AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File; AP Photo/Mike Stewart, File
- Virginia is a foundational piece of President Joe Biden's road map for winning a second term.
- However, recent polling in the state shows Biden and Trump tied or nearly tied among voters.
- Republicans now believe Trump has a fighting chance in the state.
In 2020, it was a foregone conclusion that Joe Biden would win Virginia in that year's presidential contest.
Four years earlier, Donald Trump lost the state to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, even as he captured the White House. Trump never built firm political footing in Virginia, and his unpopularity there fueled major Republican losses in state legislative races in 2017 and 2019 — especially in suburban swing districts.