Charleston attorney Ben Salango is seriously considering a second run for Governor of West Virginia. Salango, who is also a member of the Kanawha County Commission, was the Democratic Party’s Gubernatorial nominee in 2020, but lost to Republican Jim Justice in the General Election.
Salango joins Huntington Mayor Steve Williams as the leading Democrats who are contemplating a run in 2024. Williams has been making phone calls and trying to gauge potential support, but he has not yet made a final decision.
Either Williams or Salango would be a viable candidate to take on the Republican nominee, but the issue is the Primary Election. If both are in the race, they would burn through precious campaign funding that will be needed for an uphill battle in the General Election.
I am told that Williams and Salango have had at least one extended conversation about the Governor’s race, and they promised to stay in touch. There was no decision as to whether one of them should run and the other bow out.
Salango has the early advantage for two reasons:
First, he gained statewide name recognition during his run in 2020, and second, he is a successful trial lawyer who can afford to put a substantial amount of his own money in the race. He loaned his campaign $500,000 and added another $109,000 of in-kind contributions of the total of $2 million he spent in the Governor’s race.
Williams, meanwhile, would have to rely almost entirely on contributions to finance his campaign. Raising money takes time and effort, and it is increasingly difficult for Democratic candidates to fundraise in this deep red state.
Williams has not run statewide, so he has a long way to go just on name ID, but that also means he is a fresh face, which is something this state Democratic Party needs. Next year he wraps up his third term as Huntington’s mayor, where he has successfully led the city back from its financial problems while addressing the city’s drug issue head on.
Salango started his last campaign for Governor in October of 2019 when Jim Justice was on the ropes. At the time, a Morning Consult Poll rated Justice as one of the most unpopular Governor’s in the country with an approval rating of 43 percent, and a disapproval rating of 44 percent.
However, in 2020 the Covid pandemic hit. Justice took the lead and guided the state through the crisis. His daily briefings, where he gave updated Covid information and publicly mourned the loss of each victim, were a fixture during the worst of the crisis and burnished his credentials as a leader.
Justice’s approval ratings rose, while Salango struggled to get traction. Justice won the General Election with 64 percent of the vote, compared with just 30 percent for Salango. Either Salango or Williams will have a better chance in 2024 because the seat will be open. However, it will still be an uphill climb.
The Republican voter registration advantage keeps expanding, and if Donald Trump is at the top of the ticket, that will provide down ballot help for all other Republicans.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Competition is good in politics. It makes races more compelling and gives voters a choice. It will be better in the long run if the Democratic Party has a quality nominee to challenge the favored Republican in the Governor’s race in 2024.
However, before that can happen, Ben Salango and Steve Williams have tough decisions to make.