Rep. John McGuire, R-Goochland County, is seeking reelection in the 5th District.
Normally, that wouldn’t be particularly remarkable since McGuire currently represents the 5th District.
It becomes more noteworthy with the Democrats’ proposed redistricting map,which would take away 87.9% of his constituents and place his home in Goochland in a newly constructed 7th District that runs north to Arlington County and is dominated by Democratic voters.
However, House members don’t have to live in their districts, just in the state.
On Friday, McGuire announced that on Monday he will “begin a series of meet and greets for his campaign for re-election in the Fifth District.”
His campaign did not respond to an inquiry about where he would run if voters approve redistricting in an April 21 special election.
McGuire’s schedule for next week listed three appearances in the current 5th District: in Charlottesville, in Chatham in Pittsylvania County and in Rice in Prince Edward County. If the redistricting plan is approved, only one of those — Prince Edward County – would be in the new version of the 5th District.
Under the current map, McGuire would likely face Democrat Tom Perriello, a former 5th District congressman from Albemarle County.
Under the proposed map, Albemarle and Perriello would move into the 6th District along with Roanoke author Beth Macy. The proposed version of the 5th would include parts of Richmond and its suburbs; Henrico County Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor is the only announced Democratic candidate there.
