Article snippet: Once reliably red in presidential politics, Virginia shifted to purple around a decade ago and now could be described as indigo as the Old Dominion trends toward blue. This is driven by the leftward slide of Northern Virginia (NOVA), whose population is dominated by federal employees. “The Swamp” has gotten organized, desperately resisting President Donald Trump’s efforts to drain it. Democrat wins in Virginia’s 2017 election showed how far a formerly conservative state has slipped. A transgender activist became the first transgender lawmaker in the nation, defeating Rep. Bob Marshall, a full-spectrum conservative lawmaker and devout Christian. The House majority whip was defeated by a Democrat endorsed by avowed socialists. Overall, in the 100-seat House of Delegates, Republicans retained control only 51-49. That number would have been 50-50 except that both candidates in House District 94 received precisely 11,607 votes. The tiebreaker came from randomly drawing a name out of a canister. Similarly, the 40-seat Virginia Senate is now only 21-19 Republican. The GOP cannot afford to lose a seat. Conservative leaders are concerned not only to keep the state senate in Republican hands, but also to ensure that GOP seats are held by a supporter of President Trump, not Republicans who will vote in lockstep with Democrats on key issues. Democrats are determined to turn Virginia into the next California. Gov. Ralph Northam’s public support of allowing children who surviv... Link to the full article to read more