The GOP and Northern Virginia--Still Separate Planets

The departure of Rep. Tom Davis from the Republican scene in northern Virginia and the strong challenge that Rep. Frank Wolf is facing this year from challenger Judy Feder illustrate the party's increasing sense that the Washington suburbs are a lost cause for the GOP. But the demographics of Virginia lend little credence to the notion that Republicans can win statewide by giving up on the Washington area. This is where the economic and population growth in the state is centered. A political party that chooses to move away from the center--either ideologically or geographically--is one that is choosing partisan purity over electoral viability.

Click here to read the full article