Virginia's 38th Senate district

What was Virginia's 38th Senate district before 2023 redistricting is now numbered Virginia's 5th Senate district in the 2023 election, with altered district lines. The Southwest Virginia district surrounding Pulaski is one of 40 districts in the Senate of Virginia. It has been represented by Republican Travis Hackworth since 2021 as the 38th, following the death of fellow Republican A. Benton Chafin from complications of COVID-19.^[3] (The 38th district number, starting with the November, 2023, election is applied to a redefined district in Northeastern Virginia, bordering Maryland and the District of Columbia.

Virginia's 38th State Senate district
District map before the 2023 election District map from the 2023 election
Senator	Jennifer Boysko D–Herndon
Demographics	92% White 4% Black 1% Hispanic 1% Asian 1% Other
Population (2019)	192,313[1]
Registered voters	122,534[2]

Geography

District 38 is based in Southwest Virginia, including all of Bland, Buchanan, Dickenson, Pulaski, Russell, and Tazewell Counties and the cities of Norton and Radford, as well as parts of Montgomery, Smyth, and Wise Counties.^[3]

The district is located entirely within Virginia's 9th congressional district, and overlaps with the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 6th, 7th, and 12th districts of the Virginia House of Delegates.^[4] It borders the states of West Virginia and Kentucky.^[1]

Recent election results

2021 special

2021 Virginia Senate special election, District 38^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Travis Hackworth	18,082	76.3
	Democratic	Laurie Buchwald	5,585	23.6
Total votes			23,706	100
	Republican hold

2019

2019 Virginia Senate election, District 38^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ben Chafin (incumbent)	30,295	63.6
	Independent	George McCall III	16,784	35.3
Total votes			47,607	100
	Republican hold

2015

2015 Virginia Senate election, District 38^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ben Chafin (incumbent)	31,025	98.3
Total votes			31,562	100
	Republican hold

2014 special

County and independent city results

  Chafin

•   40–50%
•   50–60%
•   60–70%
•   70–80%

  Mullins

•   30–40%

2014 Virginia Senate special election, District 38^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ben Chafin	17,496	59.6
	Democratic	Mike Hymes	9,354	31.8
	Independent	Rickey Mullins	2,517	8.6
Total votes			29,380	100
	Republican gain from Democratic

2011

County and independent city results

  Puckett

•   50–60%
•   60–70%

  Light

•   50–60%

2011 Virginia Senate election, District 38^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Phillip Puckett (incumbent)	26,339	53.0
	Republican	Adam Light	23,328	46.9
Total votes			49,720	100
	Democratic hold

Federal and statewide results

Year	Office	Results[8][9]
2020	President	Trump 76.1–22.1%
2017	Governor	Gillespie 72.7–26.3%
2016	President	Trump 74.6–22.2%
2014	Senate	Gillespie 62.1–36.2%
2013	Governor	Cuccinelli 64.4–30.8%
2012	President	Romney 66.9–31.4%
	Senate	Allen 64.9–35.1%

Historical results

All election results below took place prior to 2011 redistricting, and thus were under different district lines.

2007

2007 Virginia Senate election, District 38^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Phillip Puckett (incumbent)	28,869	99.3
Total votes			29,060	100
	Democratic hold

2003

2003 Virginia Senate election, District 38^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Phillip Puckett (incumbent)	30,255	99.8
Total votes			30,312	100
	Democratic hold

1999

1999 Virginia Senate election, District 38^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Phillip Puckett (incumbent)	29,120	70.3
	Republican	Barney Kidd	12,269	29.6
Total votes			41,401	100
	Democratic hold

1998 special

1998 Virginia Senate special election, District 38^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Phillip Puckett	13,670	55.0
	Republican	Roger Rife	9,871	39.7
	Independent	Jerry Ward	1,293	5.2
Total votes			24,838	100
	Democratic hold

1995

1995 Virginia Senate election, District 38^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jackson Reasor (incumbent)	27,637	63.7
	Republican	Frank Nunez	15,724	36.3
Total votes			43,368	100
	Democratic hold

References

1. "State Senate District 38, VA". Census Reporter. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
2. "Registrant Counts by District Type" (PDF). Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Elections. February 1, 2021. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
3. "T. Travis Hackworth". Senate of Virginia. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
4. David Jarman. "How do counties, House districts, and legislative districts all overlap?". Daily Kos. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
5. "2021 March Special - Senate of Virginia". Virginia Department of Elections. March 23, 2021.
6. "Virginia State Senate District 38". Ballotpedia. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
7. "Elections Database". Virginia Board of Elections. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
8. "Daily Kos Elections Statewide Results by LD". Daily Kos. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
9. "2020 Presidential by Legislative District & Most Recent Election Result". CNalysis. Retrieved June 7, 2021.