West Virginia Senate: Capito (R) 49%, Tennant (D) 35%

rasmussenreports.com ^ | 2/24/14

[cotton1706]

Republican Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito posts a 14-point lead over Democrat Natalie Tennant in Rasmussen Reports’ first look at the likely 2014 U.S. Senate race in West Virginia.

A new statewide telephone survey finds that Capito earns 49% support from Likely West Virginia Voters to Tennant’s 35%. Four percent (4%) prefer another candidate in the race, and 12% are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

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The survey of 500 Likely Voters in West Virginia was conducted on February 19-20, 2014 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 4.5 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

[buckalfa]

Good news for the Republicans in playing the numbers game to take control of the Senate. Not so good for actual conservatism.

[Zathras]

Advice to Capito regarding the press.
Q: “What is your feeling about abortion and rape?”
A: “When did you stop beating your wife”

[BCR #226]

Just remember, Capito voted to allow the NSA to continue to spy on Americans... Just sayin’.

[buckalfa]

Capito, is immune on these issues. First, Capito is a woman, and secondly, she leans towards pro choice. The liberal press may try for a gotcha moment on other issues.

[GeronL]

I wouldn’t vote in this election, was there a pro-life conservative independent?

[ilgipper]

Here’s my position. We’re not going to get the perfect conservative in every seat. If there was a very good more conservative candidate, I’d be all about getting that person in. I am out of state, but did not hear of any superstar alternatives to Capito. I am happy picking up seats where possible, and driving strong, independent conservatives when there are good candidates available. We won’t have one every time.

Examples - Cruz was a far better option than Dewhurst, but it doesn’t look like there is anyone else in the wings who can oust Cornyn (as much as he deserves to be sent home). In KY, Bevin is a really, really good candidate and worthy of a fight.

What’s the story in WV on the primary? Is there a strong alternative out there?

[HamiltonJay]

Dems conceded WV to get Obama elected, they don’t need it, and don’t care about it. It will move R and stay there for quite a long time... the war on coal assured it will move red for the foreseeable future, and since Dems have no need to fight for it, they don’t care about losing it.

[dowcaet]

A good, realistic view of politics. Of course we want someone in every office who is conservative but that’s not going to happen. For those of us who live in overwhelmingly blue states many of our GOP candidates for office are RINOS and it sadly comes down to a lesser of two evils option when we get to vote. We either hold our nose and vote for the RINO or stay home. Not great options and either choice keeps empowering the left.

[Starboard]

Good news for the Republicans...Not so good for actual conservatism.

***********
Republicans have nothing to do with conservatism. ;)

[edcoil]

Republican Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito posts a 14-point lead over Democrat Natalie Tennant in Rasmussen Reports’ first look at the likely 2014

There was a study done once the no elected women ever voted to reduce the size of government or its burden.

[Starboard]

Agree. One is only less bad than the other. The “choice” between the two is in reality usually an illusion.

Very good post.

[wildandcrazyrussian]

That’s what we are hoping for, so maybe we can get the State House back for the first time since 1928 and maybe the State Senate back soon thereafter. Great mood here in WV. It has been a very frustrating 86 years of one-party rule.

[PGalt]

Good thread BUMP!

[cotton1706]

“Just remember, Capito voted to allow the NSA to continue to spy on Americans... Just sayin’.”

Yeah, I know she’s a moderate but the other guy dropped out. So we’re left with being happy that the republicans will likely gain this seat.

[TruthShallSetYouFree]

I’m as conservative as anyone else here, and yes, in many cases, there are few, if any, differences between the republican and democrat candidates. On the other hand, no republican voted for Obamacare and every democrat did. And I defy anyone to produce a republican who would make a worse Senate Majority Leader than Harry Reid. And as bad as Boehner is (and he’s bad) I doubt that anyone on this forum would prefer Pelosi as Speaker of the House.

[jjsheridan5]

A good, realistic view of politics.

I couldn't disagree more. The Democrats are doing what their type have been doing throughout history -- capitalizing politically on ignorance, playing to people's natural greed and envy, creating dependencies, etc. There is nothing new about them. What has changed, especially over the last 20+ years, is that we have allowed the opposition to become thoroughly neutered, while simultaneously the Democrats learned how to go from an ineffective political party, to a unified, and at times devastatingly effective one. The cause of the neutering of the opposition is the type of view you are advocating: that a conservatives "realistic" choice is to hold their nose and vote for the lesser of two evils.

Over time, this has strengthened the relative position of those within the Republican party who are hostile to conservatism, and weakened the relative position of conservatives. It has gotten to the point where most of the national and state party apparatus will work actively against conservatives. This is the result of this "good, realistic view of politics."

This is a war, not a battle. And the only way to win that war is to forget about the R/D split in the senate and the house, and focus on the relative strength within the republican party of those opposed to liberalism versus those in favor of it. As long as the balance remains where it is (or gets worse), the Republicans will be token resistance (at best).

The Democrats understood this, and as a result they have a much more cohesive, agile, and unified party, willing to take tactical losses in order to preserve their unified approach (this is especially glaring when comparing today's Democrat party versus that of the 70's, when they were a disorganized collection of disconnected interest groups often at conflict with each other). They question is: when will Republican voters learn the same thing, and recognize that voting for the lesser of two evils isn't just fool's gold, but is actually more akin to allowing known traitors to continue to wear your uniform just because it makes your army look bigger.

[ScottinVA]

We’re not going to get the perfect conservative in every seat. If there was a very good more conservative candidate, I’d be all about getting that person in.

Ditto. We can play "purist" all we want, but that doesn't get the malevolent Harry Reid out of the Majority Leader seat. Yes, it would've been great to see Christine O'Donnell, Sharron Angle, Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock win their races and build the Tea Party presence in the Senate, but they all proved far short of being ready for prime time.

[MadelineZapeezda]

She is running unopposed in the primary.

[ken5050]

This race is over...but can you guys finally dump that sleeze Rahall?