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.

Special Session: Legislature Gavels in (Updated)

The West Virginia Legislature has begun the special session called for by Gov. Joe Manchin, mostly to tackle education issues, The Associated Press reports.

Manchin's proclamation also proposes a new, federally funded high-risk health insurance pool, a health-related funding measure and three bills that he vetoed from the regular session because of technical flaws.

The governor has also posted summaries of his proposed legislation.

AP had reported earlier that the state's two main teachers' groups have raised objections either to the key education bills or the concepts behind them. Manchin responded both to AP and the Charleston Daily Mail about their expected resistance to his proposals.

MetroNews also reports on the stance taken by one of those groups, the West Virginia Education Association, as does The Charleston Gazette.

MetroNews and the The Gazette also offer previews of the special session's agenda.

Rahall to Face Maynard in November

Democrat-turned-Republican Elliott "Spike" Maynard eked out a win Tuesday to challenge U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall, D-3rd, in the fall, The Associated Press reports.

Maynard received barely more than 30% of the vote in a four-way GOP primary race, sporting a 433-vote margin of victory. Rahall advanced after garnering more than 67% of the vote over Bruce Barilla.

W.Va. Primary: Legislative Races Update (Updated)

The Associated Press reports that:

• Sen. Frank Deem, R-Wood whose legislative career stretches back to the 1950s, fell to current (corrected from former) Vienna Mayor David Nohe.

• Sen. Randy White, D-Webster, lost a rematch with former Nicholas County prosecutor Greg Tucker.

• Ron Justice had dropped out of the race for an open Senate seat with health problems last month. But with his name still on the ballot, the former Morgantown mayor attracted slightly more votes than Delegate Bob Beach, D-Monongalia. Update: State election officials point out that Justice can't actually win because's no longer a candidate, leaving Beach as the nominee. (Post edited to correct/clarify)
  

• Sen. Erik Wells, D-Kanawha, held off two challengers and a six-figure attack ad campaign by labor groups.

• Senate Majority Leader Truman Chafin, D-Mingo, (updated) fended off Mingo County Commissioner Greg "Hootie" Smith in a rematch.

• (2nd Update) Delegate Tom Louisos, D-Fayette, was displaced in that district's primary by John Pino. Louisos had done the same to Pino in 2008.
  

McKinley Wins GOP Nod (Updated)

Dave McKinley has prevailed in a field of six Republican hopefuls to run in November for West Virginia's 1st Congressional District, The Associated Press reports.

Update: With all precincts reporting, McKinley received nearly 35% of the GOP vote. Andrew "Mac" Warner followed with nearly 27%.

Oliverio Beats Mollohan (Updated)

U.S. Rep. Alan Mollohan, D-1st, lost West Virginia's Democratic primary to state Sen. Mike Oliverio, D-Monongalia, The Associated Press reports.

With 75 percent of precincts reporting, Oliverio had 56.2 percent to Mollohan's 43.7 percent.

Update: AP pegged Oliverio's final tally at nearly 56 percent of the vote. He did nearly that well in Mollohan's home turf of Marion County, while attracting 62 percent in Monongalia.

W.Va. Primary: The Returns

The Associated Press will be reporting on results throughout the evening.

Secretary of State Natalie Tennant is posting unofficial returns online.

So is MetroNews and (updated) The Charleston Gazette.

Various counties are also posting returns, including:

• Harrison
• Jefferson (well, a webcam)
• Kanawha
• Marion
• Wood

W.Va. Primary: Congress

The Democratic and Republican primaries in West Virginia's 1st Congressional District have easily enjoyed the highest national profile of any races in the state this year.

The Associated Press focuses on those races and those in the other two districts:

• Rep. Alan Mollohan, D-1st, is battling state Sen. Mike Oliverio, D-Monongalia, for their party's nomination. Political Wire noted the article by AP's Vicki Smith along with other coverage in a post, "Another Incumbent Fights for His Political Life."

• The six Republicans jockeying to take on Mollohan (or Oliverio) have also gotten attention beyond the state's borders.

• Rep. Nick Rahall, D-3rd, faces a political novice who planned to spend no more than $5,000.

• Four Republicans seek to challenge Rahall in November, in a primary contest marked by anemic fundraising.

• Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-2nd, is unopposed in her primary as is the district's Democratic candidate, Virginia Lynch Graf.

The polls close at 7:30 p.m.

W.Va. Primary: Legislature

More than one-third of West Virginia's legislative candidates have no primary opponents and are assured their party's nomination. But Tuesday's ballots do include close-appearing contests in both the House and Senate, The Associated Press reports.

AP offers a rundown of races of note, including several of the 13 open seats up for grabs.

Polls close at 7:30 p.m.

W.Va. Primary: Early Voting

With the polls still open this hour, The Associated Press reports that nearly 40,500 West Virginians cast in-person early ballots for the primary.

That's higher than the early voting during the previous mid-term primary, in 2006.

Democrats outnumber Republicans by just under 2-to-1, came out to vote early by a slightly higher margin when compared to the GOP.

"Turnout was slightly greater in the 20-county 1st Congressional District than in the state's other two House districts," the article said. "Incumbent Rep. Alan Mollohan, D-W.Va., faces state Sen. Mike Oliverio, D-Monongalia, in their party's primary. Six Republicans seek the GOP's nod to take on the winner in November."

Secretary of State Natalie Tennant issued a press release on the early voting figures.

Tennant's office also told AP that primary day voting started "without a hitch."

The Herald-Dispatch of Huntington reports that in Cabell County, "it’s been a slow but steady voter turnout so far on this rainy Tuesday morning."

Election 2010: W.Va. Senate

More than one-third of West Virginia's 2010 legislative candidates are assured their party's nomination Tuesday, because they have no primary opponents.

But campaign finance reports suggest a handful of contested races across the state, The Associated Press reports.

"The most expensive contest has been the Democratic primary rematch between Senate Majority Leader Truman Chafin and Mingo County Commissioner Greg “Hootie” Smith," the article said. "Chafin, who is seeking an 8th term, had loaned his campaign $197,000 as of April 25. He raised another $60,545, nearly three times as much as Smith. But Smith had also self-financed, to the tune of $140,000, and had spent $170,428 to Chafin’s $193,267."

That race is a re-match from 2006, as is the contest between Sen. Randy White, D-Webster, and Nicholas County prosecutor Greg Tucker, who had outspent the incumbent as of April 25, AP reports.

The article also cites figures from candidates seeking the Democratic nod in Cabell, Hancock, Kanawha and Lincoln counties.

"These few races have also attracted nearly all of the $179,000 spent by third parties on independent ads for or against candidates and reported to the secretary of state so far this election season," AP notes. "Ninety percent of that money has come from labor unions."

Election 2010: 1st Congressional District - Democrats

Following up on its earlier overview of the race, The Associated Press sets the stage for the primary contest between U.S. Rep. Alan Mollohan, D-1st, and state Sen. Mike Oliverio, D-Monongalia.

"The congressman has campaigned on his ability to deliver federal funds to the 20-county district that borders Maryland, Ohio and Pennsylvania and includes West Virginia University in Morgantown," the article said. But he also "voted for Obama's health care law, which he considers a landmark achievement. That vote cost him long-standing support from the National Right to Life and its West Virginia division, which fear the law will allow federal dollars for abortion. Both have endorsed Oliverio."

Oliverio, meanwhile, "continues to criticize Mollohan over past ethics allegations," and "while Mollohan ultimately opposed the proposed limits on such greenhouse gases a carbon released by burning coal, Oliverio says it was too little, too late," AP reports.

Other factors that did not make it into the final version:

• AP estimates that Mollohan can't spend $120,000 in his campaign fund until the general election - if he gets there - because it came from donors who have already maxed out their primary election contribution limit."
• Mollohan siphoned out another $115,000 over the course of the election cycle to repay previous loans to his campaign.
• While Mollohan's internal poll of April 21-22 showed him up by 9 percentage points, it also showed a 19 percent undecided despite a 94% name recognition rate.
• Only a slight majority of those undecideds were favorable toward the incumbent, 51% to 28%.
• Mollohan has raised $121,000 in last-minute contributions, while Oliverio has attracted $103,900.
• At least a dozen people who gave $500 or more to Mollohan in 2006 have contributed to Oliverio instead this year.
• Oliverio has received more than $30,000 from people who have also contributed to one (or more) of the Republicans running for the 1st District nomination.

