There’s going to be some interesting 2022 legislative races, largely brought on by redistricting.
A handful of incumbents are poised to run against each other since redistricting forced some into the same district. Others do not face fellow incumbents.
Some potential candidates are quietly organizing while others are holding fundraisers and posting on social media like the 2022 vote is tomorrow.
Holidays start earlier and earlier down at the local discount store and election campaigns do the same on social media, it seems.
A city council member and school teacher in Nitro was out and about, including hitting the media circuit last week.
Kanawha County Republican Andy Shamblin announced his candidacy for House of Delegates, District 59, on Tuesday during an appearance on MetroNews 580-WCHS in Charleston.
The new district gives Shamblin an instant advantage since it includes nearly 70% of Nitro.
This will be one of the districts where private versus public schools is a major issue in the GOP primary.
Shamblin will be taking on incumbent Republican Delegate Dianna Graves. In previous elections, the Graves district included Kanawha and a bit of Putnam County. But the new district does not include any of Putnam.
Graves has quietly and efficiently served her constituents and will be a tough cookie to crumble.
Shamblin said voters would see a clear contrast between Graves and himself, particularly on education issues.
Like other conservative Republicans who are public school employees, Shamblin is less inclined to think private or charter schools are the answer for education issues.
Graves voted to pass the omnibus education bill in 2019 that included charter schools. Shamblin said in his 10 years in public life, he has never had a constituent come to him and say charter schools would improve public schools.
“I’m not necessarily saying there is no place for what people refer to as school choice. I think in certain circumstances, something like a charter school could be beneficial. That’s if they are offering something that the public school system is not offering,” Shamblin said.
Have no doubt, friends, that this will be a tough race and the rhetoric may get heated at times.
As noted, Graves has served satisfactorily and will clearly be the early favorite to return to Charleston.
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Raleigh County Republican State Senator Rollan Roberts took to social media again to advocate another interesting theory. He found out, he said, that gasoline was 40 cents per gallon cheaper in Lewisburg than his Beckley base.
“Every time I bring this up I’m told market conditions, etc. drive the price,” Roberts wrote. “Whether that’s true or not, I’m asking for those who control our local and regional gas pricing to lower gas prices in the Beckley area. You are hurting Raleigh Countians!”
So get this: here’s a supposedly pro-business Republican trying to place blame and tell local, independent gas retailers what to charge for gas. Talk about Big Brother government. There’s no way he knows what gasoline should cost or what extra expenses a Beckley gas station has that a Lewisburg station doesn’t.
One politico, seeing the lunacy, said “Maybe Rev. Roberts should cut the tuition at his Christian school so more can afford to attend.”
Not likely.
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Roberts seems to create controversy wherever he goes. In a different social media post last week, Roberts notified friends that he’d been “hacked.”
Roberts wrote, “Notice to Friends:
“I was notified today that someone has created an Instagram account with my name and picture and sent messages to people on Facebook and Instagram pretending to be me. If you received a message, please use the report feature to notify Facebook that this is a fake account.”
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It could be said that Roberts is a fake preacher/legislator but I certainly won’t say it.
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While the entire board of public works is potentially running for something different in 2024, it seems to me that the most obvious is State Treasurer J.B. McCuskey.
I noted that the entire group is traveling the state like a campaign is already on. Sometimes I wonder who is minding the store.
McCuskey is holding fundraisers in addition to just getting out and greeting the folk. If he isn’t telling potential voters he’s running for governor in 2024, dozens of people are lying to me.
There’s little doubt he’s running. He’s been an outstanding Auditor and has earned the chance to step up.
The GOP field in 2024 may well include dozens of candidates. It may be the easiest road to the nomination ever when candidates so divide the vote that 30% could win the primary.
At this point, when Governor Jim Justice is constitutionally barred from running again (that MIGHT stop him), McCuskey is as likely a winner as anyone.
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McCuskey may run for Governor in 2024 but who apparently won’t be running for Boone Circuit Clerk next year is Republican Josh Barker, a McCuskey employee.
The former state Delegate even filed pre-candidacy papers before announcing last Thursday that he was dropping out of the circuit clerk race before it officially begins.
It was Barker, you may recall, who I satirically said was so formidable he chased his potential opponent, Democrat Anita Perdue, from the race by just saying he’d file.
Barker cited the death of both parents as one reason he could not focus on a campaign.
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After Perdue, shaking like a leaf at the thought of Barker running against her, resigned as appointed circuit clerk and fled to a job at the Supreme Court, Chief Circuit Judge Jay Hoke appointed Sam Burns to the clerk post.
Perdue was appointed to complete the term of longtime Democrat Circuit Clerk Sue Ann Zickefoose.
