A Battle Ground State

I've never voted in an election where my vote mattered.

I have only voted in the state of Washington. I've only lived in the Northern Seattle area, and it's obviously VERY BLUE.

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Washington State is always blue, so my vote hasn't really mattered, except maybe for the most recent Gregoire/Rossie election. Don't get me wrong, after the events in Florida a few years back, I hope for blow-outs - for all Americans.

I'd also like to point out that I have not always voted blue. My very first presidential election was not a blue vote.

I live 8 miles from West Virginia, and 15 miles from Maryland, but I do in fact live in Northern VA. Virginia has voted red since 1964, but this year - its very purple.

Rumor has it that Virginia's 13 electoral votes could go blue.

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So - how are things different in a swing state?

First off, it's all over the place - I'm so sick of it. Do I really care what people in a bar think?

I can assume that Virginia is being bombarded with more (and different commercials) - but there is a different atmosphere here. Northern VA is purple, but southern VA is red. We were in Southern VA at the amusement park this weekend, and I was too afraid to even carry a blue 7-11 voter cup.