The once reliably red state of Virginia has developed the hintof a purplish hue and become something of a swing state.The GOP has come back with a vengeance over the last two

years, yet in the preceding two decades, 01' Virginny became the firststate to select an African American as governor, elected two Demo-cratic chief executives, and helped send Barack Obama to the WhiteHouse. Indeed, the 2008 election marked the first time in forty-fouryears that the state awarded its electoral votes to a Democratic presi-dential candidate.While that contest ended one trend, the next year's election con-

tinued another one. Since 1977, Virginia has elected its one-term gov-ernor from the party opposite that of the sitting president. And, due toits unique election cycle--Virginia holds its gubernatorial contests inoff-off years-voters can express their shilling sentiments at the pollsevery year.Here is our list of the most influential political players in Virginia-

with no elected officials allowed.

Top 10 Republicans...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Phil CoxCox deserves as much credit as any-one for the 2009 election of Gov. BobMcDonnell. The political strategist andconsultant is sought after as an advisorby campaigns outside Virginia and re-mains the governor's top political man.He is now executive director of the Re-publican Governors Association.

Chris LaCivitaIn Virginia, he's known simply as LaCi-vita. And, while he may be anonymousto much of the public, his work isn't.LaCivita is a campaign consultant andwas a key media advisor involved in theSwift Boat Veterans for Truth ads at-tacking 2004 Democratic presidentialcandidate John Kerry.

Frank B. AtkinsonThe chairman of McGuireWoods Con-sulting in Richmond, Atkinson is apowerful voice within the Virginia GOP.He's also its resident historian, havingpenned two tomes about state politics.Atkinson is a veteran of the Reaganadministration and worked for then-Gov.George Allen in the mid-90s.

Ed GillespieA prominent Republican strategist, Gil-lespie chaired McDonnell's successfulgubernatorial campaign. He previouslyserved as chairman of the national GOPand as counselor to former PresidentGeorge W. Bush. He is the founder of EdGillespie Strategies, a consulting firm,and helped launch the outside advo-cacy groups American Crossroads andCrossroads GPS.

Pat MullinsThe chairman of the state GOP cantrace his roots in Republican politicsto the early 1970s. Mullins has neverheld public office, but he's helped electplenty of candidates over the years andhelped restore stability to the party.

George AllenA former Virginia governor and U.S.senator, Allen's star lost some lusterduring his failed 2006 Senate re-elec-tion bid. But he's been rebuilding hisbrand and is running in 2012 with thehope of reclaiming the Senate seat helost to Webb.

Morton C. BlackwellBlackwell's political activism goes backdecades and continues today. He isfounder of the Leadership Institute,an Arlington-based operation thattrains conservatives to influence policythrough activism. He also serves as na-tional committeeman for the state GOP.

Ray Allen, Jr.One half of Marcus & Allen, LLC, aRichmond-based political consultingfirm that has worked on campaigns forU.S. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor,former Gov. Jim Gilmore, and former

state Atty. Gen. Jerry Kilgore. Allen hasworked in former Gov. Allen's adminis-tration (no relation) and for several GOPgroups over the years.

M. Boyd Marcus, Jr.The other half of the Marcus & Allen,LLC political consulting firm. Marcusserved as chief of staff to former Gov.Gilmore and former Congressman TomBliley. His son Randy is Lt. Gov. Bill Boi-ling's chief of staff.

J. Kenneth KlingeThe northern Virginia lobbyist has beenactive in Republican politics for decadesand remains an important voice in theparty as a former executive director ofthe state GOP.

June 2011 I Campaigns & Elections 43

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Other Republicans...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Richard CullenThe chairman of McGuireWoods, Cullenis a former Virginia attorney general andU.S. attorney appointed by PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush. He also servedon the legal team of former PresidentGeorge W. Bush during the 2000 Floridarecount.

Michael E. ThomasThe first vice chairman of the state GOP,Thomas previously worked in GeorgeAllen's gubernatorial administration andlater as his chief of staff when Allenwas a senator. Will serve as campaignmanager for Allen's 2012 Senate run.Thomas is a veteran of Virginia Repub-lican politics and is currently a seniorvice president at McGuireWoods.

Tom DavisThe longtime congressman from north-ern Virginia has remained busy sinceleaving public life in 2008, working asdirector of federal government affairsfor Deloitte & Touche LLP and as achairman of Gov. McDonnell's militarycommission. Davis's wife, JeannemarieDevolites Davis, is a former state sena-tor who works in the McDonnell admin-istration.

Tucker MartinFew in Virginia are more on-messagethan Martin, McDonnell's longtimespokesman. Previously, Martin workedin communications for McDonnell whenhe was attorney general and held asimilar job when Jerry Kilgore was thestate's top prosecutor.

Dave RexrodeRexrode put his college GOP activisminto practice after graduating and hasn'tstopped since. He worked on McDon-nell's gubernatorial campaign and nowserves as executive director of the stateRepublican Party.

john HagerA former Virginia lieutenant governorand past chairman of the state GOP,

46 Campaigns & Elections I June 2011

Hager is a fixture at Republican eventsand still holds sway in the party. Itdoesn't hurt to have Jenna Bush as adaughter-in-law, either.

Ben MarchiThe former state director for Americansfor Prosperity is plugged in with key do-nors and important grassroots activistsacross the state. He's also known to bea close advisor to former Gov. Allen.

Richard A. ViguerieViguerie has long been active in con-servative causes and is a pioneer ofpolitical direct mail. He currently runsConservativeHQ.com, a website thatchampions conservative candidates andideals.

Gary C. BylerVirginia's 2nd congressional districtchairman is a powerful voice in Repub-lican politics. A Virginia Beach-basedattorney, Byler has worked for formerU.S. Sen. John Warner and in the Rea-gan White House.

Victoria CobbCobb is president of the Family Founda-tion, a social conservative group that haspushed to strip Planned Parenthood ofstate funding and successfully fought toadd an amendment defining marriageas between one man and one woman

to Virginia's constitution. Her husband,Matt, works in the McDonnell adminis-tration.

Jim GilmoreThe former governor may not have ashigh a profile as some other recentchief executives, but he remains ac-tive in Virginia political discourse. Healso serves as president of the FreeCongress Foundation, a conservativeresearch and advocacy group.

Jamie RadtkeA conservative activist and campaignadvisor, Radtke's power has increasedconsiderably of late due to her leader-ship of the Richmond Tea Party. She isrunning for U.S. Senate in 2012.

Jerry KilgoreKilgore came up short in his '05 gu-bernatorial bid, but the former stateattorney general is respected in politicalcircles and remains connected in Rich-mond through his government affairswork for McGuireWoods.

M.G. "Pat" RobertsonThe Christian Coalition founder hasbeen a force in Republican politics foryears and remains a prominent voicethrough his television broadcasts, advo-cacy, and other platforms.

Michael P. FarrisA former candidate for lieutenant gov-ernor, Farris is a leader in the homeschool movement and founder of boththe Home School Legal Defense As-sociation and Patrick Henry College, aChristian institution.

jerry Falwell, Jr.Falwell is chancellor of Liberty Univer-sity in Lynchburg, the school his fatherfounded, and is also engaged in Repub-lican politics and policy debates. Hisuniversity is challenging the healthcarereform law in federal court.

Brian KirwinA political consultant with Rourk Public Re-lations in Virginia Beach, Kirwin has workedon multiple campaigns and airs his viewson Bearing Drift, one of the most widelyread Republican blogs in the state.

The ObenshainsConsidered by some the first family ofVirginia conservatives. Patriarch RichardD. Obenshain was a rising conservativestar when he died in an airplane crashin 1978; the state GOP headquartersbears his name. His son Mark is a statesenator, and his daughter Kate is a for-mer head of the state Republican Party,the first woman to hold that position.

Sean ConnaughtonVirginia's Transportation Secretary ishighly thought of and seen as having a 1future in elective office. A past chair-man of the Prince William County Boardof Supervisors, Connaughton cam-paigned unsuccessfully for lieutenantgovernor in 2005.

Robert BarattaA lobbyist with Capital Results, Barattarepresents a variety of clients for thefirm, which has offices in Richmond andRaleigh, North Carolina. He is a veteranof former Gov. George Allen's adminis-tration.

Trixie AverillThe Salem resident is a fixture at im-portant Virginia Republican functionsand serves as GOP chair in the 6th

congressional district. She has workedon scores of campaigns over the yearsand recently took over as Americans forProsperity state director.

Fred MalekA financier, business executive, andGOP powerbroker, Malek is chairman ofMcDonnell's government reform com-mission and has worked on behalf ofseveral Republican presidents, includ-ing Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, andGeorge H.W. Bush.

Glen BolgerBolger is a sought-after Republican con-sultant and pollster with Public OpinionStrategies, a firm he co-founded. Hisfirm gets the call when McDonnell andother Republicans want to gauge publicsentiment.

Richard Baxter GilliamThe founder of Cumberland Resources,a coal company in southwest Virginia,Gilliam and his wife, Leslie, are high-dollar donors to Republicans and con-servative organizations.

G. Paul NardoThe chief of staff to state HouseSpeaker William J. Howell, Nardhas worked as a speechwriter fGov. Allen and as legislative'"former U.S. Rep. Herbert Bat

Michael W. ThompsonThe president of the Thomas JeffersonInstitute for Public Policy has been ac-tive in state Republican causes and wasinvolved with the McDonnell campaignin 2009.

Patrick M. McSweeneyMcSweeney is an attorney and paststate party chairman who remains in-volved in politics, often backing conser-vative candidates. Although some havetried to marginalize him, McSweeneystill has a following.

Shaun KenneyA former communications director forthe state GOP, Kenney runs one of theoldest political blogs in Virginia on his

website, serves on the Fluvanna CountyBoard of Supervisors, has worked on anumber of political campaigns, and isseen as a comer in Republican circles.

jason KenneyKenney makes this list for what herepresents: grass roots activism in theVirginia GOP.A consultant by profes-sion, he blogs from the conservativeperspective on several websites and isexecutive director of RedStorm PAC, anonline fundraising operation for Republi-can candidates.

Richard CrouseCrouse is a veteran of local, state, andfederal campaigns, including the state-wide Republican electoral sweep in2009 and the party's pickup of con-gressional seats last year. He is pastpolitical director for the state GOP andcurwntly has the same role on Allen's

ate campaign.

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June 2011 I Campaigns & Elections 47