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What part does Virginia have within the Nation? - Virginia's Government and Economics

Home » Virginia » Virginia Overview and History » What part does Virginia have within the Nation? - Virginia's Government and Economics

The home of Virginia Government is the capitol building that Thomas Jefferson designed and that Patrick Henry helped build in Richmond – the state capital. The state government currently functions under the State of Virginia’s constitution with three branches of law – the legislative, executive, and judicial.

• Legislative. The state legislature is the Virginia General Assembly made up of the Virginia House of Delegates and the Virginia Senate.
• Executive. This branch is made up of the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, and the Attorney General of Virginia.
• Judicial. This consists of the Virginia Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, General District Courts, and Circuit Courts.

Each county and city in Virginia also has its own government, usually consisting of a county board of supervisors or a city council.

Though the political control of Virginia has varied throughout its history, as of 2006, the Republicans held both Senate Seats, eight House of Representative seats, and a majority of the Virginia state government seats. Democrats held three seats in the US House of Representatives, and the Governor of Virginia was a Democrat.

Virginia’s economy utilizes a balance between many sources of income including military installations, tobacco, cattle, communications, consulting, and other agricultural and professional sectors. Virginia was before the Civil War and is still considered to be the wealthiest Southern state.

Next Page: What are the people in Virginia like? - Virginia's Demographics

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