If West Virginia hadn't left Virginia in 1861...

[Meeker]

... would Obama have still won the Virginia primary? And how would this have affected the race for the nomination this year?

[Stranger in a strange land]

yes, his margin was wide enough that WV probably wouldn't have tipped it to Hillary (remember WV has a much smaller population than VA). It would have been closer though.

Of course, had West Virginia never left Virginia, the butterfly effect might have changed the course of history to the point that Barack Obama might never even have been born, let alone run for president in 2008.

[minionofmidas]

The entire history of West Virginia and Virginia might arguably be different.