Washington ( CNN ) -- President Barack Obama arrives in Richmond this weekend for his first official campaign visit to the battleground state of Virginia , a hyped rally that is mobilizing both Republican and Democratic ground troops for the general election . But the fight for Virginia begins in earnest Wednesday in the Washington suburb of Chantilly , a warren of office parks and shopping malls near Dulles International Airport and just 10 miles from where the first major battle of the Civil War unfolded . Mitt Romney will campaign at a Chantilly trade show facility and begin his quest to reverse Obama 's history-making win in 2008 , when he became the first Democrat to carry the state on the presidential level since Lyndon Johnson did so in his landslide 1964 election . The densely populated suburban swath outside Washington is hardly the only piece of the Virginia political puzzle -- the Richmond metro area and Hampton Roads in the southeast are also critical -- but because of the number of voters and their swingy tendencies , northern Virginia is guaranteed to be showered with attention from the presidential campaigns . It 's a fitting place for Romney to introduce himself to Virginians . Chantilly straddles two huge counties , Fairfax and Loudoun , that both voted for Obama in 2008 . One out of eight Virginians lives in Fairfax County , and Obama won the county in blowout fashion over Sen. John McCain of Arizona , taking 60 % of the vote there . But the next November , voters in Fairfax , Loudoun and Prince William counties swung back hard to Bob McDonnell , the state 's Republican governor . McDonnell called the Washington suburbs , heavy with small business owners and contractors for government agencies and the military , `` tremendously important '' for Romney . `` You 've got a million people in Fairfax alone , '' he said . `` You 've got a couple million in those ring counties . Republicans must do well and at least break even up there to win . You ca n't get blown out there , as has happened in a couple past elections . '' McDonnell , a social conservative who won his race with a relentless focus on jobs and the economy , described northern Virginia as `` the biggest collection of independent voters who are fiscal conservative . '' `` They will vote the issues , '' he said . `` They will vote the person . Mitt has got to spent a fair amount of time there . '' Until McDonnell 's victory , the region had been trending Democratic in statewide elections for years . Obama , for instance , won Fairfax County by 109,000 votes . In the 2006 Senate race , Jim Webb won it by 64,000 votes over George Allen . Tim Kaine won it by a similar margin to capture the governor 's mansion in 2005 . And John Kerry , despite losing the state to George W. Bush in 2004 , won Fairfax by 33,700 votes . But strategists for both parties say that voters are more fickle than recent election results let on . `` Those voters are far more independent than people give them credit for , '' said Chris Saxman , a co-chairman of McCain 's 2008 campaign in Virginia . `` It 's the great , classic suburban swing vote . It 's where the state legislature has shifted its power . These are key districts . It 's a very discerning kind of voter that is closely watching every election . '' Democrats admit that in the wake of the 2009 McDonnell wave , the Washington area is no gim me . `` It 's critically important in terms of its size and its swingy-ness , '' said one veteran Democratic operative in the state who declined to be named discussing party strategy . `` And anyone who thinks of northern Virginia as a Democratic bastion just does n't understand the state . '' The Obama campaign won in 2008 , in large part with organization . His supporters ventured far outside northern Virginia to find and register new voters in urban centers and traditionally Republican precincts across the state . That 's one reason why Obama is making his `` official '' re-election debut on Saturday in central Virginia , where Democrats began making gains more than a decade ago when Mark Warner won the governorship in 2001 . The president 's rally is at Virginia Commonwealth University in downtown Richmond , offering him the chance to appeal to his urban base while also tapping into the area 's suburbs . At least one senior Republican strategist in the state gave Obama credit for the choice of venue . `` It 's a smart location because you 're killing a lot of birds , '' said the strategist , who did not want to be identified while complimenting the Obama campaign . `` It 's a major city , a large university with a lot of students , and an area where you 're going to get a lot of earned media in Chesterfield , Henrico and Hanover Counties , which are pretty significant sizes . '' Romney is also taking his campaign downstate on Thursday , when he will rally with McDonnell in Portsmouth , a Navy town in the vote-rich Hampton Roads region along the state 's southeastern coast . McDonnell said Romney needs to hit as many parts of the state as he can between now and November . `` It 's very hard for a Republican to win the presidency without Virginia , '' he said .
Both Obama and Romney will be in Virginia this week . Democrats took D.C. state in 2008 but they swung GOP in governor 's race . It is area full of independents who are fiscally conservative . One strategist calls the state ` ` the great , classic suburban swing vote ''