West Virginia’s political direction hinges on Feb. 4 votes

West Virginia crossed a political Rubicon last Thursday when the House of Delegates passed a right-to-work bill and the Senate approved legislation repealing prevailing wage.

That would have been unthinkable less than two years ago. However, Republicans swept into power in the 2014 election, capitalizing on momentum that had been building for several elections, while exploiting the unpopularity of President Obama.

Republicans concentrated on legal reforms during their first session in power, gaining some bi-partisan support along the way.  They compromised with Democrats and labor on prevailing wage reform and avoided a showdown on right-to-work.

But the GOP went all in this session, making right-to-work and the repeal of prevailing wage top priorities. Last Thursday’s votes put all 100 members of the House and 34 members of the Senate on record.

Every Democrat in both chambers opposed both bills.  All 18 Republicans in the Senate and 54 of the 64 Republicans in the House backed the bills.  The votes on these two controversial bills now serve as defining positions for the 2016 election.

There is no gray area on right-to-work, no parsing of language that allows a politician to have a nuanced position. The light beside the name of each member of the House and Senate was either red or green on these votes.

Senate President and Republican Gubernatorial candidate Bill Cole called the votes “a watershed moment” for the state.  “It was an incredibly important time for West Virginia,” Cole said.

State Democrat Party Chair Belinda Biafore indicated in a statement following the votes that they would be an issue during the campaign. “We will continue to fight for working families and we are dedicated to ensuring that this fall, they get the representation that they deserve,” she said.

So something will give this election cycle; either the Democrats will slow or reverse the recent trend or the Republicans will solidify West Virginia as a red state.  The outcome has the potential of determining whether 2014 was an aberration or an indication of a historic shift in the state’s political landscape.

Whatever the results in November, February 4th will have served as a defining date for the winning and losing candidates, as well as the political direction of West Virginia.





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