Democrat Ray Tomblin wins West Virginia Governor's race!

[jefferson_dem]

AP Calls It! :woohoo:

The media were promoting this special election as a "referendum on President Barack Obama and his health care plan." http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gjIphNmCxzUH6pmbYS6ILT8rM96g?docId=65083ff53a944cefb5c2d0320570b28a Surely, that narrative will hold now that the votes are counted and the Democrat wins.

Democrat Earl Ray Tomblin Wins W.Va. Governor's Race, Fending off Efforts to Link Him to Obama
CHARLESTON, W.Va. October 5, 2011 (AP)

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/democrat-earl-ray-tomblin-wins-wva-governors-race-14669531

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. Great news!

[teddy51]

2. Now I needed good news, and this qualifies. n/t

[Pirate Smile]

3. Yeah. I did not want to have to deal with hearing the garbage we heard after NY9 for a week or so.

[EffieBlack]

4. That's great news!

Thanks for reporting it.

[Clio the Leo]

5. As the tide starts to turn back.........

...... you know me, ever the optimist! ;)

[MADem]

6. BE STILL, voices of doom and gloom!! That is WONDERFUL news!

I saw that there was dithering/worrying earlier in the day due to low turnout.

This is great news!

[jenmito]

7. YESSSSS! ALL I heard about this race was that the Dem. was tied to Obama by the Repubs.,

so if he loses, make no mistake about it-it'll be bad news for OBAMA and will be all his fault. NOW what will they say-nothing?

[Scurrilous]

8. Good news.

K & R :thumbsup:

[catgirl]

9. Thanks for the great news JD!!! n/t

[TheWraith]

10. WHAT? How is it that I didn't know this was happening tonight?

For that matter, how is this happening tonight? Shouldn't even off-year elections happen in November?

[DCBob]

11. thats the best news ive heard in a long long time!

maybe the tide is turning... finally!

[FrenchieCat]

12. Perhaps folks really don't want Republicans running things into the ground after all....

Solace!

[DCBob]

15. and/or they are finally waking up to the reality of that happening.

Maybe the Faux brainwashing is finally wearing off. Regardless is a good signal that things may be heading in the right direction.

[Rick Myers]

13. Excellent!!!

Wonderful news, since the turnout was reportedly very low...

[jenmito]

14. Rachel Maddow just mentioned it but all she said about Obama was that the Repubs. were against

Tomblin for refusing to try to repeal "Obamacare" and this is good news for Dems. She didn't say it's good news for Obama.

[jefferson_dem]

16. How many reporters need to re-write the stories they planned for tomorrow ...

...about how #WVGov results show Obama is doomed?

http://twitter.com/#!/DKElections/statuses/121393201780236289

[Robbins]

17. Well

This provides good news for democrats.Of course the Media will ignore it.

[Tarheel_Dem]

18. Good to hear, but is he a Dem in the mold of Joe Manchin?

:shrug:

[bigdarryl]

19. Where are the vote counts

[jefferson_dem]

20. Recap from David Weigel: Democrats Hold On in West Virginia

Democrats Hold On in West Virginia
By David Weigel
| Posted Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2011, at 9:24 PM ET

The president's battered party fended off the GOP tonight in a special election for governor of West Virginia. Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin, who took office when Joe Manchin ascended to the Senate, narrowly defeated businessman Bill Maloney.

This was an election that could never be repeated at the national level. West Virginia is one of the last states with a strong, conservative base of registered Democrats. Tomblin, like Manchin, ran and governed far to Barack Obama's right. (I was watching the election returns with an AFL-CIO member who reminded me that Tomblin has a sub-40% issue rating from the union.) Tomblin, like Manchin, won the support of the Chamber of Commerce and the NRA -- and even with that, he had to prevail in a dogfight against a first-time candidate. What was once a 30-point lead was whittled down, probably, to 2 points.

Is there a national lesson to take out of here? Sort of. In the last week of the campaign, the Republican Governors Association -- which is looking at easy wins next month in Louisana and Mississippi, and a loss in Kentucky -- bought a big, final round of ads in the market that covers Republican-leaning eastern West Virginia. Eight of the twelve counties carried by John Raese, the surprisingly competitive frequent candidate who challenged Manchin, were in this market. The attack: Vote for Maloney to send a message to Obama on health care.

This didn't give Maloney the boost he needed. Raese won Berkeley County with 55%; Maloney won it with 62%. In Morgan, it was Raese 56%, Maloney 62%. In Hardy, it was Raese 54%, Maloney 55%. In Grant, it was Raese 72%, Maloney 76%. In Pendleton, it was Raese 56%, Maloney 57%. He improved, but not enough to overcome Maloney's statewide lead -- and he improved better on Raese in other parts of the state. In Monongalia, where Morgantown is located -- and where even Obama won -- Maloney was on track to beat Tomblin by 18 points.

<SNIP>

http://www.slate.com/blogs/weigel/2011/10/04/democrats_hold_on_in_west_virginia.html

[Honeycombe8]

21. This is great news!!!!!! Hip Hip Hooray!!!!! nt

[mucifer]

22. I just wish Tomblin didn't have the backing of the coal industry

"Much of the state's establishment has lined up behind Tomblin, including the Chamber of Commerce and the coal industry,"

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/10/04/1022781/-WV-Gov:-Previewing-tonights-special-electionresults?via=blog_1

[n2doc]

27. Can anybody win in W Va without the support of big coal? n/t

[golfguru]

23. This is great news for centrist democrats!

Tomblin followed the Manchin model to a tee.

[jefferson_dem]

26. If only...

Kooch were interested enough in the WVA governorship, he could have easily shifted his residence there and totally dominated!

[Mass]

24. The media seem intent to ignore it. Imagine how big the headlines would have been

if he had lost.

[bigwillq]

25. K and R

:bounce: