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Senate GOP candidates better positioned in 2014

Much of the attention in West Virginia statehouse races this election cycle has focused on Republican efforts to win a majority in the House of Delegates.  Democrats hold a thin 53-47 advantage with a series of competitive races coming up in the General Election.

However, the GOP is also positioned to make a run at improving its numbers in the Senate, where Democrats hold a dominant 24-10 advantage.  Here’s why:

Republican State Senator Bill Cole from Mercer County, and other party leaders, put together a substantial candidate recruitment effort.  Instead of blanks on the ballot or “warm body” marginal candidates, the GOP has a series of viable candidates in most of the races.

Out of the 14 Senate districts that either have a Democrat incumbent or an open seat, Republicans have an opportunity to make 10 to 11 of them competitive.  That’s a dramatic improvement from 2010 when the GOP had a legitimate shot at gaining ground in only one or two races.

GOP Senate candidates also are much better financed than four years ago, though they still trail their opponents.  Campaign finance reports show 17 Republican candidates had raised or loaned their campaigns $474,000 through the Primary, while 16 Democrat candidates (there’s no Democrat candidate in district 4) had raised $766,000.

While Democrats have a lot more money, the Republican operative who compiled the figures and forwarded them to me, was still enthusiastic for this reason: the GOP has closed the fundraising gap significantly from the last non-Presidential year election four years ago.

For the same reporting period in 2010, Democrats had raised $667,000 compared with just $55,000 for the GOP Senate candidates.

Of course, none of this guarantees GOP gains.  West Virginia is slow to toss out incumbents and Democrats still enjoy a registration advantage in many of these districts.  However, the improved GOP lineup and better funding of the candidates means voters will see more even campaigns that will give them a legitimate choice.

And in elections, that’s the best option for the voters.

 

 

 

 

 





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