They Voted for You: Cash for Caulkers

U.S. Reps. Alan Mollohan, D-1st, and Nick Rahall, D-3rd, voted for legislation that would create a "Home Star Retrofit Rebate" program.

Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-2nd, opposed the bill along with all but a dozen of the other House GOP members present for the 246-161 roll call.

The two-year, $5.7 billion program would offer homeowners "rebates for renovating their homes with better insulation and energy-saving windows and doors," The Associated Press reports.

"Supporters estimate that 3 million households would make use of the new program, saving $9.2 billion in energy costs over a 10-year period. They said it would create 168,000 jobs, mainly in the recession-hit construction industry," the article said. "Republicans were more skeptical, saying the cost was too high amid rising federal debts."

GOP Slugfest Continues in 1st Congressional District

The gloves came off several weeks ago as the six Republicans seeking to challenge U.S. Rep. Alan Mollohan, D-1st, sought to distinguish themselves in the minds of their primary voters.

Residents of the district have witnessed the TV, radio and other ads that several of the GOP hopefuls have launched against each other.

The rancor has spilled over into candidate forums, The Hill reports. "Republicans Mac Warner and David McKinley got into a fierce exchange during a GOP candidates debate in Wheeling Wednesday night," the article said. "Warner accused McKinley of 'feigning concern' for his son who was injured serving in Afghanistan, then calling his opponent 'unfit to serve' in Congress in a mailer the next day."

The Intelligencer of Wheeling covered the forum, but that report does not appear to include the exchange.

Warner later told the News and Sentinel of Parkersburg that "he can support any winner except Dave McKinley in November."

McKinley said he would support the party's nominee "although I am concerned about our chances if one or more of the other candidates were to become the nominee," the article said.

The McKinley campaign has also taken heart in a CQ Politics article that opines that "Democrats would prefer to face Warner, whom they think has baggage from his business dealings that Warner’s GOP detractors also are trying to exploit, than either McKinley or (Sarah) Minear."

Candidate Cries Foul in Lincoln County

A contested primary for state Senate has revived the specter of voter fraud in Lincoln County.

The Lincoln Journal reported that the clerk's office there had already received applications for 825 absentee ballots, while just 265 had been cast in the 2008 primary. That led "a state senator seeking re-election this cycle" to express concern to that newspaper, the article said.

"I have heard tape recorded depositions from several Lincoln County voters who have reported that unnamed persons have visited their homes with envelopes containing absentee ballots that were already marked with my opponents name," the lawmaker, Sen. Ron Stollings, D-Boone, told the Boone Examiner.

Stollings is facing a primary challenge from Delegate Jeff Eldridge, D-Lincoln, in the Senate district that covers both their counties as well as Logan and part of Wayne.

Stollings also shared his concerns with the Lincoln newspaper as well as The Charleston Gazette, Charleston Daily Mail and MetroNews (audio here) , advising them that he's hired a lawyer and plans to file a complaint.

U.S. Attorney Chuck Miller has since told the Daily Mail and MetroNews (with audio) that his office will review the absentee ballot requests.

The Lincoln Journal also reports on Eldridge's response to the situation.

Legislature Headed for Special Session

The Associated Press reports on details from the special session that Gov. Joe Manchin plans to call starting May 13, with education expected to dominate the agenda.

The bulk of lawmakers' time will likely be spent on proposals meant to improve West Virginia schools while also boosting its shot at federal Race to the Top grant funding. State education officials, responding to a challenge from Manchin, drafted the proposals last month.

The state Board of Coal Mine Health and Safety has recommended that "Manchin include a measure setting up special inspection teams that would focus on dangerous coal mines," the article said. AP reported separately on that proposal.

AP had also reported earlier that the session would feature legislation allowing for the sort of temporary, high-risk health insurance pool envisioned by the new federal health care law. The governor had cited the planned measure in a letter last week to U.S. Health and Human Services Director Kathleen Sebelius.

Lawmakers may also revisit bills vetoed from this year's regular session because of technical flaws. Administration officials tell The Register-Herald of Beckley that "off the table for now" is the nixed bill that would have given extra coal severance tax revenues to the state's 30 mining counties.

