How Voters Turned Virginia From Deep Red to Solid Blue

[Zorro]

Not long ago, this rolling green stretch of Northern Virginia was farmland. Most people who could vote had grown up here. And when they did, they usually chose Republicans.

The fields of Loudoun County are disappearing. In their place is row upon row of cookie-cutter townhouses, clipped lawns and cul-de-sacs — a suburban landscape for as far as the eye can see. Unlike three decades ago, the residents are often from other places, like India and Korea. And when they vote, it is often for Democrats.

“Guns, that is the most pressing issue for me,” said Vijay Katkuri, 38, a software engineer from southern India, explaining why he voted for a Democratic challenger in Tuesday’s elections. He was shopping for chicken at the Indian Spice Food Market. “There are lots of other issues, but you can only fix them if you are alive.”

Mr. Katkuri’s vote — the first of his life — helped flip a longtime Republican State Senate district and deliver the Virginia statehouse to the Democratic Party for the first time in a generation. It was a stunning political realignment for a southern state, and prompted days of prognosticating about President Trump’s own standing with suburban voters nationally in 2020. But while political leaders come and go, the deeper, more lasting force at work is demographics.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/09/us/politics/virginia-elections-democrats-republicans.html

[4139]

1. Virginia was never a deep red state, only two republican senators in the last 145 years...

and both only served 1 term.
Look at the governors; they have gone back and forth for decades.

[ConstanceCee]

2. Hasn't Been Deep Red

It's true about senators and governors. The state legislative bodies were gerrymandered. I remember not too long ago when the House of Delegates was 2/3 Republican, which was not at all representative of the voters in this state. Also, voters are now paying more attention and are turning out.

[lagomorph777]

3. Loudoun voters are more energized than ever.

I've watched that evolution from green fields to townhouses and data centers. Not sure I like all of it, but it has certainly brought in more educated and engaged voters (i.e. Democrats) and I do like that!