Election 2010: Congress (Corrected)

With U.S. Rep. Alan Mollohan, D-1st, facing both a primary and (if he prevails in May) general election opponent for the first time since 1998, the Charleston Daily Mail and News and Sentinel of Parkersburg note his campaign's decision to seek funds outside his district.

Both articles detail the Charleston event slated for Monday. Each also lists expected attendees at length. The Daily Mail observes Gov. Joe Manchin's absence from that roster.

The News and Sentinel also mentions that a poll of 350 potential Republican primary voters in Mollohan's district found that 59 percent did not recognize the name of Andrew "Mac" Warner, while 61 percent were unfamiliar with fellow GOP contender David McKinley.

Other Republican candidates fared worse. Warner, whose campaign conducted the poll, told the newspaper that "71 percent of Republicans aren't sure which of the six candidates for whom to vote."

A second Ogden paper in the district, the Wheeling News-Register, reports on polling by Mollohan's primary challenger, state Sen. Mike Oliverio, D-Monongalia.

Of 600 likely Democratic voters, half "said they would vote for Mollohan, while another 23 percent were undecided," that article said. (Correction: The Oliverio campaign says half would vote for someone other than Mollohan.) They also gave the congressman a 40 percent approval rating, compared to 46 percent for President Barack Obama and 67 percent for Manchin.

Oliverio told that newspaper that those two findings spurred him to enter the race.

The Dominion Post of Morgantown (via DailyMe) reports at length on the Warner campaign's poll.