Virginia Beach voted for a Democratic presidential candidate for the first time since 1964. Why?

Virginia Beach — Presidential candidate Joe Biden won nearly all of Hampton Roads, but support for the former vice president in Virginia Beach surprised political leaders and regional election experts.

The largest city in the state and richest in the region has not supported a Democratic presidential candidate since 1964, when it helped elect Lyndon Johnson with just 12,892 votes. Soon after that, the population exploded due to merger of Virginia Beach with Princess Anne County and the city became known for its predominately white suburbs that typically lean Republican.

President Donald Trump won the city with 48% in 2016.

Without a doubt, early in-person voting and no-excuse absentee voting helped Biden win, said Sandra Brandt, Democratic chairwoman of the 2nd Congressional District.

“I think that a lot of people came out this time because they wanted to make a change and they were concerned about COVID and it was easy to vote,” Brandt said. “I would like to think this is the beginning of changing Virginia Beach blue, but we will have to see who is running and what the issues are in four years.”

Eric Claville, who serves as the director of the Center for African American Public Policy at Norfolk State University, said he was struck by Virginia Beach’s support for Democrats for federal offices.

Claville, who is also an attorney and election consultant, said voters are signaling that they will not stand for President Trump’s extremist rhetoric, or his mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has cost the resort city millions. He said the area was also not happy about civil unrest negatively impacting business.

“Racism is a bad business model,” he said. “Psychologically, voters thought being a moderate is better for business.”

Quentin Kidd, political science professor and director of Christopher Newport University’s Wason Center for Public Policy, said Virginia Beach’s support of Biden is part of a larger movement of Republicans losing hold of suburban areas. Chesapeake and Suffolk voted for Biden, too.

“That has to be concerning Republicans,” he said.

Biden’s win shouldn’t be a total surprise. Kidd said Virginia Beach has showed signs it was willing to support Democratic candidates over the past few years when voters elected Gov. Ralph Northam with more than 51%, as well as several Democratic state legislators.

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Kidd said he considers Virginia Beach’s political leanings to be right of center. But he said the city is becoming more competitive in political races and he expects that to continue.

“I don’t think Virginia Beach is going to be a swing city any time soon,” Kidd said. “As Virginia Beach develops a more urbanized core, ... I do think there’s going to be a greater tendency to vote Democratic.”

Republicans incumbents, including Mayor Bobby Dyer, who supports Trump, held onto their city council seats, which are officially nonpartisan positions. Biden’s coattails weren’t as long as people anticipated them to be, Kidd said.

Bill Curtis, Virginia Beach’s Republican Party Chairman, said he thinks voters were focused on the top of the ticket and gave secondary consideration to the local offices. He said the vote totals show people who voted for Biden picked the council candidates supported by the local Republican Party. Voters likely cared less about the party affiliation of the council and school board candidates because they are neighbors, he said.

Kidd and Claville said it’s possible voters weren’t paying close attention to political affiliation in the local races.

“People who were motivated to vote in the presidential election may not have understood the partisan dynamics at play under the surface in the local races,” Kidd said.

Alissa Skelton, 757-995-9043, alissa.skelton@pilotonline.com.