2018 United States Senate election in Virginia

The 2018 United States Senate election in Virginia took place on November 6, 2018, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the Commonwealth of Virginia, concurrently with other elections to the U.S. Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives, and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democratic Senator Tim Kaine, who had been his party's unsuccessful nominee for vice president two years earlier, was re-elected to a second term in office, winning this seat by the largest margin since 1988. This was the first election since 1994 that anyone had been re-elected to this seat.

The Republican Party of Virginia central committee voted to select the Republican nominee for Senate by a primary rather than a convention. Corey Stewart, chair of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors, won the Republican nomination on June 12, 2018, after defeating Delegate Nick Freitas and Christian minister E. W. Jackson.

Nominee

 * Tim Kaine, incumbent U.S. Senator, former governor, and Democratic nominee for vice president in 2016

Nominee

 * Corey Stewart, chairman of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors, candidate for lieutenant governor in 2013 and candidate for governor in 2017

Eliminated in primary

 * Nick Freitas, state delegate
 * E. W. Jackson, pastor, attorney, veteran, candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2012 and nominee for lieutenant governor in 2013

Failed to qualify

 * Minerva Diaz, veteran, businesswoman, and Christian minister
 * Bert Mizusawa, former Deputy Undersecretary of the Army, retired U.S. Army Major General and candidate for VA-02 in 2010
 * Ivan Raiklin, veteran and businessman

Declined

 * Dave Brat, U.S. Representative
 * Eric Cantor, former Majority Leader of the United States House of Representatives
 * Barbara Comstock, U.S. Representative
 * Ken Cuccinelli, former attorney general and nominee for governor in 2013
 * Tom Davis, former U.S. Representative
 * Jim Gilmore, former governor, nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2008 and candidate for president in 2008 and 2016
 * Jimmie Massie, former state delegate
 * Pete Snyder, technology entrepreneur and candidate for lieutenant governor in 2013
 * Scott Taylor, U.S. Representative
 * Rob Wittman, U.S. Representative
 * Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard, nominee for the U.S. Senate from California in 2010 and candidate for president in 2016
 * Ed Gillespie, former chairman of the Republican National Committee, nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2014, and nominee for governor in 2017
 * Shak Hill, candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2014 (running for VA-10)
 * Laura Ingraham, talk radio host, author, and conservative political commentator (endorsed Corey Stewart)
 * Bob McDonnell, former governor of Virginia (endorsed Nick Freitas)
 * John Moore, University of Virginia law professor and former diplomat
 * Frank Wagner, state senator and candidate for governor in 2017

Results
[[File:Virginia U.S. Senate Republican primary, 2018.svg|thumb|Results by county: {{legend|#d40000|Stewart—70–80%}} {{legend|#cc2f4a|Stewart—60–70%}} {{legend|#e27f90|Stewart—50–60%}} {{legend|#f2b3be|Stewart—40–50%}} {{legend|#ffccd0|Stewart—<40%}}

{{legend|#656565|Tie}}

{{legend|#ffccaa|Freitas—<40%}} {{legend|#ffb380|Freitas—40–50%}} {{legend|#ff9955|Freitas—50–60%}} {{legend|#ff7f2a|Freitas—60–70%}} {{legend|#ff6600|Freitas—70–80%}} ]]

Third party candidates

 * Matt Waters, director of development at Students For Liberty, received the Libertarian Party nomination on March 10, 2018. On June 28, 2018, he also received the endorsement of the Constitution Party of Virginia.
 * Winsome Sears, a Republican former state delegate, ran as a write-in candidate.

General election
The election featured a match-up of two Minnesota-born Virginians: Republican Corey Stewart was born in Duluth, Minnesota, and Democrat Tim Kaine was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota. All polls leading up to the election showed Kaine defeating Stewart by a wide margin.

Polling

 * with Nick Freitas


 * with E. W. Jackson


 * with Dave Brat


 * with Barbara Comstock


 * with Carly Fiorina


 * with Laura Ingraham


 * with Scott Taylor

Results
Kaine won the election by a wide margin.

Counties and independent cities that flipped from Republican to Democratic

 * Chesterfield (no municipalities)
 * Fluvanna (largest city: Lake Monticello)
 * Lynchburg (independent city)
 * James City (no municipalities)
 * Stafford (no municipalities)
 * Waynesboro (independent city)

Counties and independent cities that flipped from Democratic to Republican

 * Buckingham (largest town: Dillwyn)