I think Karl Rove says that Kerry could have won Virginia if he had challenged Virginia, and put resources into the state.
The issue is that Virginia had been Republican for so long that Democrats didn't realize that it had become a Democrat state until after.
Karl Rove, again, points to West Virginia as a comparison. West Virginia was considered a Democrat state for a while; Bill Clinton won it by a good margin. But then the GOP realized that it was a GOP state, they put resources into it, and it's been a GOP stronghold since 2000.
You might've given me another timeline idea. A 2004 timeline where Bush wins most of the swing states but bare wins in VA and/or NC end up saving Kerry.
