By Jay Warren
WSLS10 Anchor
Published: May 9, 2008

It now appears that Barack Obama has unofficially sealed the Democratic nomination for president.

No doubt that makes a lot of people in the Commonwealth happy, and saddens many more. Emotions in this race have been high and have only intensified as the contest continued. Those supporting Hillary will now have to figure out which of the remaining candidates, Obama or McCain, best suits them.

Regardless of which side you were on, one thing is for sure: Obama’s success means Virginia will be more in play than ever before. Clinton would have likely followed a more traditional election that included winning a combination of the states that went for Gore and Kerry and picking up either Florida or Ohio (or both).

Obama’s path to the White House would appear to be somewhat different. Most analyst say he can count on many of the traditional Democratic states like IL, MA, NY, CA, MD, VT, RI, etc. But some of the traditional battleground states that have gone Democratic like PA, MN, WI, IA and MI may be tougher for Obama and two battleground states that have gone Republican recently (FL and OH) may be unreachable for him. No doubt the Illinois senator will campaign hard in those states, but to win he is likely to focus on other states that aren’t usually in play.

That brings us to Virginia. For the first time in generations, it seems the Old Dominion could be a battleground. We could be the next Florida and Ohio. Our mix if African American voters, universities, and upper-scale white voters makes us a perfect match for Obama. He won the primary here by 20 points, losing only the more rural, blue-collar 9th Congressional District. Governor Tim Kaine is supporting him heavily, as are almost all other elected officials within the Democratic Party of Virgina.

If Obama is going to win the White House, he will need a new mix of states and all indicators point to Virginia topping that list. Get ready for a fun election season!