Jan. 27, 2006
 
NEWS ANALYSIS: Raese v. Byrd on Seniors, WV’s Economy
 
By HNN Staff
 
West Virginia political junkies--and all interested citizens--finally have a race to stir their juices in 2006. In what might have otherwise become a rather humdrum year with low attendance at the polls, watch the probable John Raese v. Robert Byrd heavyweight bout draw huge crowds and plenty of conversation.
 
This is the ultimate title fight for the ultimate prize: the U.S. Senate seat that Robert Byrd has held for nearly five decades. Both Raese and Byrd have formidable political skills--Raese in debate and Byrd in that brand of folksy West Virginia politicking that has not quite gone out of style. While it is easy to assume that Byrd will do well with seniors, watch for Raese to pull a few rabbits out of his hat with seniors, as well.
 
For example, Raese has long credited his father and grandmother for the success of his many companies at Greer Industries. More recently, he has dedicated a new multi-million dollar golf course he designed and built near Morgantown for his father--an avid golfer in his day. These kind of anecdotes will help Raese establish rapport with seniors as he visits them.
 
And on public policy, Raese's traditionally strong stand on tax relief may prompt him to decry attempts by the government to tax seniors' Social Security benefits. Raese will not give up the senior vote easily in a state as old as West Virginia.
 
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Meanwhile, on the jobs front, Byrd's thrusts will be self-evident. Byrd will recount the millions of federal dollars he has funneled to projects throughout West Virginia over the course of his career. Indeed, it is difficult to find any large town or city in West Virginia that doesn't have some government-funded named after Senator Byrd. Byrd will call in all his chips with those he has helped over the years, including the state's two universities at WVU and Marshall.
 
Possible counters Raese has to this long list of projects could be that West Virginia remains mired in 49th or 50th place in all leading economic categories. While Byrd's federal money may be welcome in some respects, West Virginia's reliance on it has seemed to take our focus away from the more enduring jobs found in a growing private sector.
 
As a result, literally hundreds of thousands of West Virginians and their families have had to move to other states to look for work over the length of Senator Byrd's career. So many people have fled West Virginia that the state has even lost two Congressional seats in the past generation. While Byrd isn't to blame for all of that, he has been part of the leadership team that has presided over it.
 
Raese has pledged to talk a lot about the need for a stronger emphasis on the private sector, on capitalism as a positive force in West Virginia. If he can demonstrate that it is time to focus West Virginia's attention on building up the private sector--through strong arguments, even visual displays as charts as his hero Reagan did so well on TV--then he may be able to neutralize some of Senator Byrd's arguments regarding Big Government help.
 
As always, it all comes down to jobs in West Virginia campaigns. Both men have helped bring jobs to West Virginia. Some of the government jobs Byrd has created have gone away, but many others still remain, such as the several thousands at the FBI Fingerprint facility in Bridgeport.
 
But Raese's companies have employed tens of thousands in his privately-owned limestone, steel, broadcasting, and tourism industries over three generations, too. Currently, Raese's companies employ 1,200 West Virginians, making him one of the leading employers in the state.
 
This question of what is best for the future of the West Virginia economy is the jump ball that is up for grabs for either of these prize fighters to grab. If Raese succeeds in framing this issue first, he may succeed in flipping Senator Byrd, possibly even making his government projects look like an antiquated, centralized attempt to prop up West Virginia.
 
Raese will then try to promote his private sector vision of West Virginia, trying to persuade the Mountain State to stand on its own through a variety of individually-owned businesses, large and small.
 
Time will tell, and the race has only just begun. But it should be an excellent civics lesson for all those who want to watch.