Why Mollohan Lost

The Associated Press hears from both the state legislator who felled 14-term U.S. Rep. Alan Mollohan, D-1st, in the West Virginia primary election and the GOP nominee for that seat.

Sen. Mike Oliverio, "a conservative Democrat, had run an aggressive campaign, portraying Mollohan as corrupt and out of touch," writes AP's Vicki Smith. "Conservative media rallied around the 46-year-old financial adviser from Morgantown, as did anti-abortion groups angry over Mollohan's support of health care legislation."

Republican Dave McKinley, himself a former legislator, meanwhile said "the outcome is a referendum on Obama's policies, from bailouts of banks and takeovers of car companies to health care reform."

The article also reports that "the anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony List said it spent $78,000 on the 1st District race and made 80,000 prerecorded calls on Oliverio's behalf Monday and Tuesday. The results, it said, should serve as warning to other incumbents."

The Charleston Daily Mail, meanwhile, talks to political scientists and an editor at Sabato's Crystal Ball for their assessments of the outcome. The article identifies seven factors that potentially contributed to Mollohan's loss.