It currently encompasses all of the counties of Accomack, Northampton, and Isle of Wight; all of the independent cities of Virginia Beach, Suffolk, and Franklin; part of the independent city of Chesapeake; and part of Southampton County.

However, its boundaries have changed greatly over the centuries; it initially encompassed what became West Virginia after the American Civil War.

In the November 6, 2018, election, Democrat Elaine Luria defeated Republican Scott Taylor.

The responsibility of drawing maps for congressional and state legislative districts passed from the Virginia Redistricting Commission (VRC) to the Supreme Court of Virginia in November 2021.

[7] The Virginia Second District started in 1788 covering the counties of Mercer, Jefferson, Fayette, Bourbon, Lincoln, Nelson and Madison.