Will the Real Virginia please stand up?
Posted: Saturday, October 18, 2008 2:50 PM by Carrie Dann
From NBC's Carrie Dann
It's no secret to native Virginians that the parts of the state inside the Washington DC beltway aren't representative of the entire Old Dominion. That's probably the point that McCain advisor Nancy Pfotenhauer was trying to make when she told NBC's Kevin Corke today that the northern and mostly suburban part of the state doesn't represent "real Virginia."
A resident of one of those VA suburbs, Pfotenhauer acknowledged that recent elections have shown the region growing more Democratic. (John McCain's brother, Joe, recently joked that the area is "communist country." )
"But the rest of the state - real Virginia, if you will," Pfotenhauer added, "I think will be very responsive to Senator McCain's message."
When Corke invited her to "climb back off that ledge" from the comment, Pfotenhauer clarified that "Real Virginia, I take to be the part of the state that is more Southern in nature, if you will. Northern Virginia is really metro DC. "
Fairfax and Loudoun counties, just two of the fast-growing northern Virginia suburbs, account for roughly 20% of the state's population, with a combined population close to 1.3 million.
The Politico reported this week that McCain ran only eight ads during the first three weeks of September in the Washington media market that blankets Northern Virginia. Obama ran 1,342.
Regardless, the whole thing might not be such a morale boost for Republicans cheering on the candidate in nearby Price William county. McCain stumps there this afternoon.
