It is conventional wisdom now that the massive influx of out-of-staters, mostly northerners, into Virginia is altering the state’s political complexion — challenging the once-invincible power base of the Republican Party. House Speaker William J. Howell allowed as much when speaking yesterday at a gathering of the Virginia Foundation for Research and Economic Education.
Howell said the state’s newest residents may not embrace the “shared values we have in Virginia,” reports Jeff Schapiro with the Times-Dispatch. The changing demographics of Virginia are “something that we have to adjust to.”
Maybe the GOP will adapt to the changing demographics, maybe it won’t. (I shy away from predicting political outcomes.) What you can count on is that the political center of Virginia will shift left, towards larger, more activist government, whichever party remains in control. Here’s my question: Will northern-born voters bring the same values and re-create the same kind of political economy that constricted economic opportunity in their home states and brought them to Virginia? Are the attitudes of the newcomers toward the size and role of government compatible with Virginia maintaining its “Best State for Business” rating?
Bottom line: Is Virginia’s government destined to look more like New York’s and New Jersey’s and less like North Carolina’s and Georgia’s? If so, what will that mean for our long-term prosperity?
