Because they elect a new governor in the year after a presidential election, Virginia voters are used to being in the national spotlight when most of the nation is taking a break from politics.
But the 2009 contest will garner even more attention than in recent years.
For starters, the Virginia vote will be a major balloting 10 months into President Obama’s term.
The race will test the potency of the Democratic Party brand in a state that long had a conservative and Republican orientation, but has voted Democratic in key contests in the past few years — including the 2008 presidential election: Obama defeated John McCain in Virginia to become the first Democratic presidential nominee in 44 years to carry the state.
