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The 1996 Presidential election in Virginia, an impressive democratic performance in what was described at the time as a normally Republican state highlighted Bob Dole's national struggles and Clinton's landslide as the former only won the state by 2%.
While an exemplar of the decade's normal coalitions, with Republicans doing well in Hampton Roads, NoVA, the shenandoa valley and Richmond suburbs; and Democrats doing well in the wouthwestern coalfields, Arlington and Southside VA...
it is likely that Bill Clinton's heavy posturing against the Tobacco interests hurt him in the region, as Conservative Democratic candidate for VA-05 Virgil Goode Jr heavilly distanced himself from the president
But still, while Clinton nearly won the state thanks to his national popularity, its partisan lean still won out in 1996—it would be 12 more years before Virginia would flip on the presidential level.
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