You need to have a GOP candidate of the Romney-Rubio-Haley variety to have the best chance of winning these states. If you are winning these states, you will probably also win VA.
I agree with this sentiment generally, but Trump did lose NV and CO by a smaller margin than Romney did. I do think Rubio would have won them both, mainly because he's Latino.
CO's shift from rock solid GOP to dem is pretty stunning. Dubya won them easily in 2000 and 2004, but it was to the left of the nation since then.
