cain vs. obama: who wins west va?

[DS0816]

Since first voting in 1864, West Virginia has been in the column of all two-term-elected presidents at least once. Advantage: Obama.

with that logic..

Vermont has gone Republican all but 6 times since 1856:
Advantage: Cain

Clarity: Republicans won Vermont from their first election, in 1856, all the way to 1988 with just one exception: saying no to 1964 Barry Goldwater. Nixon implementing the "Southern strategy" caused Vt. to wake up and reject the Rs. But, in the case of West Virginia, Hillary Clinton would've flipped and carried it in 2008 had she been the D nominee for president. Not as gone as you assume.

You seem so confident Clinton could have taken West Virginia, but you have nothing to really back it up, other than Bill won it and she won the primary there. Polling done in early 2008 showed West Virginia as a toss-up between McCain and Clinton.

You're dismissed. Just like Herman Cain.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

What a trainwreck of a thread. Jesus Christ.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Obama

WV is a Democratic state

Regarding everything outside of the presidential elections? Yes.

In presidential elections? Well, if Obama's race was such a factor, why did Gore and Kerry lose WV before, while even Dukakis, in a year of Democratic epic loss, win the state?

Answer is simple: WV is no longer such a Democratic state in presidential elections.

[dwkulcsar]

West Virginia is not much of a Southern state as it is quite on its own kind of culture. It does not have much of a minority population and it . Cain would win as much as McCain did as he would play well to the states social conservatism. I cannot see a non blue dog/centrist democrat winning WV.

[The Mikado]

The white one.

[Lief 🗽]

Obama has more white blood in him, and as we all know that is the only issue West Virginians care about, so I give him the narrow advantage.

[TheGlobalizer]

West Virginia is not much of a Southern state as it is quite on its own kind of culture. It does not have much of a minority population and it . Cain would win as much as McCain did as he would play well to the states social conservatism. I cannot see a non blue dog/centrist democrat winning WV.

Agree, but I'd just caveat that WV is the only state that has that sort of culture almost statewide.  Many other states (KY, PA, VA, NC, TN) have significant portions of the state that have an Appalachian culture, but usually not enough to make an impact on statewide elections (as all of those states have large non-Appalachian population centers).

Agree that Appalachia =/= the South.