L
Posted on 09/11/2010 10:01:13 PM PDT by Qbert
In what could prove a sleeper race with national implications, some West Virginia Democrats say they are seeing signs that the state's Senate race could be turning into an unexpectedly tough and expensive battle.
While popular Gov. Joe Manchin III, 63, was widely regarded by Democrats as a sure thing to fill the seat long held by Sen. Robert C. Byrd, a new Rasmussen poll released this week showed his Republican challenger, Morgantown business executive John Raese, 60, gaining significant ground.
With polls giving surging Republicans an outside chance of gaining the 10 Senate seats needed to reclaim the majority, an upset in a West Virginia race - a race that has largely been off the national political radar - could prove a critical piece of the puzzle.
A late July poll showed Mr. Manchin outpacing Mr. Raese 51 percent to 35 percent, but a Rasmussen survey of 500 "likely voters" taken a little more than month later found the governor's lead had shrunk to 6 percentage points, shocking many who hadn't considered that the Byrd seat could go to anyone but another well-known Democrat.
Despite a tepid 12 percent turnout in the state's Aug. 28 primary, heightened press attention to the West Virginia Senate battle is sure to buoy the enthusiasm of state voters, political observers say, noting that Republican voters have turned out in far greater percentages than Democrats in this primary cycle.
"Republicans are far more motivated to vote than Democrats right now," said Jennifer Duffy, a senior editor at the Cook Political Report who follows Senate races and said the new Rasmussen poll more than caught her attention.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
L
LMAO!!!
The media will think November 2nd a greater tragedy than September 11th.
They will burn the ballots.
It would be quite amusing if this race ended up giving Republicans control of the senate.
Unmentioned in the article is the fact that Governor Manchin didn’t have to hold a special election. He could have appointed someone else to finish the term, or he could have resigned and had his successor appoint him (though he was surely aware that voters have almost always voted out of office any governor/senator who has pulled this trick).
Thus in trying to fulfill his own political ambitions he just might cost Democrats control of the senate. Of course Lisa Murkowski might accomplish the same thing in the other direction.
I am planning to watch election night coverage on MSNBC to see the reactions of Rachel, Keith, Ed, Chris Mathews, etc. as the liberal dream fades away. They may even have to report that the House and even Senate will be in Republican hands. Nancy Pelosi may have to hand over the giant gavel to John Boehner.
Like trickles of water through cracks in a dam ...
WV is about coal. The Dems “love” the Cap & Trade lie. Nothing Obozo can do will convince them, they know the consequences of taxing energy sources. Cap & Trade is a big fat Scam, based on a lie (Global Warming).
All Congressmen who voted for Cap & Trade MUST be Removed from office. No Exceptions. They are either Traitors or simply too stupid to hold public office.
Here is the list:
“Congressional Vote Score Card” (Posted Dec 13, 2009)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2406579/posts
Good Hunting.
Sarah Palin would really make their heads explode.
pop....pop....pop....pop.
I meant that Nancy Pelosi would no longer be Speaker of the House, and would have to hand over the House gavel to the new speaker, likely John Boehner, if Republicans take over the House of Reps. in November’s elections. Sarah Palin isn’t a member of the House of Representatives, so it’s unlikely she would be elected Speaker.
“WV is about coal. The Dems “love” the Cap & Trade lie. Nothing Obozo can do will convince them, they know the consequences of taxing energy sources. Cap & Trade is a big fat Scam, based on a lie (Global Warming).”
Related:
Joe Manchin says he’s a friend of coal yet he supports Obama’s plan for cap and trade which will bankrupt the coal industry:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2587312/posts
You don’t have to be a member to be speaker, and I know Palin would be unlikely, but the left would go bonkers over even her nomination.
As WVA governors go, Manchin has actually been pretty good. Overall he has been a good fit with the thinking in the state and would normally be a total shoo-in for further advancement.
But I don’t doubt for a moment that if he went to the Senate he would be like New York’s moderate congress-woman Kirsten Gillibrand, who without hesitation dumped every moderate or conservative notion she had spent years advocating. Gillibrand went totally doctrinaire and got away with the reversal.
That Reese is anywhere close testifies how mistrusted the dems are today. Never would have expected anything like this even a year ago.
“You don’t have to be a member to be speaker”
What planet do you live on?
Don't believe me, then look it up.
There are only 30,000 miners in the state. Use 7:1 ratio for companies supporting those miners and now you have 210,000 potential voters. If this block of voters show up at the polls it just may happen.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.