Why does Virginia have so many possible Presidential nominees?

[Mister Mets]

It's a swing state in which Governors are limited to one term.

This means it's possible to have multiple candidates for national office, when you consider the Senators, Governor, and former office-holders. So in 2008, a Governor, former Governor and Senator were considered potential running mates for Obama.

The proximity to DC also gives the office-holders a lot of exposure. They'll be covered by the DC media.

And I think the off-year election helps. The Governor of Virginia spends an year as one of the two newest Governors in the nation, an opportunity to get some national press.

And when it's Veepstakes time, the new Governor will have spent slightly more time in office than all the Governors elected in the midterms. So there's a slight edge in qualifications.

One final factor is that at least five of the last six Governors did a good job. Jim Gilmore was the least popular, and he essentially ran for Prez, because he didn't have many other options.

[Mister Mets]

Because they have so many high-profile politicians, and always have.  There's a reason it's called the "Mother of Presidents."

The "Mother of Presidents" line hasn't really applied in the last Century.

Much of it was the early power of the state, which led to the elections of favorite sons Washington, Jefferson, Madison and Monroe.

William Henry Harrison's father was the fifth Governor of Virginia, so his presidential rise could be attributed to the state'e early prominence.

John Tyler was a Senator from the state.

Zachary Taylor and Woodrow Wilson were also born in Virginia, although neither served elected office in the state. Taylor was considered a resident of Louisiana, while Wilson was Governor of New Jersey.