By Dr. Robert Rupp
The Appalachian Mountains is one of the oldest mountain systems on the planet, and West Virginia, the only state located entirely in that mountain range, has had one of the most senior Congressional delegations in American history. While the Appalachian Mountains are under no threat of change, the same can not be said for West Virginia politics as it faces a shift in personnel across the board.
History of Incumbency and Continuity
The State of West Virginia has had a long-term love affair with incumbency and continuity—in fact, until this year, its Congressional delegation has had an historic record of continuity.
Robert C. Byrd began his service in the U.S. Senate in 1958 and worked with 11 presidential administrations. The longest-serving senator in American history, Byrd was the President pro tempore of the U.S. Senate, which meant that at the age of 92, he was third in the line of presidential succession behind Vice President Joe Biden and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. In his half century in the Senate, Byrd served as majority leader and chair of appropriations. The latter enabled him to help channel more than $1 billion for public works to West Virginia, a feat that earned him the label “King of Pork” by his critics outside the state and the gratitude of many voters in his state.
The state’s junior Senator, John “Jay” Rockefeller IV, is anything but junior, having served in the U.S. Senate since 1985.
The state has also been characterized by stability in its representation in the House. The two Democratic House members have served for more than a quarter of a century. The departing Congressman Alan Mollohan was first elected in 1982 and Congressman Nick Rahall won his seat in 1976. The exception to this incumbency characteristic was Congresswoman Shelly Moore Capito, the lone Republican in the Congressional delegation. Her start in Washington, D.C. began in the 21st century after winning the First Congressional District seat in the 2000 election.
The Power of Seniority
Two factors help explain West Virginia’s love affair with incumbents. First, as citizens of a small state, they respect the power of seniority in Washington. Second, the state’s record of retention reflects the highly partisan nature of its electorate—almost 2-1 Democratic in party registration and in legislative dominance. The lopsided party registration has risen to 8-1 in several of the state’s southern counties.
Until 2000, the state was rigidly Democratic in presidential elections supporting the Republican candidate only twice (1956, 1972) since 1932. In 2000 and 2004, the state supported George W. Bush. While a political realignment on the state level is not yet near, changes in the political workforce are coming.
Act Two: The Shake-Up
American author F. Scott Fitzgerald once said, “There are no second acts in America.” While West Virginia has not experienced its “second act” in state politics for more than a generation, the curtain has begun to rise in 2010.
In the May Democratic primary, Mollohan was defeated. His loss marks the first time in the state’s almost 150-year history that an incumbent of Congress has lost a primary in their district. For West Virginia it means that for the first time in decades the Mollohan name will be on the ballot (his father had served in Congress earlier).
His Democratic colleague Rahall faces his stiffest opposition in a generation—former Supreme Court Justice and former Democrat Spike Maynard. The challenge is viewed by some as a political earthquake, although Rahall is expected to win.
In June, Byrd passed away, ending his national record for service with nine terms. The last time West Virginia had an open U.S. Senate seat was in 1984 when Jay Rockefeller ran for his first term in the U.S. Senate. Byrd’s seat will be filled by Carte Goodwin, the Governor’s former chief legal counsel, until a special election in November that will fill the seat for the two-year remainder of the term. Governor Joe Manchin will join businessman John Raese, Congressman Ken Hechler and 11 other candidates on the primary ballot this fall. Manchin’s success could mean another change in state leadership, as the election victory would call for Senate President Earl Ray Tomblin to assume the governor’s chair until a special election could be held to fill the unexpired term of Manchin.
The potential entry of Capito in a future senate or governor’s race suggests that West Virginia will see a change not only in the faces but also the gender of its politicians. The Mountain State, which was late in ratifying the 19th Amendment, the law that gave women the right to vote, is playing catch-up to other states in terms of women holding the positions of major state players.
In the 2000 election, Capito become the second woman elected to Congress. In 2004, voters elected the first woman Secretary of State, Republican Betty Ireland, followed four years later by Democrat Natalie Tennant. In addition, West Virginia has two women on the State Supreme Court. All of these women are considered possible gubernatorial candidates in 2012.
The list of possible male candidates for governor includes Senate President Earl Ray Tomlin and his counterpart in the House, Speaker Richard Thompson, as well as State Treasurer John Perdue. Other legislators could join the expanding list for what could be as many as three openings in the statewide offices.
Adding to the instability of West Virginia politics, the 2010 census will prompt new political boundaries for legislative and Congressional districts for the 2012 election. The census will reflect the population shift away from the coal counties south of the Kanawha River, where Democrats outnumber Republicans 8-1 in certain counties, to the Eastern Panhandle counties where Republicans and Independents are more numerous.
Suddenly West Virginia politics—a model of stability—looks like a rubik’s cube of possibilities.
The Importance of Voting
With the November elections closing in on us, we must look at the effects that the loss of the incumbents may have on the state.
The loss of seniority in Washington can translate into a loss on a state federal funding level, which could have a negative impact on the Mountain State particularly in a time of fiscal concern and budget cutbacks.
Byrd’s passing will mark the most dramatic impact. As chair of appropriations, he helped channel billions of dollars for public works to West Virginia, a feat evidenced by the more than 30 buildings, highways and centers that bear his name.
Byrd’s departure and Mollohan’s defeat could also result in a loss of power or the perception of power in both Charleston and Washington. Another aspect of this impending change to consider is the loss of experience as well as institutional memory when a newcomer replaces an incumbent on the federal or state level.
As West Virginians prepare for imminent changes to the political stage in the Mountain State, attention should be turned to the importance of voting and the dire consequences that can occur if care is not taken in selecting the upcoming senators, congressmen, legislators and even the governor. They should not be concerned with constructing a field of dreams to recapture the past but rather they should construct a field of expectations to seize the future. All elections are not equal, and November will be pivotal because it will bring change unlike any our state has seen in a long time.
Abraham Lincoln, who welcomed West Virginia into the Union in 1863, believed that new times required new thinking. “As our case is new,” said Lincoln, “so we must think anew and act anew.” Today we live in revolutionary times, and the need to exercise our voting rights and support quality candidates to lift up West Virginia has never been so important.
