Talk Elections

PRESIDENT – WEST VIRGINIA (RL Repass)
Mitt Romney (R) 54%
Barack Obama (D-inc) 37%

http://www.dailymail.com/News/201204300184

Yeah, it will be tough for Obama to get 40% there this year.

turnout is gonna suckkkkkkkkk too

Probably about 58-42 for Romney; President Obama is a bad cultural match for West Virginia, a state that can still go for conservative or moderate Democrats who aren't 'exotic' eggheads.

Database entry: https://uselectionatlas.org/POLLS/PRESIDENT/2012/polls.php?action=indpoll&id=5420120428154

Is the rich guy Romney such a great match?

Apparently WV knows better than to accept liberal social engineering for the sake of class warfare.

The only class warfare I see is that launched by the 1% crowd including Romney.

It's amazing to contrast West Virginia with Virginia and the direction the states are heading economically, socially and of course politically.

So Romney owns WV but is loosing ground in Kentucky?


He isn't a great match for either and were Clinton President, he would probably loose them both to her.

WV is a state with high undecideds that's traditionally unpredictable in polling. Romney will win, but the state will trend to Obama by default.

For the Reactionary Party, of course, class warfare is all fine and dandy when it is waged in favor of the plutocratic elite. Yes, I do favor a return to more Clinton era fiscally responsible levels on the wealthiest. The bills have got to be paid. Spending cuts would have a more detrimental impact on the well-being of the middle class and the poorest

If only George W Bush had built on the Clinton legacy of prosperity, low unemployment and solvent government ... Only an imbecile could have failed to make the most of that. When it ain't broke (November 2000) it sure as hell didn't need fixin' ::)

There's more than the US going through the mill as a consequence of a loss of confidence in the US sub-prime market. Perhaps had US median incomes not declined during the Bush 43 presidency that may never have happened given that sub-primers were more likely to have been of even more limited means, struggling to make ends meet - so spare me any of that for the "sake of class warfare" baloney. President Obama is no radical. Indeed, on the evidence, Bruce Bartlett - a former domestic policy advisor to President Reagan - makes the argument that President Obama is the moderate conservative in a way that President Nixon was the moderate liberal. If there's a problem in Washington, its a Republican Party that has moved way, way, way to the right given the extent to which Reaganites Bartlett and David Stockman are witheringly critical

Clinton was a deregulatory neoliberal who laid the trap for the eventual recession. Bush not only set the trap but tipped the spikes with poison.

The 1990's growth was primarily among the upper classes thanks to Wall Street deregulation and the internet bubble (note: prosperity never lasts forever, and there will always be recessions. However, the extreme housing bubble pumped by neoliberals and Reaganites created a particularly big pop.)

So what happens if a somewhat prominent white, Christian dude gets on the ballot? :p

As the Democratic nominee? It depends. Someone like Sherrod Brown could carry West Virginia despite being quite progressive (Democrats would do much better in the South & parts of the Midwest with Sherrod-esque platform), but I don't expect an Andrew Cuomo to do so well.

EDIT: As an independent against Romney and Obama, you mean? Partisanship is too strong for any independent to carry a state these days, but he could get maybe 5-10% of the vote if it's a national campaign. Ron Paul could do well in the state.

Three words: Senator Jay Rockefeller.

Romney is no Jay Rockefeller.

Lol, no.

If wealth were so important to West Virginians when electing candidates, Jay Rockefeller wouldn't be in the Senate.  He's the third-richest man in the Senate.  West Virginians don't care.  And please spare us the rich Democrats are different because they are for the people nonsense.

Liberal social engineering from national Democrats is the only reason anyone in West Virginia can remain there nowadays.


What about a somewhat white dude and a somewhat Christian dude?

Are you familiar with Jay Rockefeller's history in WV prior to being elected to the Senate?

How's he doing in the deep south?

Yes.  He was rich then when running for and serving in state offices and is still rich today.  His wealth didn't matter to West Virginia voters then and doesn't matter now.  Nor does Romney's.

It saddens me to see WV drift farther and father away from the Democratic party, as it's clearly based on cultural issues. Still, it would behoove Dems not to ridicule WV. Yes, it's poor. Yes, it's conservative. Yes, it's more isolated. But all of the focus on WV being "racist" I think is misplaced. They still gave a larger percent of white support to Obama than almost any other Southern state. At 42%, the white vote for Obama there was higher than NC, VA and tied with FL.

I think it's ridiculous for West Virginians, many of whom are Union members, to continue to shift to the party that thinks Unions destroy capitalism. But the ridicule West Virginians receive from many elites in the Democratic party and on this forum makes me understand the shift.

I wouldn't be surprised.  He probably intends to turn it into a golf course and spa.

I feel a new home state coming on.

West Virginia Democrats aren't the brightest canaries in the coalmine.
About the only thing dumber than that they think Manchin is a Democrat is that they think Oliverio is a Democrat. Epic fail.

No. Just no.

For the 100th time, remember the 90's. If Hillary were president 95+% of the antipathy WV has towards Obama for "eastern establisment liberal", etc, would be foisted just as readily on Clinton. As would unease about the economy.

Hillary trouncing Obama in the WV and KY primaries proves zilch about their general election appeal in either state (not unlike Indiana in 08).

Agreed. Hillary never had and never will have the same connection with those types of voters that Bill had. She might have made WV closer, but down there, the perception of the Democratic party floating away in a sea of liberalism is greater than any Democratic nominee can overcome.

The one poll of WV in 2008 that seems to have asked the McCain-Clinton question was 47 Clinton-42 McCain. It's entirely plausible that he would have made that deficit up in the general election campaign, and if you want to argue that was the likely outcome, be my guest. But it's clearly not totally outlandish to think she could have won WV.


http://www.pollster.com/polls/wv/08-wv-pres-ge-mvc.php?nr=1

The poll with clinton ahead of mccain in 08 was from FEBRUARY. Hardly reliable. An arg poll (I know, I know) in early october had obama up 8. An insider advantage poll (well, they're not arg) a week later had him down only 2.

It's outlandish to believe clinton would've done more than a point or three better than obama, tops.

That same poll from February had McCain ahead of Obama, 53-35, while the result in November was 56-43.
Let me be clear. I'm not taking any particular stand on how HRC would have done in WV in 2008. But such evidence as we have points to her having been more than a point or three more popular than Obama.

Obama will be lucky to break 30% in WV this year.  They absolutely hate him there for his war on coal

What war on coal?

Lucky to break 30%?  I'm assuming this is a typo...

no typo.  He'll be lucky to break 30%  and the 25-30% who will vote for him are insane.

His EPA is doing everything it can to destroy the coal industry.  He has said openly his goal is to bankrupt it

He never said that. Ever.

Except he did. (http://newsbusters.org/blogs/p-j-gladnick/2008/11/02/hidden-audio-obama-tells-sf-chronicle-he-will-bankrupt-coal-industry)

That was discredited as a hit piece by The Media designed to hurt him just before the 2008 election.

Whatever the case is, I'll bet a free pizza voucher that Obama breaks 30% in West Virginia.

On the Blankenship Empire.