Virginia it seems is on the verge of becoming another permanently blue state. That’s what you get with decades of demography-altering policies of mass immigration and an ever-growing federal government workforce that has spilled out in the northern part of the state.
” ... an ever-growing federal government workforce”
The federal workforce peaked under George H.W. Bush. It’s been remarkably stable the past 15 years. State and local government workers have grown dramatically, however.
Many left-leaning federal workers have moved to Virginia from Maryland, fleeing high taxes and stifling regulations. That, and the growth of state and local gov’t workers, may help explain Virginia’s shift to the Dems.
I’m on the northern flip side of Maryland and can relate.
Wish my state were in play.
Outside of Baltimore City and the two suburban D.C. counties, the rest of Maryland is rather moderate to conservative.
Praying that Trump’s momentum/landslide sweeps manages to tilt Maryland red by election day.
BTW, he received an awesome reception at a Baltimore area diner when he came to town for his address to the National Guard a couple of weeks ago!!!
“Virginia it seems is on the verge of becoming another permanently blue state. “
Nothing is permanent. Get the Karl Rove nonsense out of your head :-) (I was a victim of that too ... I don’t mean to sound argumentative :-) ).
So Virginia shifted ... it doesn’t mean that it’s out of reach this year. Moreover, the Republicans have the opportunity to make inroads in states like Michigan and Wisconsin as well as solidify a base in crucial states like Ohio.
Try looking at things dynamically :-) ... the electoral map certainly has “static” states (CA, IL, NY, etc.), but there are lots of dynamics at play this time around.