitude. If the difference of victory was greater than 10 percent, the letter is upper case, and lower case if the difference was less than 10 percent. This allows us to see interesting voting patterns at just a glance.
Here's the VoteWord for Iowa d r d d r. In the last six elections the state has been closely contested, voting narrowly for the Republican Party candidate in 2016 and 2020 after voting for the Democratic Party in 2008 and 2012. Virginia (r r d d d D) has voted for the Democratic Party in the last three elections.
Individual Campaign Contributions in Virginia Beach City County, VA
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 12,437 contributions totaling $2,660,229 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $214 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 6,526 contributions totaling $2,819,141 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $432 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)