Changing Pattern Of Norhern Va. Voting Cited as Pivotal

[lanlady]

By Robert Barnes
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, November 9, 2006; Page A31

Was it Republican Sen. George Allen's mistakes, or a Democratic tide? Northern Virginia's dominance, or a new kind of suburban voter changing the commonwealth's politics?

Or maybe the virtual tie between Allen and Democratic Senate nominee James Webb in the state's hugely important Senate contest was simply fitting, the latest evidence that Virginia may be emerging on the national scene as a state up for grabs despite the fact that no Democratic presidential candidate since Lyndon B. Johnson has been able to grab it....

http://tinyurl.com/yldf5p

Northern Virginia DUers will turn this state blue in 2008!!!

[Demeter]

1. Maybe It's The Fact that All the Changes the GOP Made to Elections

in order to facilitate theft have backfired, and made it too obvious when theft occurs, and too "volatile" or in otherwords, responsive to changing minds, by removing institutional inertia.

Personally, I'm all in favor of responsiveness and the transparency that detects and prevents election theft. I think we need more of it, and it has to be done bipartisanly.

[LostinVA]

2. Much of VA is quite purple, and some of it is as blue as can be

And, a few nutty rural areas are as red as red can ever be....

Albemarle County is an interesting case, IMO: Charlottesville is counted separate from the County, and was like 71% for Webb. Hoverer, the county is usually pretty red... but not this time.m It went blue. This is mainly due to changing demographics... ie Charlottesville liberals not able to afford there any more and moving to the county, and also some Northerners moving down that way. This isn't the only county that went from reddish-purple to blueish-purple this time around.

Yay!!!

[soothsayer]

3. How did we choose Webb but still get that damn marriage

amendment?? I don't get it.

[Odin2005]

5. People can be right-wing on social issues and left-wing on economic issues.

[shawn703]

4. Once can only hope

At the least, I think we will be considered a true battleground state in 2008.