Yikes! West Virginia in play for the Republicans

Bobby Byrd must be rolling in his grave!

Since I live so close to West Virginia I’ve been hearing the rumblings coming across the Potomac, but hadn’t fully focused until I saw this column by Salina Zito in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review today:

As long as this country has existed, this charming Eastern Panhandle town has thrived, thanks initially to its abundant mineral water and proximity to the nation’s capital.

George Washington not only slept here in America’s first official resort town, he bathed here. He came first as a teenage surveyor and later as president, seeking the medicinal springs’ healing effects.

Yet thriving is tough in this economy. Just ask Shannon DeLaunden, out of work for more than a year.

A health care worker who first voted in 2008 — for President Barack Obama — she voices one problem Democrats face: “I won’t vote this November.”

Still inspired by Obama’s charm and promise, she can’t think of a way she has benefited from his policies.

That’s a problem the president may face in another election year. Now, it’s why Gov. Joe Manchin, a popular Democrat, faces a tough race against Republican businessman John Raese to complete the late Robert Byrd’s Senate term.

A recent survey by Rasmussen Reports shows Manchin up only six points, 48 percent to 42 percent. A month earlier, Manchin was at 51 percent, Raese at 35 percent.

Much of Manchin’s problem is that in seeking to go to Washington, D.C., he morphs in voters’ minds into an Obama Democrat.

Read on, there is more.

Wouldn’t it be something to see the long-time carpetbagger, Jay Rockefeller, challenged by a strong Republican next time.

About these ads