Could Obama Be the Virginia Victor?

When asked whether former Secretary of State Colin Powell's endorsement of Obama that morning would have any impact in these Navy towns, the man called it "the nail in the coffin" for McCain.

"I think Obama already had a lead, and with [Powell's] endorsement, it's pretty much a done deal."

Traditional GOP Strongholds in Play

Polls suggest Obama has a substantial lead in Virginia. A CNN/Time/Opinion Research poll released Oct. 14 showed Obama ahead of McCain, 53-43 percent, among likely voters in the state.

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Three hours north of Hampton Roads, another dependable Republican bastion seems vulnerable.

Over the past decade, as the suburbs of Washington, D.C., experienced a population explosion fueled by the high-tech boom and a surge in government contracting jobs, historically Republican Northern Virginia counties, such as Fairfax, Prince William and Loudoun, have become increasingly Democratic.

In 2004, President George Bush beat Sen.John Kerry in both Prince William and Loudoun but lost in Fairfax, where the Democratic Party now has firm control of the local government.

Manassas is the county seat of Prince William and home to one of the more famous Civil War battlegrounds. But today the combatants aren't blue and gray -- they're blue and red.

In the last four elections, county voters chose Bush twice, Bob Dole and George H.W. Bush, but the local winds may be changing.

"I think more people are going Democrat," said a woman named Anne, standing outside a Giant Food supermarket just down the road from Manassas National Battlefield. "The building I live in is for the elderly, and most of 'em there are for Obama."

Despite the fact that she's of McCain's generation, Anne said she can better relate to Obama.

"He's like someone you can talk to, just like I'm talking to you," she told a reporter. "And he doesn't have an attitude."