Burns last served as a Boone Magistrate after being appointed to that job. He lost seeking election to that post in 2016 when Danny Moore Jr. was elected.
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Cathie Hess Crouse calls herself a “Constitutional Conservative Tea Party Liberty Minded Republican with a Dash of Libertarian thrown in.”
Did I not know what that actually means, I might describe myself the same. But unlike right wing zealots, I respect opposing views. I even sometimes think those with different opinions than I should be allowed to state their cases, wrong though they are.
Hess Crouse was appointed to the House seat vacated by Joshua Higginbotham last week. The Putnam Republican resigned to run against incumbent Democrat State Senator Richard Lindsay in 2022.
Hess Crouse ran against Higginbotham in 2016 for House and lost Two years later, she ran for the Senate herself. One would have thought Hess Crouse could have left Higginbotham alone since they now were running for different offices but instead she launched a full scale side campaign, attacking Higginbotham in his re-election campaign. He won anyway and she lost to Democrat Glenn Jeffries. Karma perhaps?
But I point this out to once again show that the Republican party hierarchy in West Virginia has no interest in loyalty. Hess Crouses’ “punishment” for trying to sabotage the GOP nominee’s campaign two years ago is to get her appointed to the House of Delegates.
It makes no sense.
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Of course what concern about loyalty can you expect when the party’s governor was a Democrat when elected?
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Supporters in Marion County were cheering Democrat Delegate Joey Garcia’s re-election plans last week.
Garcia now serves in District 50 but redistricting places him in the 76th.
Marion is one of those rare WV counties where one doesn’t have to switch to the GOP to win these days.
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I was a Republican when State Senator Donna Boley of Pleasants County was the only GOP Senator.
She definitely got to be minority leader. The entire caucus supported her. It wasn’t even close.
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Count Republican Attorney General Patrick Morrisey with a wandering eye for 2024 as well.
He clearly gave Democrat U.S. Senator Joe Manchin a run for his money in 2018 and Manchin is up again in ’24. Morrisey might try again.
But he seemed focused on state issues on social media when he discussed the state’s recent budget surplus.
“If this means let’s lower taxes overall and dramatically cut income taxes so we can become more competitive with other states, I’m all in!” he proclaimed. “We badly need a huge tax cut in WV to spur long term economic growth.”
Morrisey is established as a solid conservative and, like McCuskey, would be a serious governor candidate if he chose to run.
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The death knell for former State Treasurer Larrie Bailey was sad indeed last week.
Bailey was one of the last of a breed of true New Deal Democrats who would rather vote for the famous “Yellow Dog” than a Republican.
As the current Treasurer, Riley Moore, summed it up, Larrie Bailey served honorably. To him, that was important. It should be important to us all.
But serving honorably didn’t give him a chance at re-election when the flamboyant Secretary of State A. James Manchin decided to run against him. It was all over before it started. Manchin won easily.
I don’t think Bailey thought of it as revenge but he replaced Manchin when A. James later left office in a scandal. Ironically, Manchin was a Marion County (Farmington) native like Bailey (Fairmont).
He lived the last years of his life quietly in Fairmont.
Larrie Bailey, RIP.
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Former Democrat Delegate Margaret Staggers is in the same new district with Republican Austin Haynes.
With Haynes expected to seek re-election, the biggest remaining question is whether Staggers will challenge him.
The pair previously faced each other in the three-member 32nd District race a year ago.
Staggers represents the dedicated family that has served West Virginia for decades. Both her father and brother served honorably in the federal House of Representatives.
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Isn’t it interesting that nobody has stepped forward to claim responsibility for hiring that mapper of all mappers to redesign Cabell County’s magisterial districts?
If the man was competent, his abusive treatment and contempt for those trying to keep the public informed about the public’s business would be enough to disqualify him from working for the public. But he’s clearly not even competent.
Screaming “shut up” into the telephone as he responded to a simple reporter’s question should eliminate him and his company from consideration on projects that involve public funds.
And it’s no worse that ha shouted that at a reporter than if he had yelled at the general public. I explained to him that he was being paid with government funds and had an obligation to transparency. Obviously, he didn’t agree.
Map creator Doug McKenzie is clearly used to bullying to get his way. Note to McKenzie: that won’t work with this old reporter.
I will redouble my efforts to get to the bottom of the redistricting fiasco. And Cabell Countians WILL know who initiated the hiring of this tyrant because they have a right to know. It’s their money paying the bills.
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The most intriguing question is: was McKenzie told to eliminate the possible candidacy of Mandt for county commission?
Ron Gregory is a regular political columnist and reporter for loorpress. Contact him at 304-533-5185; ronjgregory@gmail.com; or PO Box 20297, Charleston, WV 25362. Confidentiality is assured.