“why not create an additional conservative state?”
I agree.
At this point Virginia and West Virginia have completely different identities. It would be a doomed marriage.
Better to let the southern, rural counties keep the name Virginia and let the few blue counties go their own way.
We’ll keep our flag, motto, statues and heritage.
They can put up statues of Lenin, Stalin, Mao and Nat (murdering scum) Turner if they like.
Virginia and West Virginia were so different 160 years ago; that was why West Virginia agitated to leave initially.