SW VA:support for beltway-ish D primary candidates in Tri-Cities corner

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

The far Southwest corner of Virginia, in Coal Country/the Appalachian Plateau, has had some interesting results in Democratic primaries, with candidates winning that one might not expect.


2013: Lt.G primary
Aneesh Chopra's best counties against Ralph Northam were Buchanan and Dickenson.
votes for Chopra:

2009: Gov primary
Not so much support for fellow Western Virginian Creigh Deeds,  but the D.C. party animal did well.
votes for McAuliffe:
2006: Senate
The most striking result. In the rest of the state, the vote for Miller correlates strongly with the percentage of the Democratic vote that is black. I would have thought Webb would resonate culturally with the area along with criticism of Miller's role in outsourcing.   The more northern Transmountaine area West of the Shenandoah Valley is also noticeable here, as it is to some extent for their support for Kerry in the 2004 primary.

2004 Presidential primary:
Kerry's not a beltway candidate, but the fact that he did so well in these counties against Edwards might surprise people.  The other counties where Kerry did as well are mostly heavily black.


2001 Lt Gov primary:
Other than that he was a Newport News lawyer with a Jewish name running against Tim Kaine and a black delegate from Norfolk for the Lt Gov nomination, I don't know anything about Aaron A. Diamondstein, but it's an odd map.


2005 Lt Gov primary
And here's something completely different: our friend Phil Puckett overwhelmingly winning his home region in a colorfully regional election.

[Linus Van Pelt]

Interesting observation.

Perhaps, among other things (I realize there's lots unusual about this region), the distinction between Northern Virginia and downstate doesn't seem important there because they just think in terms of the distinction between the southwest and everywhere else.

[Miles]

FWIW, this was the result in VA-09 when Obama was winning 64/35 statewide: