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Mike Oliverio (D) Drops Out of Rematch with Rep. David McKinley (R, WV-01)

By: Jim Mullins (Diary)  |  December 16th, 2011 at 06:16 PM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

Just over 3 months after announcing his intentions to seek a rematch of one of the closest congressional elections of 2010, former West Virginia state Senator Mike Oliverio (D) announced today that he is abandoning his plans to seek a rematch with Rep. David McKinley (R, WV-01) (campaign site | official site).

While Oliverio has not yet stated his reasons for dropping out of this race, I will state the obvious: Barack Obama.  As Roll Call stated when Oliverio initially declared his candidacy in September:

President Barack Obama took only 42 percent of the vote in the 1st district in 2008 and appears likely to garner less in 2012 — that will mean Oliverio will have to substantially run ahead of the top of the ticket if he wants to unseat McKinley. A Gallup poll taken over the course of the first half of 2011 put Obama’s approval in West Virginia at 33 percent, making it one of the states with the dimmest view of the president.

President Obama’s approval rating has since fallen to 28 percent and will likely decline further as he continues his War on Coal and the economy–both nationally and in West Virginia–continues to suffer.

The only remaining Democrat who could possibly mount a credible campaign is corrupt former Rep. Alan Mollohan (D), a second-generation congressman who was initially elected in 1982 when his father, Rep. Bob Mollohan (D), retired, and was defeated in the 2010 Democrat primary election by Oliverio.  However, in addition to the aircraft carrier anchor known as Barack Obama leading the Democrat ticket in 2012, Mollohan’s electoral prospects will be further burdened by the same corruption issues that propelled Oliverio’s surprising primary election victory in 2010.

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  • http://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com nathanalbright

    …thanks for providing the WV updates. As a son of Appalachia I appreciate hearing about our Republicans in that part of the world.

  • Repair_Man_Jack

    Coat-tails!

  • sidvicious

    is running as the “progressive” Democrat. She’s a nobody with no money. That means the 712 leftists in the district have a crush on her.

    She was an “organizer” for Obama in West Virginia in 2008. Incredibly condescending lib who I’m quite sure isn’t a state native. As part of her “grassroots organizing” shtick, she went around giving borderline creepy seminars on the Obama community organizing model.

    Part of her how-to-organize-like-Obama routine included this mimeographed looking handout that included genuine creepy little stick-man drawings that were supposed to represent, well, something. Perhaps it was the figural, Giacommetti-ish metaphor for BHO’s qualifications for the presidency.

    A female friend of mine who was for Hillary saw the handout with the stick-man drawing and said, “Omigod. What is the Democratic Party on the verge of doing? I hope this creepy thing gets out to people. Is this sanctioned by the actual Obama campaign?”

    That was during the primary season. Thorn later browbeat the WV Democratic Party into hiring her (I think, and briefly, I think) as a field organizer during the fall campaign.

  • sidvicious

    Sue Thorn’s community organizing seminars, little stick-man drawings and all, were strictly volunteer and done on behalf of West Virginians for Obama, not the official Obama campaign. She was not one of the field organizers sent into West Virginia by the national campaign.

    I am hoping no one else gets in the race on the Democratic side, because it will demonstrate to the left wing of the increasingly conservative state Democratic Party just how very marginal they truly are in West Virginia.

    Most of them know that already, but it seems that even the realistic ones need to be reminded from time to time what a fringe they are.