Virginia's tenth congressional district is a U.S. congressional district in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is currently represented by DemocratJennifer Wexton, who was first elected in 2018. The district includes all of Clarke, Frederick, and Loudoun counties, parts of Fairfax and Prince William counties, and the independent cities of Manassas, Manassas Park and Winchester. The district closely matches Virginia's voting patterns in statewide races with nearly identical margins as the final statewide results. Since it was re-created in 1952, the 10th district has been in Republican hands for 60 of 66 years, including long stints in office by Representatives Joel Broyhill and Frank Wolf. Barbara Comstock, a former aide to Wolf, succeeded him after the 2014 election. Comstock was defeated by Wexton in the 2018 midterms. According to Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball, this district has many "wealthy and highly-educated voters" as of 14 April 2016. Specifically, whites represent about 61% of the population, and immigrants represent over 20%. Just over half of adults hold at least a four-year college degree. The median income is $120,384. The 10th district has 35,500 federal workers. By comparison, the 1st district has 46,900; the 11th has 51,900; and the 8th has 81,100. The eastern part of the district is home to Dulles Airport and technology, telecom and aerospace companies including Verizon Business Global LLC, WorldCom Inc. and Aeronautical Systems Inc.
History
The modern 10th congressional district was formed in 1952. In the 1960s it consisted of Arlington, Alexandria and most of Fairfax County.
Voting
Virginia's 10th congressional district used to be a Republican stronghold, having once voted by double-digit margins for Republican candidates. In 2000, incumbent Congressman Frank Wolf won over 80% of the vote, although no Democrats filed to run. Two years later, Wolf defeated his Democratic challenger, John Stevens, by 43 points. In 2004, President George W. Bush won the district by 11 points. Over time, due to population growth in the Washington, D.C. suburbs, the margin, whether it be in Congressional or statewide races, has begun to narrow. In 2012, Mitt Romney narrowly carried the district by a point, while in 2016, Hillary Clinton won the district by 10 points.
