Where Trump and Harris saw swings in the Richmond area
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Richmond and its immediate suburbs once again voted overwhelmingly for the Democratic ticket in a presidential election, but the metro area saw some surprising partisan swings this year.
Why it matters: President-elect Trump may not have won Virginia, but he performed better in almost every part of the state compared to 2020.
The big picture: Statewide, Vice President Harris won by 5.2% Tuesday, a significant drop from President Biden's 10.1% win four years ago and down from Hillary Clinton's 5.3% win in 2016.
- That slimmer margins played out across the state in all but nine Virginia localities, according to an analysis from the Virginia Public Access Project.
Zoom in: Chesterfield, Richmond's fast-growing and recently-purple county, was one.
- On Tuesday, Harris won the metro's largest county by 8%, up from the 6% Biden won it by in 2020. In 2016, Chesterfield went for Trump.
Meanwhile, Trump outperformed in the region's reliably blue center: the city of Richmond.
Yes, but: Turnout was lower in every part of Virginia, especially in the Democratic strongholds, per an analysis of VPAP data.
- The Republican-leaning Richmond exurbs — Goochland, Powhatan, New Kent and Hanover — had some of the highest voter turnout in the state (though still below 2020).
- The region's Democratic-leaning cities — Petersburg and Hopewell — had some of the lowest voter turnout.
By the numbers voter breakdown:
Richmond: Harris 82% vs. Trump, 16%. Turnout: 61%
- 2020: Biden: 83% vs. Trump, 15%. Turnout: 69%
Chesterfield: Harris, 53% vs. Trump, 45%. Turnout: 72%
- 2020: Biden, 52% vs. Trump, 46%. Turnout: 79%
Henrico: Harris, 63% vs. Trump, 35%. Turnout: 70%
- 2020: Biden, 64% vs. Trump, 35%. Turnout: 77%
Hanover, the metro area's reliably red locality, shook out the same this year as 2020: Trump, 62% vs. Harris/Biden: 36%
- With 80% turnout this year vs. 84% in 2020.
Fun fact: Richmond city may have swung slightly more for the Republican this time around, but only one of the city's 72 precincts went fully for Trump.
- That's precinct 106, in Windsor Farms, which Trump won with 67% of the vote, making it the Trumpiest neighborhood in Richmond.