Quote of the Day

"In education, we blame educators for everything. You name an educator that's had to take a business course, that's had to take a management course, had to take a financial course. They don't have that. ... None of them have any expertise in those areas and we wonder why we're not successful.''

-- Gov. Joe Manchin, quoted by The Associated Press at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce round-table discussion on education in Washington, D.C.

Election 2010: Upper Big Branch

The Associated Press observes signs of the April 5 underground mine disaster at Upper Big Branch becoming "fodder in the state's ongoing election races."

The re-election bid of state Sen. Erik Wells, D-Kanawha, is the most conspicuous example. A union-funded television ad invokes the mine tragedy while attacking Wells over his committee vote against a 2008 bill that proposed "providing whistle-blower protection for reporting unsafe mine conditions."

Wells and his his supporters have denounced the ad as "shameful," and he launched his own spot in response. One union leader said the sponsors stand behind the ad, plan to continue to air it and may follow up with a new one.

AP reported during the 2008 session "that committee members debated whether the bill would improve the state's existing whistleblower provisions, which Wells also refers to in responding to the attack," the article said. "A divided committee ultimately rejected the bill."

The Charleston Gazette and Charleston Daily Mail have also reported on the attack ad.

The AP article also reports that "the political spending of Massey Energy Chief Executive Don Blankenship has also come under renewed scrutiny," since the disaster, along with the company's handling of the mine and its safety record.

John Cummings, the former Cabell Circuit judge challenging state Sen. Evan Jenkins in next week's primary, cites a prior Blankenship contribution to his Democratic opponent in a TV ad.

Blankenship is also hovering over the tight primary contest between Senate Majority Leader Truman Chafin, D-Mingo, and county Commissioner Greg "Hootie" Smith, and the 3rd congressional district bid of Democrat-turned-Republican Elliott "Spike" Maynard, the article said.

Manchin to Stump in Race for Murtha Seat

Gov. Joe Manchin is slated to appear in Washington, Pa., to campaign for Mark Critz as the fellow Democrat seeks the seat left vacant by the death of Rep. John Murtha, The Tribune-Democrat of Johnstown reports.

CQ Politics also has an item on Manchin stumping for the former Murtha aide, who is running in the May 18 special election against Republican Tim Burns.

"Several public polls show the race to succeed the late Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) as too close to call, even though Democrats have a more than a 2-1 voter registration advantage in the southwestern Pennsylvania House district," the latter reports, adding that "it's the bragging rights for winning the seat that could be most valuable for either party."

Update: The Associated Press has an item.

Election 2010: 1st U.S. House - Republicans (Updated)

Republicans running to challenge U.S. Rep. Alan Mollohan have been courting Tea Party groups in the state's 1st District, where the movement may have its best shot at influencing an election this year in West Virginia, The Associated Press reports.

While neither group has endorsed a GOP candidate, leaders of the Parkersburg and North Central tea parties say a number of their members appear to favor Andrew "Mac" Warner. Tom Stark also enjoys support among the latter group, as does Sarah Minear and Dave McKinley, co-founder Ryan Kennedy said.

"Kennedy added that his group has endorsed state Sen. Mike Oliverio, Mollohan's challenger in the May 11 Democratic primary," the article said.

"He said a lot of things that probably would be very welcome at a Tea Party rally," Kennedy told AP, citing a recent Oliverio radio appearance.

Update: The Hill reports that " internal GOP polling shows Warner has surpassed former state Sen. Sarah Minear in polling and is running first in the key Clarksburg and Parkersburg media markets."

The North Central tea party is based around Clarksburg. The bulk of The Hill report focuses on $24,000 worth of tax liens filed against the Warner brothers beleaguered rental housing business. The article notes AP's earlier report on the Warners' financial and legal woes.

McKinley seized on those liens when responding to AP regarding criticisms of his candidacy from members of the Parkersburg tea party, and the support of its members of Warner's campaign.

As AP had, The Hill cites McKinley's national GOP backing while reporting that "the underfunded Warner is threatening to play spoiler." It concludes the business and financial situation "hasn't kept Warner from running an increasingly successful campaign for Congress."