West Virginia: 2044

[CookieDamage]

Sen. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) - 54% - 6 EVs

Sen. Tony Navarrete (D-AZ) - 45% - 0 EVs

Nov. 8, 2044. New York -

Senator Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) has carried the state of West Virginia with 54% of the vote, becoming the first Republican since George Bush in 2000 to carry the Mountain State by single-digits. He defeated Senator Tony Navarrete (D-AZ) who received about 45% of the vote.

Navarrete was able to achieve the Democratic Party’s best performance in the state in over forty years by dominating urban areas, such as the Charleston, Huntington, and Washington D.C. metropolitan areas. Furthermore, he was able to carry counties in the quickly growing areas in eastern W.V. known as the “Geothermal and Wind Belt”. Aiding Navaratte’s performance is the aforementioned Washington metropolitan area, which in W.V. primarily consists of Morgan, Berkeley, and Jefferson counties, all of which were easily carried by the Democrats.

Another factor aiding the Democrats is West Virginia’s explosive population growth and urbanization, which began in earnest in the mid-2020s and early 2030s. The presence of green energy and tech industries has enabled the growth of the state’s largest metro areas, such as Charleston, Huntington, and Wheeling, as well as college towns such as Morgantown. A state once plagued by depopulation and the collapse of the coal industry has seen its fortunes change with the arrival of new, more sustainable industries. Democratic strategists see West Virginia as the next blue state, likening it to states like Texas and Georgia. If this comparison holds, West Virginia could be a solid blue state by 2060. However, some skeptical Democratic strategists, as well as Republican counterparts, see the population growth as a boom, rather than a sustainable increase. These strategists caution that a decline in wind and geothermal energy, as well as a reversal of population growth, could signal a slide back into solid Republican territory for West Virginia.

Cawthorn was able to hold the state nonetheless due to running up the margins in the southern portion of West Virginia, expanding on Lauren Boebert’s 2040 performance. Furthermore, Cawthorn was able to keep heavy margins in the state’s “coal country”, albeit not as commanding as Ron DeSantis’ record margins in the 2028 election. Steady population growth in the central part of the state, while not as dramatic as in the metro areas, has aided Democrats in blunting Republican margins.

[ultraviolet]

Is there a Disneyland yet?

[Roll Roons]

Boebert and Cawthorn are nominees in the future? Awful.

[Alben Barkley]

If WV is this close, does that mean KY has flipped?

[DINGO Joe]

Is there a Disneyland yet?

Obviously running on wind and geothermal power, no doubt.

[Chips]

If WV is this close, does that mean KY has flipped?

Quite possibly.

[CookieDamage]

If WV is this close, does that mean KY has flipped?

It could, although in this scenario if KY didn't see industrial and demographic growth like WV did it could have voted to the right.

[pbrower2a]

Three electoral votes. No more relevance than Wyoming.

[DCUS]

Three electoral votes. No more relevance than Wyoming.

I'm guessing 6 EV minimum from the growth of the metros.

TX is a Safe Dem state, interesting. At that point Republicans have to run Hail Mary campaigns in Illinois, New Jersey, and New York.

Boebert being a serious candidate is surprising. She's vulnerable to be redistricted out of her Republican-leaning district: even though CO has a non-partisan redistricting commission, her home city is not so far from Denver. And in a rapidly Democratic-trending state like Colorado, she can't win statewide office either.

[Utah Neolib]

The title sounds like a dystopian movie

In the rolling hills of Northern West Virginia, lay a land untouched by mankind’s industrialization. A land where wild animals still roam free.

[Nightcore Nationalist]

What's special about Cawthorn, is if you ever wondered what a candidate would be like if a Zoomer became messed up by browsing 4chan as a kid, you don't have to wonder anymore.

[MT Treasurer]

VA-PRES 2004 redux! What would make it more amusing is if WV finally flipped D in 2048 while one of VA/MD (for some reason) went R.