The 2016 Virginia Democratic presidential primary took place on March 1 in the U.S. state of Virginia as one of the Democratic Party's primaries ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

On the same day, dubbed "Super Tuesday," Democratic primaries were held in ten other states plus American Samoa, while the Republican Party held primaries in eleven states including their own Virginia primary.

Opinion polling

Results

Primary date: March 1, 2016 National delegates: 95

Results by county/Independent cities

County Clinton Votes Sanders Votes Accomack 72.0% 1,790 27.4% 682 Albemarle 54.6% 8,288 45.0% 6,844 Alexandria 69.5% 16,310 29.9% 7,031 Alleghany 63.3% 433 36.0% 246 Amelia 78.8% 671 21.0% 179 Amherst 65.2% 1,044 34.1% 546 Appomattox 67.0% 448 32.1% 215 Arlington 66.8% 25,582 32.8% 12,566 Augusta 48.0% 1,639 51.4% 1,754 Bath 63.0% 148 36.6% 86 Bedford 56.5% 1,876 42.9% 1,424 Bland 51.7% 125 47.1% 114 Botetourt 55.7% 888 43.6% 695 Bristol 56.3% 428 42.6% 324 Brunswick 89.7% 1,354 10.1% 153 Buchanan 70.3% 523 28.4% 211 Buckingham 76.6% 902 23.1% 272 Buena Vista 58.2% 142 41.0% 100 Campbell 65.8% 1,299 33.8% 667 Caroline 74.2% 1,902 25.1% 642 Carroll 57.1% 601 42.4% 446 Charles City 85.6% 864 14.0% 141 Charlotte 79.1% 162 20.2% 162 Charlottesville 46.3% 3,889 53.4% 4,483 Chesapeake 74.1% 16,133 25.5% 5,558 Chesterfield 66.0% 22,617 33.6% 11,514 Clarke 51.4% 625 47.7% 581 Colonia Heights 55.8% 407 43.4% 316 Covington 73.6% 237 25.5% 82 Craig 51.1% 113 48.0% 106 Culpeper 54.7% 1,421 44.4% 1,154 Cumberland 79.9% 639 19.8% 158 Danville 79.9% 2,677 19.6% 656 Dickenson 60.0% 346 38.7% 223 Dinwiddie 83.3% 1,935 16.2% 375 Emporia 88.7% 407 10.9% 50 Essex 82.1% 643 17.1% 134 Fairfax (City) 59.4% 1,841 40.2% 1,246 Fairfax (County) 63.0% 88,147 36.4% 50,930 Falls Church 61.2% 1,588 38.5% 1,000 Fauquier 54.5% 2,860 44.7% 2,345 Floyd 29.6% 396 70.1% 936 Fluvanna 57.6% 1,355 41.8% 984 Franklin 86.9% 804 12.4% 115 Franklin 62.6% 1,675 36.6% 980 Frederick 50.1% 2,114 49.1% 2,072 Fredericksburg 52.7% 1,400 46.7% 1,241 Galax 57.9% 129 41.3% 92 Giles 55.7% 405 43.6% 317 Gloucester 59.1% 1,448 40.5% 993 Goochland 71.5% 1,574 28.3% 624 Grayson 49.3% 265 50.0% 269 Greene 48.7% 579 50.8% 603 Greensville 87.7% 832 11.9% 113 Halifax 80.8% 1,756 18.6% 403 Hampton 77.9% 13,542 21.7% 3,770 Hanover 59.9% 4,916 39.7% 3,255 Harrisonburg 33.6% 1,482 66.1% 2,914 Henrico 69.8% 28,170 29.7% 11,994 Henry 72.7% 1,810 26.7% 664 Highland 49.4% 86 50.6% 88 Hopewell 77.4% 1,177 22.2% 337 Isle of Wight73.9% 2,449 25.7% 853 James City 65.1% 5,213 34.3% 2,752 King and Queen 78.7% 477 20.8% 126 King George 59.4% 916 39.7% 612 King William 72.0% 843 26.9% 315 Lancaster 74.4% 823 24.8% 275 Lee 63.5% 317 34.1% 170 Lexington 61.2% 403 37.9% 250 Loudoun 58.6% 21,180 40.8% 14,730 Louisa 65.5% 1,630 34.1% 849 Lunenburg 83.5% 736 16.0% 141 Lynchburg 61.6% 3,105 38.2% 1,923 Madison 59.1% 538 40.7% 370 Manassas 58.0% 1,813 41.1% 1,284 Manassas Park 57.4% 581 42.2% 427 Martinsville 75.3% 834 23.8% 264 Mathews 63.2% 435 35.9% 247 Mecklenburg 80.3% 1,589 19.2% 379 Middlesex 64.4% 509 35.4% 280 Montgomery 40.7% 3,507 59.0% 5,090 Nelson 56.2% 992 43.1% 761 New Kent 67.8% 951 31.4% 440 Newport News 73.0% 4,553 26.6% 4,553 Norfolk 69.2% 15,760 30.5% 6,936 Northampton 72.5% 868 27.1% 324 Northumberland75.1% 823 24.2% 265 Norton 53.8% 86 45.0% 72 Nottoway 78.1% 829 21.1% 224 Orange 59.9% 1,322 39.4% 870 Page 53.4% 411 46.0% 353 Patrick 48.9% 361 50.3% 372 Petersburg 85.4% 4,100 14.3% 688 Pittsylvania 75.2% 2,371 24.3% 766 Poquoson 46.5% 295 52.8% 335 Portsmouth 78.5% 9,469 21.1% 2,541 Powhatan 64.4% 1,079 35.3% 592 Prince Edward75.9% 1,366 23.3% 420 Prince George77.7% 1,994 22.1% 566 Prince William63.9% 26,443 35.5% 14,701 Pulaski 58.3% 837 41.0% 588 Radford 41.6% 472 57.7% 655 Richmond (City) 60.6% 21,828 39.2% 14,117 Richmond (County) 80.1% 333 19.2% 80 Roanoke (City) 59.0% 4,784 40.8% 3,302 Roanoke (County) 54.3% 3,325 45.1% 2,761 Rockbridge 57.1% 902 42.8% 676 Rockingham 47.0% 1,735 52.6% 1,943 Russell 59.9% 557 38.8% 361 Salem 50.9% 765 48.4% 727 Scott 56.2% 305 42.9% 233 Shenandoah 50.5% 960 48.8% 929 Smyth 58.7% 527 40.2% 361 Southampton 83.8% 1,199 15.1% 216 Spotsylvania 60.4% 5,399 38.9% 3,480 Stafford 60.9% 6,439 38.2% 4,042 Staunton 44.8% 1,115 54.8% 1,365 Suffolk 79.5% 7,537 20.0% 1,895 Surry 81.8% 812 17.5% 174 Sussex 90.5% 957 9.3% 98 Tazewell 57.6% 683 40.6% 481 Virginia Beach 63.1% 22,362 36.6% 12,983 Warren 48.0% 942 51.4% 1,008 Washington 54.1% 1,185 45.0% 984 Waynesboro 50.3% 788 49.0% 769 Westmoreland 74.5% 879 25.0% 295 Williamsburg 49.0% 1,159 50.7% 1,199 Winchester 50.9% 950 48.4% 903 Wise 46.8% 519 52.3% 579 Whythe 55.3% 529 44.2% 423 York 61.4% 3,292 38.1% 2,041 Total 64.3% 504,741 35.2% 276,370

Analysis After losing the state badly to Barack Obama in 2008, Hillary Clinton won Virginia by 29 points against Bernie Sanders in 2016. Her victory was primarily delivered by African Americans who backed Clinton 84-16, and women, who backed Clinton over Sanders by a margin of 70-30. Clinton also won the white vote in Virginia, 57-42, which comprised 63% of the electorate in the State. Clinton swept all income levels and educational attainment levels.

Clinton won most of the major cities in Virginia. She won Alexandria and Fairfax by a wide margin. She also won the D.C. suburbs as a whole, 65-35. This region has a large population of college-educated whites as well as African Americans. Clinton won the Northern Virginia Exurbs 60-40. She performed well in more rural Central Virginia and western Virginia including the Shenandoah Valley, winning 54-43 over Bernie Sanders and carrying the city of Roanoke. Clinton also won the eastern region of Virginia, including the major city of Richmond, by a margin of 66-34. She won in the Tidewater region of Virginia 72-28.

References