 In 1982, Olin was elected to represent the 6th district of Virginia in the U.S. House of Representatives, becoming the first Democrat to hold this seat since 1953.The 6th, stretching from Roanoke through the Shenandoah Valley, had been one of the first areas of Virginia to turn Republican.The district's six-term Republican incumbent, M. Caldwell Butler, hadn't even faced major-party opposition since 1974.