Virginia Is a Purple State After All

A couple years back, I did a deep dive for the NR print magazine on the Republican Party of Virginia and its intensifying struggle to win elections over the past decade. Though it might be hard to imagine after witnessing the GOP wins in Virginia earlier this week, the state Republican Party was in something of a freefall during Donald Trump’s presidency, culminating in the nomination of far-right local politician Corey Stewart to challenge Democratic senator Tim Kaine in 2018. (It will be unsurprising to anyone who has followed Stewart’s career to learn that he lost to Kaine by 16 points.)

At the time, the sources I spoke with for the piece mostly agreed that it made little sense to think of Virginia as a true swing state. Nearly every expert with whom I spoke said that the Trump phenomenon and its slow creep into the state Republican Party had only accelerated what was already a problem for conservatives in Virginia.

About the Author

Alexandra DeSanctis

Alexandra DeSanctis is a contributing writer at National Review.

Featured Tags

A couple years back, I did a deep dive for the NR print magazine on the Republican Party of Virginia and its intensifying struggle to win elections over the past decade. Though it might be hard to imagine after witnessing the GOP wins in Virginia earlier this week, the state Republican Party was in something of a freefall during Donald Trump’s presidency, culminating in the nomination of far-right local politician Corey Stewart to challenge Democratic senator Tim Kaine in 2018. (It will be unsurprising to anyone who has followed Stewart’s career to learn that he lost to Kaine by 16 points.)

At the time, the sources I spoke with for the piece mostly agreed that it made little sense to think of Virginia as a true swing state. Nearly every expert with whom I spoke said that the Trump phenomenon and its slow creep into the state Republican Party had only accelerated what was already a problem for conservatives in Virginia.