Will Virginia's Blue Streak Continue?

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- Just one day after swing-state Virginia helped Democrat Barack Obama win the presidency, Stephanie Horton walked down the streets of Alexandria, wearing an Obama sweatshirt and hat.

“Today, I feel like a person,” Horton said, describing how people on the street smiled at her once they saw her shirt.

Horton, 49, was born in the United States but grew up in Liberia with her parents. She moved back to the States for college and spent most of her adult life in the South.

Now a resident of Alexandria, she said she was excited to vote in Virginia as part of Tuesday’s historic election.

Voters like Horton helped Virginia, which the Associated Press called for Obama at 10:47 p.m., choose the Democratic presidential candidate. It was the first time since 1964 that the mostly red state swung blue.

Voters also selected former Gov. Mark Warner for Senate, giving Virginia two Democratic senators in Congress.

Many factors helped change the dynamics in Virginia's once-predictable politics, but the most important was the nationwide concern over the economy.

Obama "is a man who transcends race and party,” Horton said. “There was a movement built on that emotional groundswell.”

But Mikail Uyanik, 38, a shop owner in downtown Alexandria, said he believed many reasons, aside from the economy, contributed to the state’s switch.

“People needed different faces, different ideas,” said Uyanik, who voted for the first time on Tuesday.

Although the state was declared Democratic in this presidential race, Uyanik said he thinks it will continue to be a battleground state in future elections.

“From here on, neither party will take Virginia’s political orientation for granted,” said Dan Keyserling, a political expert from the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics.

Voters in Virginia and nationwide are looking for candidates who are not party-oriented -- something that Obama’s campaign emphasized, he said.

Voters were not just casting ballots to replace President Bush, but also in hopes of a post-partisan political future, Keyserling said.

“Politics are cyclical, flexible and often unpredictable,” he said.

The future of Virginia’s political stance depends on how Obama handles the challenges ahead, Keyserling said.

Julie Jakopic, finance chairwoman for the Alexandria Democratic Committee, said she believes Democrats will continue to be strong in future Virginia elections.

“The blue value is spreading,” she said.

Earlier in the campaign season, Republican candidate John McCain’s political adviser, Nancy Pfotenhauer, said northern Virginia was not part of the “real Virginia.” That comment sparked debate throughout the rest of the campaign over whether there are two Virginias.

Jakopic said the state used to be very divided by rural and urban areas, but that has changed.

“We are now starting to see common interest,” she said, in reference to education and the troubled economy.

David Skiles, the political director for the Fairfax County Republican Committee, disagreed, saying there are still two very distinct Virginias.

“Obama doesn’t share their values,” he said, in reference to the rural, southern Virginia. Northern Virginia "has a different flavor than the rest of the state."

Skiles credited Obama’s win to a variety of factors, but said it all came down to “economy, economy, economy.”

Had the Republicans had one more week, Skiles said they could have taken Virginia, but complimented the strong campaign Obama ran in the state.

Obama’s campaign did focus on Virginia, opening more than 50 offices in the state and making 11 visits. McCain had 20 offices and made five visits over the course of the campaign.

Tuesday’s swing to blue “makes Virginia a state that neither party can take for granted,” Skiles said.