I certainly hope the GOP will come back in VA! I think we got complacent. Personally I think Gilmore doesn’t have a chance at a Senate seat. Allen could win IMHO. My real worry is Mark Warner. He is electable (the moderates love him) and could use a Senate seat as a springboard to the national level. Another good candidate would be Randy Forbes, my congresscritter from 4th district - he is a reliable Reagan conservative.
I can presume you weren't in Arlington or Alexandria.
People who keep saying that Virginia is going blue just don't have the full picture. Virginia has ~always~ been purple. Yes, we've been solidly red for all but one Presidential election since 1948, but down state it has varied.
You are correct that we took a sharp turn right in the 90s. We took the General Assembly (which we still hold, if in name only on the Senate side). We have 8 out of 11 congresscritters. We still have one R (in name only) Senator, and we have two of the top three statewide offices - Attorney General and Lt. Governor.
We lost the Governor's races in 2001 and 2005 because our candidates were weak and because M. Warner and Kaine ran to the middle (and we let them).
The Allen campaign imploded for many reasons. But he was targeted by the left early on. And their compatriots in the MSM helped them out.
As for Allen's future, I'd be very surprised if he ran for the Senate again. I'm sure he's not next year.
Gilmore did himself a disservice by running for President. His lack of any showing was an embarassment. I don't know that he could be elected statewide again.
The demographics have changed dramatically in Northern Virginia since you lived here. It is not the same place.