neither did obama in 2012. and manchin won by 28 on the same ballot
That was before Obama was re-elected and a majority of West Virginians began to view all Democrats as irredeemable members of an anti-white hate group. Ask Natalie Tennant and Nick Rahall about it.
Obama and Manchin won re-election on the same day and on the same ballot.
Yes, exactly. At the time they cast those votes for Manchin, Obama had not been re-elected yet. The vast majority of Republicans/conservatives also thought Romney would win.
That is true, but if Obama were that unpopular by 2012, why didn't the effect of this seep out to other races within West Virginia?
Obama was very unpopular in West Virginia, but his initial election was seen as a fluke that would be rectified in 2012. It was only once he was re-elected that Racist WV Hicks began to see the entire Democratic Party as an anti-white hate group.
But how does that explain West Virginia's turn to the Republicans in 2000? They began voting Republican in presidential elections several years before Obama's first election. I do agree though, that Obama's Presidency accelerated the state's turn into a Safe Republican stronghold.
