A head to head comparison of the Virginia 2016 General Election gives us an idea of the break down of the voters.
Hillary Clinton received 1,981,473 (50%) votes beating Donald Trump who gained 1,769,443 (44%) by a massive 212,030 votes in Virginia.
Donald Trump won 93 counties whereas Hillary Clinton won 40 counties in the total of the 133 counties in the State of Virginia.
2016 Virginia (VA) Primary Election vs Presidential General Elections Counties Won
Primary Elections
Presidential General Election
Primary Election
In the Primary, Trump won 73 counties in the 4-way match up. Clinton trailed behind Trump winning 50 counties. Sanders won 6 counties and Rubio won 4 countries out of the State of Virginia.
2016 Virginia (VA) Presidential Primary vs Presidential General Elections w.r.t % Votes and Total Votes Won
Primary Election
Presidential Election
On a head to head count with the total votes between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump in the Primary and General Elections, percentage (%) vote shift difference is a 9% increment for Donald Trump in the Presidential Elections as opposed to a 9% decrease for Hillary Clinton. These margins are represented as 1,733,847 vote increment for Donald Trump and 1,478,115 vote increment for Hillary Clinton at the General Elections.
Clinton's Popular Vote Victory Contributed by Virginia (VA) at the 2016 General Elections
Presidential Primary Elections
Presidential General Elections
During the 2016 General elections, over 146,434,269 total number of votes were cast. Hillary Clinton got 65,849,971 (65.8 Million) over Donald Trump's 62,984,405 (62.9 Million). She won the popular vote by 2,865,566 (2.8 Million). Her win in Virginia represents 3% of her popular vote victory. The remaining 49 states contributed to her the remaining 97% popular votes victory.
Top 15 Counties in Primary Elections vs General Elections
All Candidates (Primary Elections)
All Candidates (General Elections)
These 15 counties play an important role in these Primary elections. If a candidate, can get a sizable majority in the larger counties (Fairfax, Virginia Beach, Prince William), it becomes very difficult to win majorities in the smaller counties without voter outreach and increased voter participation in them.
Top 15 Counties Comparison in Primary Elections vs General Elections
Primary Elections
Hillary Clinton
Primary Elections
Donald Trump
General Elections
Hillary Clinton
General Elections
Donald Trump
Fairfax, Prince William, two of the larger counties voted in favor of Clinton, giving her over 468k vote advantage. Virginia Beach, another larger countye voted in favor of Trump giving him a 7k voter advantage in that county. Clinton's steady win in the more dense counties contributed to the 212K marginal vote advantage that helped her gain an upper hand in the State of Virginia.
Related References: 2016 Virginia Primary Election Story, 2020 Virginia Primary Election Story