If you’re already tired of the 2016 presidential campaign, just wait: The rhetoric is about to get a lot louder here in the Old Dominion.
Virginia continues to be a “purple” swing state, one that can easily go Democratic one year and see voters flip the script and put Republicans in office the next. To boot, every year in is an election year in Virginia, whether voters are putting candidates in local, state, or federal offices.
Virginia will join 15 other states holding presidential primaries and caucuses on March 1 for “Super Tuesday.” The state’s open primary is a chance for Democrats and Republicans to come out and select their nominee for president.
And since it’s an open Primary, Republicans can vote for Democrats and vice versa.
“In a swing state like Virginia, you’re going to see a lot of cable TV political advertising this year,” said Dr. Stephen J. Farnsworth, Director of Center for Leadership Studies and Media at Mary Washington University. “And you’re going to see a very visible presence of Republican and Democratic candidates visit the state ahead of the March 1 Primary.”
In the forever swing County of Prince William, where a solidly red county elected a Republican Governor in 2009 and turned blue during the 2012 election of President Barack Obama, expect candidates to visit our neck of the woods. Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders have already paid visits to the Prince William County Fairgrounds this election cycle.
“This election will be about getting loyalists to the polls,” explained Farnsworth. “[Hilliary] Clinton has not generated the same enthusiasm that Obama did in 2012, and without it, it may be a better year for Republicans in Prince William County than it was in 2012.”
Clinton was trounced on Tuesday’s New Hampshire Primary, losing to Democratic rival and self-proclaimed Socialist Bernie Sanders by 22 points.
Voters can also expect to hear a lot from Virginia politicians who don’t support Obamacare. However, it is the law and there is little they can do about it, Farnsworth added.
