Ron Paul and Mitt Romney Battle it Out As the Only Candidates in Boring Virginia Super Tuesday Vote

While Virginiawill likely be a key battleground state in November, the Old Dominion will be fairly boring on Super Tuesday compared to other states. The main reason for this is that neither Rick Santorum nor New Gingrich is on the ballot, both not having sent in the required forms and signatures in time.

This leaves only Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) and Mitt Romney contending for votes, and polling suggests that Romney will win Virginia in a landslide. Romney will almost certainly gain more than 50% of the vote, which would net him all of Virginia’s 46 delegates.

While the expected lopsided vote may be a short reprieve for Virginia voters from the upcoming tidal wave of political TV & radio commercials, in many ways it is a tragedy because of how politically and economically diverse Virginia is. Northern Virginia has become the economic and demographic hub of the state, with Fortune 500 companies as diverse as Northrop Grumman and the Hilton Group calling the area home. This area, increasingly cosmopolitan and Democratic, would have almost certainly given the majority of its votes to Mitt Romney. Other parts of the state, such as the rural southern half, the exurbs of Washington, D.C. including Fredericksburg, the mountainous west and the military-oriented eastern part of the state would have offered plenty of potential voters for Santorum and Gingrich, while Paul could do well in the college towns of Blacksburg, Lynchburg, and Charlottesville.

Polling shows that a race here between Santorum and Romney would have been close, but alas, this was not meant to be. Instead, it is safe to assume that Super Tuesday will be an uneventful day in Virginia, and Romney will walk away with 46 delegates in hand.

Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore