Redistricting in West Virginia

Here's how the new congressional map shifts voting power

By Janie Boschma, Renée Rigdon, Byron Manley and Ethan Cohen, CNN. Additional reporting and design by Melissa DePalo and Eleanor Stubbs, CNN

Last updated: May 18, 2022

Every 10 years, states redraw the boundaries of their congressional districts to reflect new population counts from the census. West Virginia lost a congressional seat due to population decline, which meant Republicans couldn’t protect all three of their congressional incumbents.

The state legislature drew two safe Republican seats, putting Reps. Alex Mooney and David McKinley in the state’s new 2nd District. Mooney vs. McKinley is the country’s first member vs. member primary this election cycle.

How the districts voted in 2020, by presidential vote margin in percentage points

Democratic

30+
15+
5+

Competitive

Within 5

Republican

5+
15+
30+

Old map 3 districts

In the old congressional map, there are 0 Democratic, 0 competitive and 3 Republican districts.

Change

Change in Democratic districts: 0

Change in Competitive districts: 0

Change in Republican districts: -1-1R

New map 2 districts1

In the new congressional map, there are 0 Democratic, 0 competitive and 2 Republican districts.

How the new map shifts voting power by demographic

West Virginia lost a seat in the House after the 2020 census. In both of its districts, White voters represent the majority.

Number of White-majority districts
Old Map
3
New Map
2
A chart showing the number of White-majority districts has decreased by 1, for a total of 2

The group that represents the majority in each district

White

About the data

Sources: US Census Bureau, Edison Research, each state’s legislature or other redistricting authority

Methodology note: Block-level demographic data from the 2020 census is reaggregated into each new district’s boundaries.