Election Puts Another Plank Across Va.'s 'Unbridgeable Gulf'

At his first news conference since winning the seat being vacated by Republican Sen. John W. Warner, he played down the rift.

"Northern Virginia continues to be the economic engine, and [it's] a growing population center, but we do a disservice if we try to continue to separate Northern Virginia from the rest of the state,'' Warner said. "I am unwilling to jump into this kind of 'Northern Virginia versus the rest of the state' battle."

Still, there has been a persistent perception that a chasm exists between Northern Virginia and the rest of the state, or "the real Virginia." Former senator George Allen used the term during his failed reelection effort in 2006. As long ago as 1975, then-Gov. Mills E. Godwin Jr. famously referred to the "unbridgeable gulf" that exists between Northern Virginia and the rest of the state. During the presidential contest, McCain senior policy adviser Nancy Pfotenhauer told MSNBC that McCain would succeed in Virginia despite the population growth in Democratic-leaning Northern Virginia.

"As a proud resident of Oakton, Virginia, I can tell you that the Democrats just came from the District of Columbia and moved into Northern Virginia, and that's really what you see there," she said. "But the rest of the state, real Virginia if you will, I think will be very responsive to Senator McCain's message."

Residents in the rural regions proudly describe the areas as filled with native Virginians who support "traditional values" and vote conservative because of long-standing cultural and religious differences. They did not support Obama for the same reasons they did not support past Democratic presidential candidates: They worry that he will take away their guns, promote same-sex marriage, raise taxes and, in Southwest Virginia, shut down the state's coal mines.

Michael Meredith, a Republican activist who runs a printing and direct mail business in Rockingham County, describes the Shenandoah Valley as the most conservative area of the state: a place where limited government is preached and hunting is a way of life.

"Northern Virginia is very different,'' he said. "It's looked upon by people in rural areas as a hostile area, tax-consuming area."

Northern Virginians, too, harbor one-dimensional notions of their rural counterparts. "When I moved to Virginia, I was worried about whether it was a diverse community in terms of viewpoints and ethnicity," said Jennifer Quinn-Barabanov, 40, a lawyer from McLean. The Democratic success Tuesday "proves that it is."

Del. Jennifer McClellan (D-Richmond), whose district includes part of Henrico County, which voted for a Democrat for president for the first time in a generation, said she has seen that suburb grow and become more diverse since she took office in 2005. In addition, Philip Morris USA moved its headquarters from New York to Richmond, bringing with it employees who vote Democratic. The change was evident at a Democratic rally this fall, she said.

"They filled the auditorium of a school," she said. "They used to be lucky if they could fill a room in the library."