CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Republican candidate for Congress in West Virginia’s 3rd District admits Cabell County, his home county, is a key county in his overall strategy to win a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives less than three weeks from now.
“Every poll we have taken from Day One, over a year ago, has me up by a very comfortable margin in that western part of the district — the Mason (County), the Cabell (County), the Wayne (County),” said state Sen. Evan Jenkins (R-Cabell) who is challenging longtime 3rd District Congressman Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.).
“In my 18 years of service in Cabell and Wayne, the strong voter support I’ve received, I’m very encouraged and, I think, we’ll do very well there,” he said.
Cabell County and Wayne County will likely get a lot of attention on the night of Nov. 4 as the votes are counted for what is widely considered one of the tightest races in West Virginia this election year.
Rahall won both counties during his past two elections, but he’s struggled in other parts of the 3rd District.
In 2012, when Rick Snuffer was his challenger in the Nov. general election, Rahall finished in both Cabell County and Wayne County with 57 percent of the vote. Snuffer, though, won Rahall’s home county of Raleigh by a difference of 58 percent to 41 percent, according to numbers from the Secretary of State’s Office.
In 2010, when former state Supreme Court Justice Spike Maynard challenged Rahall, Rahall won both Cabell County and Wayne County with 55 percent of the vote, but Maynard won in Raleigh County with 52 percent of the vote to Rahall’s 48 percent.
Mason County was part of the 2nd Congressional District in 2010 when Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) won it. In 2012, Rahall prevailed in Mason County with 57 percent of the vote to Snuffer’s 42 percent.
Jenkins was a guest on Wednesday’s MetroNews “Talkline” as part of a series of interviews with the statewide candidates ahead of the Nov. 4 general election. His appearance came a day after he and Rahall met in Huntington for a debate the Huntington Herald-Dispatch sponsored.
Rahall has represented the 3rd District since first being elected in 1976.
In Jenkins’ view, that is not a positive thing. “This is a new, younger group of policymakers who want to roll up their sleeves and get the job done. It’s not about a 38 year career,” he said. “If anybody thinks that year 39 and 40 are going to be any different than the last 38, they’re woefully naive.”
Early voting ahead of Election Day in West Virginia begins next Wednesday.