Posted on 01/23/2021 9:39:43 AM PST by buckalfa
The West Virginia Republican Party will overtake the Democratic Party in registration within a matter of months. That will be a milestone in the dramatic shift in the state’s political makeup for nearly a century.
Numbers from the West Virginia Secretary of State’s Office at the end of December show the state has 467,438 Democrats and 461,485 Republicans—a difference of just 5,953 voters. Looked at another way, 36.82 percent of voters are Democrats while 36.35 percent are Republicans (22.77 percent are independents).
The Democratic decline, and subsequent Republican gains, have been occurring over the last 20 years. As recently as 1996, two-thirds of all voters in the state were Democrats. However, the landscape started to shift with the election of George W. Bush in 2000.
What began as a slow leak in Democratic registration turned into a flood. Twenty-seven of the state’s 55 counties now have more Republicans than Democrats. That is nearly double the number from 2016, when Republicans were the majority in only 14 counties.
Last year, Greenbrier, Mason, Mercer, Pocahontas, Raleigh and Nicholas counties flipped. At least five other counties—Hardy, Marshall, Ohio, Pendleton and Tucker—are trending that way and are within a few hundred voters or less of turning red.
Not many West Virginians alive today can remember when the state last had a Republican majority. You have to go back to early last century to find a GOP advantage in voter registration.
The 1928 election saw Republican Herbert Hoover win in a landslide over Democrat Al Smith. Hoover won 40 states including West Virginia, where Republicans held a registration advantage of 55 percent to 45 percent.
But the country had changed dramatically by the 1932 election because of the Depression. Democrat Franklin Roosevelt swamped Hoover. Roosevelt carried West Virginia by ten points, even though Republicans still had a narrow registration advantage—51 percent to 49 percent.
By the midterm elections of 1934, West Virginia had flipped with 58 percent of voters registered with the Democratic Party. The state would stay Democratic, at least in terms of registration, for the next 86 years.
The shift in registration here is trailing the change in political leadership. The last election saw Republicans claim super majorities in both chambers of the state legislature, all three congressional seats, and every seat on the Board of Public Works, including Governor.
Of course, with winning comes responsibility to produce results. For years, Republicans blamed the state’s woes on the “one-party-rule” of the Democrats. Now, the political shoe is on the other foot and West Virginians will expect Republicans to lead the state toward greater prosperity.
Of course, with winning comes responsibility to produce results. For years, Republicans blamed the state’s woes on the “one-party-rule” of the Democrats. Now, the political shoe is on the other foot and West Virginians will expect Republicans to lead the state toward greater prosperity.
Can the GOP take advantage and become a force to defend and reinforce the traditional American Way of Life or will they prove once and for all they are the stupid party.
No, because the Uniparty oligarchs will simply fabricate the winning vote.
Just 4 years ago we gave them all of it, the HOR, POTUS and the Senate. ans they threw it away, we need a new party.
Hey WV, GOP is dying hang in for Trumps Patriot Party.
Ah. That would explain how President Trump got 461,485 votes and Sleepy Joe got 925 bazillion jillion votes.
If Democrats are ever thrown and a real election system implemented then one aspect would be “every ballot accounted for.” They would only print enough ballots to match the number of registered voters. Registered voters who don’t vote still have to cast or register a “no vote.” Then just balance the books.
I’m a part time West Virginian, in WV now. The state is only really Republican in the sense that the national Democrat party has gone insane. Think Reagan Democrats. Don’t expect some low tax oasis. At this point I’ll happily pay taxes to normal people who otherwise share my values.
Joe Manchin, whether he realizes it or not, is a goner in his next election. He barely got reelected selling himself as a moderate Democrat then voted to impeach President Trump. That will be the epitaph on his political tombstone.
More people signing up to the Surrender Party.
They will just pull out the cheat machines.
I’m moving in the opposite direction, away from the GOP.
Won’t. Matter. GOP. Dead.
Come and visit Florida. We have one party republican rule and its working very well. No sell outs here.
And miami dade just went red. Not over yet if we have trump rs in place. And hell paul ryan was sabotoging trump every day. A 2022 r house would be the trump house . Destoying and transforming a party from within takes time and multiple battles. Trump can still fight a guerilla polical war on multiple levels to turn the r party into the patriot party. But if he ever does form 3rd, he needs to have desantis and abbot and more standing with him as Ps to truly transform the nation with a political shock and awe.
And how many WV voters register as “unaffiliated” or “Independent”?
At year end 289K were registered with no party affiliation and 50K were registered with minor partys. Obviously either D's or R's in WV cannot elect a candidate without help from the squishy middle.
https://sos.wv.gov/elections/Pages/VoteRegTotals.aspx
Yawn. This means nothing long as voter fraud is sanctioned, and in some cases encouraged by politicians,
The article says 22% in the part excerpted.
The political leaning of that 22% is very important considering that the parties are basically even.
Better look at the political leanings of a state Presidential election results. That is showing a clear conservative trend.
Year Republicans Democrats
2020 68.62% 545,382 29.69% 235,984
2016 68.50% 489,371 26.43% 188,794
2012 62.14% 417,655 35.45% 238,269
2008 55.58% 397,466 42.49% 303,857
2004 56.06% 423,778 43.20% 326,541
2000 51.92% 336,475 45.59% 295,497
It is also interesting that in a state that has lost 50,000 people in the last ten years had 80,000 more voters in 2020 than 2008.
“Registered voters who don’t vote still have to cast or register a “no vote.”
Saying that registered voters who do not vote but who “still have to cast or register a no vote” is a contradiction. Both actions are voting. How do you enforce your “have to cast or register a no vote” provision? This idea of manadatory voting, even just for registered voters, is a dimprog dream.
Registration is for the purpose of verifying eligibility to vote. Whether someone votes or not should not be public and no one should be required to vote even if registered.
Ballots should be handed out to verified voters as they enter the voting booth on election day no sooner. at the close of voting the unused ballots should be spoiled or orther wise destroyed. Count the voters who enter the booth and witness the dropping of the ballot. Then cross check total ballots cast and counted against the number handed out.
The cast ballots can be encryted via block chain technology and the voter given an anonymous blockchain key that gives a record (reciept) of how they voted. The individual ballot can be made public as part of the recorded totals and every voter could verify that their individual vote was tallied correctly.
I wonder if Manchin is going to continue to ride his fence. His nether regions must be very chapped by now.
Perhaps you think you know something aoubt Floria politics, but it is obvious you know nothing about Texas Governor Grabbit. This man is a BUSH RINO.
Do some reading before you make a public spectacle of yourself
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