"There have been three major political movements in Virginia in the last century.

I: The Byrd Organization rules, 1925-1966

1. In 1923, a special session of the General Assembly authorizes a $50million bond package for road building. State Sen. Harry F. Byrd leads the fight against the package, and endorses "pay-as-you-go." The bonds are defeated.

2. Byrd's popularity after the defeat of the bonds propels him to Democratic nomination for Governor in 1925. He is elected Governor and, later, U.S. Senator. For 40 years, the Byrd Organization rules Virginia politics.

II. The Urban revival, 1966-1991

1. Shifting demographics (the post-WorldWar II growth of the 1-95/1-64 corridor), new federal laws (especially the Voting Rights Act of 1965) and court decisions (the application of the one-man/one-vote principle to the states) erode the Organization's strength.
2. The election of Bill Spong in the 1966 U.S. Senate race ends the Organization's dominance.
3. Urban Democrats reach their high water mark with Doug Wilder's election as governor in 1989 and changes in General Assembly leadership

III. Republicans seize the initiative, 1993-2002

1. Another demographic shift puts new "urban suburbs" in the driver's seat.
2. Republicans target the urban suburbs and win almost every race in the 1990s.
3. Redistricting in 2001 strengthens the GOP's hold on the House of Delegates - an incredible 64:34:2.
4. The Mark Warner model: Can it be replicated at the local level?
- Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership, October 2003