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Good Things Happening for Democrats in Virginia

As a native Virginian who headed home over the weekend, I was reminded how much the electoral politics have changed in the Old Dominion State. For example, in the 1990s, the U.S. senators were both Republican, and Gov. Wilder notwithstanding, so were the governors; ditto for the state senate and state delegates. As of 2008, there is a Democratic governor, a Democratic state senate, and, almost certainly, two outstanding Democratic senators in Jim Webb and (hopefully) Mark Warner. Warner has helped draw enough support in Republican parts of the state, including the Shenandoah Valley, to change the dymanics of Virginia politics. At least one congressional district, the 11th, in which Tom Davis, a moderate Republican, is retiring, is going from red-to-blue; and one near Hampton Roads might do the same.

Grassroots action on behalf of local Democrats, coupled with enough financial backing and a good strategy, has yielded some very favorable results. Is this enough for Obama to win Virginia, though?

Labels: Barack Obama, Democrats, Shenandoah Valley, Virginia

posted by Michael Martin @ 7:29 PM