–Keith Judd, the odd ball inmate doing time in a Texas prison for making threats at the University of New Mexico, got four out of every ten votes in the Democratic Primary for President Tuesday in West Virginia. We knew President Obama was unpopular in West Virginia, but… this? It will be interesting to see how this story gets played. Is this embarrassing for President Obama? The state of West Virginia? I suspect the vast majority of those who voted for Keith Judd did not know he’s a jail bird, but rather they simply cast a protest vote against the President.
–Senator Joe Manchin, who easily won re-nomination Tuesday, says he’s done talking about whether he will support or oppose President Barack Obama in November. Manchin made national news recently when he said he wasn’t sure he could back the President, but then he appeared to walk back that statement. During an appearance on Metronews last night, Manchin indicated that he’s said all he’s going to say on the issue. Unfortunately for Manchin, that bell has already been rung and the Senator may continue to be asked about it throughout the campaign.
–We love to complain about the politicians who are in office, but we almost never throw out incumbents. Only two incumbent state lawmakers were defeated Tuesday—Democratic Senator Richard Brown from the 9th senatorial district and Democratic Delegate Joe Talbot in the 44th house district race.
–The turnout Tuesday was historic… historically bad. Unofficially, only about 25 percent of registered voters cast ballots. That would be the lowest turnout for a Primary Election in West Virginia in 60 years. The next lowest turnout was 39 percent in 2004. One reason could be election fatigue; this was the sixth election in West Virginia since the 2010 primary.
–Republican Presidential nominee Mitt Romney still has some work to do in West Virginia. Nearly one in three of the Republicans and independents who voted in Tuesday’s Republican Primary, voted for someone other than Romney. Romney made a private fundraising visit to the state last week, but neither he nor President Obama campaigned here.
–Sally Shepherd grabbed the early lead in the race for the Democratic nomination for Agriculture Commissioner, thanks to support in her home county of Kanawha. She doubled up Walt Helmick with over 8,000 votes, but as the evening wore on, Helmick eventually caught her and pulled away, winning by 15,000 votes.
–Most predicted that Robin Davis and Tish Chafin would finish one, two in the race for the Democratic nomination to the state Supreme Court, and they did. The question was whether Chafin, who spent the most in the race, would finish first. However, Davis finished on top by just about one percentage point. Davis and Chafin will face Republicans John Yoder and Allen Loughry in November.
–Secretary of State Natalie Tennant says her office received a number of complaints from independent voters who had trouble getting the ballot of their choice. Tennant says it’s important for independents, who can vote in either the Democratic or Republican primaries, to ask for the ballot they want.