Race for the 1st.....

The race for Alan Mollohan's seat is going to be an intriguing one. National media already taking note of it--particularly as the GOP has targeted coal supporting members as somehow "anti-coal" (you can hear some of my thoughts about that in our Audio On Demand page).

The first-district Dem face a primary challenge for only the 3rd time in his long career. State Senator Mike Oliverio has always seemed like a sharp guy to me. A good younger face for the Mountain State Dems which are greatly in need of some new faces and bench strength.

But I still can't figure out where Oliverio's support will come from. Mollohan is a true friend to labor and seems to have the support of the mainstream party leaders. I know there are disenchanted Dems who want a change, but are they a big enough force to raise the cash, and carry the votes, to kick out a popular incumbent? (Yes, I said popular--look at the size of his win in 2006, the last time there was a serious GOP challenge).

Oliverio has said he won't attack Mollohan--and I like that approach to politics--but I don't know how you beat an incumbent if you don't tell people why he shouldn't keep the job.

Mollohan wins the primary with not much trouble.

The GOP primary is much more interesting to me.

Ohio County businessman Dave McKinley is clearly the best candidate--most experieced, with the access to bigger financial resource. He's the only Republican I see who would even make it a race against Mollohan in the fall and is the choice of the GOP establishment.

But with a couple of other big names (Sara Minear, Mac Warner) in the race and a couple of "tea baggers" as well, McKinley may not be a shoo-in. How the 1st District Repubs play this primary will say a lot about what the future of the GOP in the area will look like.

Primary day is not far away and we'll watch this race closely---and talk about it frequently on the radio.

Have some thoughts? DIsagree with me completely?? Click the comment button below and leave your thoughts.

Comments

[Cindy Hall]

Calling someone a "Tea Bagger" gives a derogatory implication. That is an arrogant remark. Why not call McKinley, Minear, and Warner's brothers, union fans. In West Virginia, you can't tell the Republicans from the Democrats. In order to receive a union endorsement and I assume, contribution, you must fill out a form. Questions on the form I received from a union, did not give me an opportunity to answer in a positive manor, where they would have given me any support or money.

[Howard Monroe]

Thanks for the comment, Cindy.

I try to be informal on the blog, but I respect your point about the phrase "tea baggers". I'll try to refer to "Tea Party" instead. Make no mistake though, I am NOT a fan of the tea party movement (anger and ignorance combined are not a good mix)and I DO think derogatorily of it--but language is important so I'll try to watch mine.

A union endorsement is NOT necessarily a contribution, but contributions of time and money sure help you get elected. If the union questions didn't give you a chance to answer in a way to garner their support, I would assume it means you are not in line with the union positions.

Again, thanks for commenting. This should be an interesting race. I look forward to having you on my show.

BTW, nice web site you have.