The RGA has a website (West Virginia Pays) and an ad up to get people… acquainted… with acting Governor Earl Ray Tomblin (D):
To refresh people’s memories: West Virginia – a coal-producing state that is almost stubbornly Democratic on the local level, despite the fact that the national Democratic party elite dreams of dismantling the coal industry – last year saw Democratic governor Joe Manchin transfer over to the US Senate. This made state Senate President Tomblin – a man who has been a professional politician for almost my entire life; heck, he went directly from school to the legislature – acting Governor; there will be a special election in October of this year; his Republican opponent is businessman and engineer Bill Maloney.
The state of the race is… interesting. Tomblin is generally considered to be the frontrunner, but despite a fundraising advantage even the Democrats’ own pollsters can’t get the acting Governor above 47%; in fact, Tomblin’s numbers have been stagnant for months. Now that we’re about a month in from the actual election, though, the race will heat up – and it will be interesting to see how Tomblin explains how he plans to work with an administration whose members visibly have to remember to restrain themselves from counting West Virginian fingers and toes every time an administration official is forced to visit West Virginia. Particularly since the EPA’s War on Coal is heating up; if there’s been a time where the disconnect between a national and a state party has been in starker contrast, it’s not immediately coming to mind.
Besides: the way things are going nationally, having a Republican governor in West Virginia would be in West Virginia’s best federal interests, starting in 2013…
Moe Lane (crosspost)
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