Bernie Sanders propelled to victory by Republican voters in West Virginia.

[StayFrosty]

West Virginia is an odd place.

In the 2012 Democratic Primaries more than 40% of West Virginia Democrats decided to give their vote to Keith Judd who is an inmate at the Beaumont Federal Correctional Institution in Beaumont, Texas. He's serving time there for extortion.

Was it coal that led to Hillary's defeat in West Virginia? Or was it something else?

Let's look at some data.

Hillary Clinton won just 19% of the vote in Coal County, Oklahoma.

Why is this?

It’s because Coal County, like much of the traditionally Democratic parts of the South, has a huge number of registered Democrats who now vote Republican in presidential elections. In the states with closed or semi-closed contests — like Oklahoma — these registered Democrats can participate only in the Democratic primary.

When they do, they have tended to vote against Hillary Clinton (and for Bernie Sanders, the senator from Vermont).

Coal County, Okla., is one of the most extreme examples. There, 80 percent of voters are registered Democrats, yet President Obama won just 27 percent of the vote in 2012. Mrs. Clinton has performed very poorly where the share of voters who are registered Democrats is much greater than the share of voters who supported Mr. Obama.

The same phenomenon dogged Mr. Obama in the 2012 presidential primary, when he won just 22 percent of the vote in Coal County, Okla. That’s not a typo: I mean the 2012 Democratic presidential primary, when he had no major opposition, not the 2008 one, when he had a tough contest with Mrs. Clinton.

In the 2012 Presidential Primaries, President Obama received just 22% of the Vote in Coal County, Oklahoma. Where 80% of the population is registered as Democrat.

49% of West Virginia voters are registered as Democrat but in 2012 President Obama received just 35% of their vote.

It certainly raises some questions about what took place last night in West Virginia, where these Democrats just voting for the weaker candidate? The exit polls showed that 1/3 of Bernie voters would vote for Trump in the general.

In the open primaries, as in Texas or Alabama, these conservatives tend to vote in the Republican primary — just as they vote for Republicans in presidential elections. But in closed or semi-closed contests like Florida, Louisiana and Oklahoma, such voters must cast ballots in a Democratic primary if they want to vote in a primary at all. The result: Mrs. Clinton’s support surges once you cross the state line from Oklahoma to Texas, but the turnout plummets.

The same effect can be seen across the South. Mr. Sanders fared far better in the Florida Panhandle, where a majority of voters are often registered Democrats but Republicans prevail, than he did on the other side of the state line in Alabama or Georgia, with their open primaries.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/10/upshot/where-democrats-like-hillary-clinton-the-least-besides-vermont.html?_r=0

So Hillary does better in open primaries where the majority of the voters are true liberal Democrats..and she does bad in closed primaries, where conservative democrats who predominantly vote Republican in the general, are forced to vote in the democratic primary.

There are definitely a lot of Democrats who would prefer to face Bernie in the General election.

[berni_mccoy]

1. Article makes no such claim. Repubs couldn't vote D in WV

[baldguy]

4. "Trump-supporting ratfuckers lead Sanders to victory in WV."

Better?

[berni_mccoy]

5. Only ratfuckers are Hil fans spouting propaganda from Brock-O'Keefe

[baldguy]

7. 44% of Sanders voters in WV are Trump supporters

44%

[berni_mccoy]

8. Based on propaganda bullshit

[baldguy]

9. Based on AP exit polls.

"Cognitive dissonance" is crowing about your candidates' progressive credentials, but relying on fascist Trump supporters to win a primary.

[Demsrule86]

10. In WVA most Democrats vote Republican

MSNBC said more than 30 % of Bernie voters would vote for Trump over Sanders in the fall...exit polls. The voters said this. We have not won WVA since 1996. And they voted for a felon in prison to show Obama how much they hate him...perfect state for chaos. And when you add the fact they can switch easily from party to party online 21 days before a primary ...it gets better. With Trump the candidate, this allows them to play spoiler. And independents can vote in the Primary so while they are a hybrid state...still quite open.

[WhaTHellsgoingonhere]

2. True Liberal Democrats

No Clinton has ever been a true Liberal Democrat.

What was the score between Obama and Hillary? Keep copying and pasting, everyone knows grave dancing is really stupid and came back to bite her in the ass.

[Thinkingabout]

3. We know this is happening, early ads was run by RW PACs against Hillary

Because the GOP did not want to run against Hillary in the GE, they would rather run against the never vetted candidate.

[Warren Stupidity]

6. bitter sauce

[Hortensis]

11. Exit poll: Hillary voters say would vote in November

81% Clinton, 9% Trump, 8% other.

Bernie voters says they would vote in November 55% Sanders, 39% Trump, 4% neither.

[catnhatnh]

12. Hillary Clinton Propelled to Victory in Nebraska

by people who imagined they were actually voting for something....