Battleground State Profile: Virginia
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State Data:
Hillary Clinton: 35% John McCain: 50% Mike Huckabee: 41% Ron Paul: 4%
2008 Primary Results:
Barack Obama: 64%
2004 Election Results:
George W. Bush: 53.68%
John Kerry: 45.48%
2000 Election Results:
George W. Bush: 52.47%
Al Gore: 44.44%
Racial Breakdown:
White: 70.2%
Black: 19.6%
Hispanic: 4.7%
Other: 5.6%
Income:
Under 25k: 24.6%
25-50k: 28.6%
50-100k: 31.7%
Over 100k: 15.1%
Education:
Less than H.S.: 18.5%
H.S. or Higher: 81.5%
BA or Higher: 29.5%
Grad/Prof Deg: 11.6%
Virginia
Despite the fact that George W. Bush defeated John Kerry by a comfortable 8 points in the 2004 election, Virginia is considered a battleground this year thanks to a gradual shift in statewide voting habits. In a Senate race two years ago, voters in this once-reliably conservative state elected moderate Democrat Jim Webb over incumbent Republican George Allen.
Virginia Democrats would be wise to refrain from becoming too enthusiastic, however: The last presidential election in which the state's voters chose a Democrat came way back in 1964. 
The shift in Virginia's voting patterns can be explained in part by a population boom in relatively liberal Northern Virginia. The presence of the state's popular former Governor, Democrat Mark Warner, in the 2008 Senate race is more good news for Democrats: Warner does well with rural voters, and the addition of him or Webb to the Democratic ticket could help put the state's 13 electoral voters in the Democrats' corner. Virginia Democrats would be wise to refrain from becoming too enthusiastic, however: The last presidential election in which the state's voters chose a Democrat came way back in 1964.
Ways To Win
Related Virginia Campaign Stories
Poll Averages
Real Clear Politics averages recent polls from a wide number of media sources, including some not recognized or used by CBS News, and shows the average lead of the top candidate.