Yes, I’m in blood, red conservative south-western Virginia. Just like our nation, our state is 80% or more red when it comes to voting....by land mass. But, the big cities and coastal region screws us all. Transplants from elsewhere ruining it all for us.
My best friend in the Air Force came from southwest Virginia (Dickenson County); joked that it was one of only three career options in that area: the military, welfare, or mining coal. He had tried the latter, and after putting his wife through UVA Wise, he joined the Air Force and eventually worked his way up to Chief Master Sergeant (E-9). One of the finest men I’ve ever known.
The solution for Virginia is clear; the Dems want statehood for D.C. and Puerto Rico—fine. In exchange, statehood for Central Virginia, eastern Oregon and the Sierra Nevada region of California. That’s six more GOP senators, and residents of areas like yours can finally get some representation. I would only hope the new state of Central Virginia would choose a politically incorrect name, like Stonewall.