Before the 2008 election, Virginia had not supported a Democratic-presidential-candidate since the wave of liberal sympathy that swept the nation in the wake of President-Kennedy's assassination. This change has been brought about primarily through the increase in population and liberalism of Northern-Virginia, which has accounted for 40% of statewide-population-growth. 1-in-3 Virginians live in the region, compared to 1-in-8 in 1970.