Why are so many seats in Virginia politics uncontested?

There are many candidates in Virginia’s elections this year that won’t have opponents.

According to the Virginia Public Access Project (VPAP), 79 of the 140 Virginia House districts – or 56% – will be uncontested.

In our area there are several races, both local and state, where there are no opponents.

On the state level, delegates Rich Anderson and Luke Torian will run unopposed. And on the county level, several incumbents on the board of supervisors and the school board will have no opponent.

According to Stephen Farnsworth, professor at the University of Mary Washington and the director for the Center for Leadership and Media Studies, there are two major reasons why – the way the districts are drawn, and money.

The way district lines are drawn

“The biggest factor that explains why so many races are uncontested is gerrymandering. If the district is drawn in such a way that a Democrat is obviously going to win, or a Republican is obviously going to win, why would a candidate in the other party invest the kind of time, and money, and energy that’s required to compete in an election,” said Farnsworth.

The constitutionality of Virginia’s Congressional and House districts has been called into question. After lawsuits were filed claiming racial gerrymandering for both district maps, a federal judge panel threw out the Congressional districts.

The Congressional districts will have to be drawn this summer by the General Assembly in a special session. The House districts are still in pending litigation, but may also need to be redrawn.

Farnsworth stated that even if a candidate were to run as an opponent for a race on a state or local election, there would be little incentive to do so.

“For Democrats in the House of Delegates in particular, the large Republican majority means that even if a Democrat did somehow win in some of these districts, they would just be part of a tiny minority in Richmond,” Farnsworth commented.

Raising money for certain seats is a challenge

Additionally, the amount of money it takes to now run a political campaign, particularly against an incumbent, is a major deterrent.

“Money is always a factor in politics. On the one hand you have to raise a huge amount of money to be competitive, but on the other you have to convince donors that this is a race worth winning and in Virginia politics right now, virtually all of the money is going to be going towards a handful of contested Senate seats that will determine whether the Democrats or the Republicans are in the majority in the state Senate,” said Farnsworth.

While there will be change in the coming months with the redrawing of Virginia’s Congressional districts and the potential redrawing of House districts, that may entice more competitive and contested elections, Farnsworth asserted that the changes will be minor.

“Incumbents like these lines, they’re not going to give away these lines unless they are absolutely, finally forced to…as long as the legislature is drawing the lines, they will draw lines that are appealing to the majority,” Farnsworth said.

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