By Leigh Dannhauser
Republican incumbent Bob Goodlatte easily won reelection to the 6th Congressional District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives Tuesday. With 81 percent of the precincts reporting, Goodlatte had nearly 67.3 percent of the vote over Democratic candidate Andy Schmookler.
The 6th Congressional District stretches from Roanoke County to Shenandoah County and includes Rockbridge County.
With all 18 precincts reporting, Goodlatte won Rockbridge County with more than 66 percent of the vote. Goodlatte was also leading in Buena Vista.
Schmookler, however, carried Lexington, with 52.15 percent of the votes, compared to Goodlatte’s 47.51 percent.
Goodlatte, 60, a native of Massachusetts who settled in Roanoke after graduating from Washington and Lee University’s law school, had reason to be confident going into Election Day. He has never won less than 60 percent of the vote in any of his campaigns, a streak that started when he first ran for the Congressional seat in 1992.
In most recent elections Democrats have not put in much effort into trying to win Goodlatte’s seat. Through mid-October, according to Federal Election Commission records, only $5,900 of Schmookler’s $157,000 in campaign contributions came from what were labeled party committees.
Republican candidates also won congressional seats in surrounding districts.
Incumbent Robert Hurt was reelected in the 5th Congressional District, with 56.57 percent of the vote. Republican Eric Cantor was reelected in the 7th Congressional District, with 57.47 percent of the vote. And Morgan Griffith again won the 9th Congressional District, with 61.67 percent of the votes.