Fairfax County, Virginia

Fairfax County is a county of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. As of 2002, the population was 991,000, making Fairfax the most populous county in the Commonwealth. It is also the most populous jurisdiction in the Greater Washington Area, surpassing the population of Washington, D.C. by over 400,000 residents. The US Census Bureau predicts the current 2005 population to be well over 1,000,000. Its county seat is the independent city of Fairfax6. Fairfax County is the location of many suburbs of Washington D.C. and the county lies just outside of Washington D.C.

Government and politics

The county is divided into nine supervisor districts: Braddock, Dranesville, Hunter Mill, Lee, Mason, Mount Vernon, Providence, Springfield, and Sully. The supervisor districts each elect one supervisor to the Board of Supervisors which governs Fairfax County. There is also a Chairman elected by the county at-large.

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Fairfax County used to be considered a strong Republican bastion in the suburbs of Washington, DC. However, Democrats continue to make inroads in Fairfax County with Democrats controlling the Board of Supervisors and the School Board (which is officially nonpartisan) as well as the Sheriff and Commonwealth Attorney offices. Democrats in Fairfax also control the majority of Fairfax seats in the House of Delegates and State Senate. Republicans control two of the three congressional seats that include parts of Faifax County. Communities closer to Washington D.C. generally favor Democrats while outlying communities usually favor Republicans. In 2000 and 2001, Fairfax County voted Democratic in the races for Senate and Governor. In 2004, John Kerry won the county; the first Democrat to do so since Lyndon Johnson in his 1964 landslide (Coincidentally that was the last time Democrats carried the state). Kerry defeated Bush in the county 53% to 46%. The fact that Republicans have won Virginia's largest county in every presidential election since 1968 is partly the reason why the Old Dominion has not voted for a Democrat since 1964.

Related Topics:
Republican - Washington, DC - Democrats - Sheriff - Commonwealth Attorney - State Senate - Washington D.C. - John Kerry - Lyndon Johnson - Virginia

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