Blue smoke and mirrors.

From the VQR archives, a 1982 review of Larry Sabato’s “The Rise of Political Consultants: New Ways of Winning Elections” that contains some great history about Virginia politics:

One may wonder whether it was just coincidence that the decline of the Virginia boss system occurred almost simultaneously with the rise of the consultant system. The new breed of political professionals had begun to sprout and flourish in California in the 1940’s, but it was not until three years after the death of Hany Byrd that the political hired hands made their mark significantly in a Virginia gubernatorial campaign. In 1969 Republican Linwood Holton became the first major Virginia candidate to import a state campaign manager, or consultant-in-chief, from another state. With the help of this political gun from Texas, plus a sapient staff of professional specialists, Holton also became the first Republican to occupy the Virginia governor’s office since Jan. 1, 1886.

This time, for once, I even made sure that the article is available to non-subscribers.