Another in my series of new maps. The actual Virginia map has 5 Obama 08 districts out of 11; this one has 7. Obama districts in bold.
1) Fredericksburg-Williamsburg (blue). A GOP-leaning swing district along the east coast of the state, including the Delmarva peninsula, but it includes fast-growing Democratic parts of Prince William County. A tough race for a Dem but not out of reach.
2) Norfolk-Virginia Beach (green). A compact Dem-leaning district. Rigell lives here and could probably pull it out here, but it's about 7 points more Dem than the current permutation.
3) Richmond-Emporia (purple). Plurality black and strongly Democratic.
4) Chesapeake-Newport News (red). A Dem-leaning district that crosses the James River. About 8 points more Democratic than the actual 4th.
5) Charlottesville-Roanoke (yellow). Similar to the district Tom Perriello won in 2008, but about 3 points more Democratic. Cuccinelli probably beat McAuliffe here; a district that's bound to be volatile. Probably a Romney district in 2012.
6) Bedford-Harrisonburg (dark teal). Very similar to Goodlatte's current district.
7) Culpeper-Ashland (gray). A strongly Republican district anchored by Richmond's conservative suburbs.
8) Alexandria-Benton (lavender). A Democratic district in the DC suburbs.
9) Blacksburg-Bristol (light blue). A very Republican southwest Virginia district.
10) Winchester-Reston (pink). Outer suburbs of northern Virginia, including Manassas and Leesburg. About 4 points more Democratic than the current permutation, and probably a McAuliffe district.
11) Arlington-Fairfax. A very Democratic district in the DC suburbs.
The numbers: