GOP Also Gives Va. Prime Seating

ST. PAUL -- The Virginia delegation at the Republican National Convention has enviable seats on the floor at the Xcel Energy Center.

The state's 63 delegates are sitting on the front left facing the stage, just behind New Mexico. Virginia is surrounded by other swing states including Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida.

Virginia delegates at the Democratic National Convention in Denver last week also had a prime spot.

Virginia, which has voted for a Republican for president for more than four decades, is considered one of the nation's newest battleground states.

"It's the first time we've been in play in a long time," said John H. Hager, former lieutenant governor and state party chairman.