THE GREAT AMERICAN POLITICAL ROADTRIP: VIRGINIA

The 2020 Presidential Election in Virginia

Current political trends in Virginia

The mother of presidents, Virginia is the birthplace of nine, including the first, third, fourth, and fifth commanders in chief. It was the largest of the Thirteen Colonies when America gained its independence and where the Revolutionary War ended. It was also center stage in America’s darkest era – the Civil War. Richmond, Virginia’s state capital, served as the capital of the Confederate States of America, and many of the war's bloodiest battles were fought in the commonwealth. Geopolitically considered Southern because of its history as a slave state and later a stronghold of Jim Crow-era politics, the Old Dominion has changed dramatically in the last few decades.

Thanks to its proximity to Washington D.C. and the northeastern megalopolis and its key role in that region’s economy—many federal government departments, including the Defense Department, are in Virginia, and it hosts both of D.C.’s airports—Virginia has shifted from being a culturally Southern agricultural-centric state to a modern economy, with a growing and bustling technology and finance industry. The shifting economic picture has also attracted highly educated residents and immigrants, custom-made for the modern Democratic Party.