WV: Justice rejoining GOP

[RINO Tom]

How the hell does any Democratic official join the GOP in 2017 of all years??

It helps to not really be a Democrat in the first place, haha.  Jim Justice is not comparable at all to, for example, Joe Manchin.

[RINO Tom]

Yeah, from a political standpoint this decision makes little sense IMO. Justice would have been a near lock for reelection and could have won a Senate race in 2020 or 2024. His chances of winning the Republican primary aren't nearly as good, and (correct me if I'm wrong) I believe he doesn't have a good relationship with the legislature. If Republicans unite behind one strong challenger, I think they could beat him in the primary (and remember, the WV Republican primary electorate is still fairly conservative/less "populist" and less dependent on WV-3).

It will be interesting to see if he governs more from the right from now on.

That's assuming if by 2020 registered Democrats don't re-register as Republicans, while there's a modest shift in the opposite direction in the DC exurbs of the eastern panhandle. Jefferson and Berkeley counties are the fastest growing counties in the state, and these aren't the kinds of voters who generally like Trump. They usually work in the DC area. Meanwhile, coal counties in southern WV are losing population fast.

Yes, but all that matters is how voters are registered, and the DC exurbs are the most Republican(-registered) areas of the state while the coal counties in Southern WV are the most Democratic(-registered) areas of the state.  The DC exurbs are very important to a Republican in GOP primaries, and coal counties are nothing short of essential for a Democrat in the Dem primaries.

It would take a MASSIVE shift in registration to change that even in the next 15 years.

[RINO Tom]

Yeah, from a political standpoint this decision makes little sense IMO. Justice would have been a near lock for reelection and could have won a Senate race in 2020 or 2024. His chances of winning the Republican primary aren't nearly as good, and (correct me if I'm wrong) I believe he doesn't have a good relationship with the legislature. If Republicans unite behind one strong challenger, I think they could beat him in the primary (and remember, the WV Republican primary electorate is still fairly conservative/less "populist" and less dependent on WV-3).

It will be interesting to see if he governs more from the right from now on.

That's assuming if by 2020 registered Democrats don't re-register as Republicans, while there's a modest shift in the opposite direction in the DC exurbs of the eastern panhandle. Jefferson and Berkeley counties are the fastest growing counties in the state, and these aren't the kinds of voters who generally like Trump. They usually work in the DC area. Meanwhile, coal counties in southern WV are losing population fast.

Yes, but all that matters is how voters are registered, and the DC exurbs are the most Republican(-registered) areas of the state while the coal counties in Southern WV are the most Democratic(-registered) areas of the state.  The DC exurbs are very important to a Republican in GOP primaries, and coal counties are nothing short of essential for a Democrat in the Dem primaries.

It would take a MASSIVE shift in registration to change that even in the next 15 years.

I know it's unlikely, but that seems to be the way things are heading. It may take decades for this realignment to happen.

That "realignment" would need to, of course, hold for decades.  I think that's doubtful.

[RINO Tom]

He's my favorite Democratic Governor, so he's welcomed back to the fold by me - plus it helps that my entire family until my generation is basically from WV.

Oh I'm sorry to hear that. Thankfully they got out.

Democrats like you are why Illinois was practically the only state not on a coast carried by Clinton.

Because Dems should cater to the racist fantasies of the voters.  That will definitely go over well with people.

Those are the only two possibilities, after all: go full blown racist or write off tens of millions of Americans because of where they live!  I'm not convinced the people of WV are any more racist than the Whites living in 90% Clinton areas in Philly or Boston or NYC at ALL.

[RINO Tom]

Richard Ojeda isn't too thrilled. He's created a petition for a recall. I'm a bit surprised. I thought WV Democrats like Ojeda wouldn't care much, considering he supported Trump.

"All politics are local" has become less true in the 21st Century, but it's not totally false.  Many WV Democrats might hate the DNC, but they could change their registration to Republican at any time; they, by and large, strongly prefer their state Democratic Party to their state Republican one, and I don't think Jim Justice - given his history - is a good barometer for how WV Democrats feel.

[RINO Tom]

LOL, that'd be pretty funny if this bites him in the ass, honestly.