Sept. 9, 2010
Campaign 2010 Political Analysis
West Virginia's Next U.S. Senator Could be Key to Senate Control
By Huntingtonnews.net Staff
Control of the U.S. Senate seemed like a pipe dream a few months ago for the Republican Party. Sure, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her Democratic majority in the House of Representatives seemed on their way out, but capturing both Houses of Congress seemed too good to be true.
Reset those projections, say many national pundits. The plummeting numbers of both President Obama and the Democratic Party as a whole have caused many analysts to revise their original estimates. If he Republicans can find their way to ten new U.S. Senate victories instead of the original seven that were predicted earlier, Republicans will find themselves in charge of the upper House of Congress, too.
"West Virginia has played a key role in recent national elections," noted Jack Ellis, Huntingtonnews.net's chief political analyst. "Don't forget, it was our five electoral votes that put George W. Bush over the top in 2000, and we helped elect him again in 2008. Talk about playing a key role! It doesn't get more "key" than that."
"But here comes John Raese, blowing up a storm against Joe Manchin in a pretty good Republican year, and in a state that has already voted twice against Barack Obama recently in 2008," said Ellis. "If the national GOP doesn't see the value of plunking down some serious campaign ads here for Raese, they're fools. This is their best chance to take the national agenda away from Barack Obama. And again, it all comes down to little old West Virginia. Poetic, don't you think?"
Raese has been taking his share of minor hits from Manchin and his surrogates lately in the press, but Ellis says none of that really matters.
"Two things matter, not that Little League stuff Manchin's throwing at Raese," said Ellis. "First, do people want a change, a conservative change in D.C.? If so, Raese is their man. Second, do they want to be part of history again, electing a new U.S. Senate to rein in Barack Obama's liberal spending administration. If that's true, then they really have no choice but to vote for Raese, because a good case is being made that Obama and Manchin are pretty tight."
"All things being equal, I'd much rather be in Raese's position than Manchin's," said Ellis. "Manchin's got to carry Barack Obama around on his back for the duration of this campaign, and buddy, that's one heavy Barack."
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Campaign 2010 Political Analysis
West Virginia's Next U.S. Senator Could be Key to Senate Control
By Huntingtonnews.net Staff
Control of the U.S. Senate seemed like a pipe dream a few months ago for the Republican Party. Sure, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her Democratic majority in the House of Representatives seemed on their way out, but capturing both Houses of Congress seemed too good to be true.
Reset those projections, say many national pundits. The plummeting numbers of both President Obama and the Democratic Party as a whole have caused many analysts to revise their original estimates. If he Republicans can find their way to ten new U.S. Senate victories instead of the original seven that were predicted earlier, Republicans will find themselves in charge of the upper House of Congress, too.
"West Virginia has played a key role in recent national elections," noted Jack Ellis, Huntingtonnews.net's chief political analyst. "Don't forget, it was our five electoral votes that put George W. Bush over the top in 2000, and we helped elect him again in 2008. Talk about playing a key role! It doesn't get more "key" than that."
"But here comes John Raese, blowing up a storm against Joe Manchin in a pretty good Republican year, and in a state that has already voted twice against Barack Obama recently in 2008," said Ellis. "If the national GOP doesn't see the value of plunking down some serious campaign ads here for Raese, they're fools. This is their best chance to take the national agenda away from Barack Obama. And again, it all comes down to little old West Virginia. Poetic, don't you think?"
Raese has been taking his share of minor hits from Manchin and his surrogates lately in the press, but Ellis says none of that really matters.
"Two things matter, not that Little League stuff Manchin's throwing at Raese," said Ellis. "First, do people want a change, a conservative change in D.C.? If so, Raese is their man. Second, do they want to be part of history again, electing a new U.S. Senate to rein in Barack Obama's liberal spending administration. If that's true, then they really have no choice but to vote for Raese, because a good case is being made that Obama and Manchin are pretty tight."
"All things being equal, I'd much rather be in Raese's position than Manchin's," said Ellis. "Manchin's got to carry Barack Obama around on his back for the duration of this campaign, and buddy, that's one heavy Barack."
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