West Virginia and the party that hates coal
1943.
There were no Civil Rights Acts. For that matter, there weren’t even 50 states. The world was at war. Israel didn’t exist. Everything ran on coal.
That was also the last time West Virginia elected a Republican Senator in a regular election.
| Candidate | Year | Party |
| W. Chapman Revercomb | 1943 | Republican |
| Harley Kilgore | 1946 | Democrat |
| Matthew Neeley | 1949 | Democrat |
| Harley Kilgore | 1952 | Democrat |
| Robert Byrd | 1958 | Democrat |
| Jennings Randolph | 1958 | Democrat |
| Jennings Randolph | 1960 | Democrat |
| Robert Byrd | 1964 | Democrat |
| Jennings Randolph | 1966 | Democrat |
| Robert Byrd | 1970 | Democrat |
| Jennings Randolph | 1972 | Democrat |
| Robert Byrd | 1976 | Democrat |
| Jennings Randolph | 1978 | Democrat |
| Robert Byrd | 1982 | Democrat |
| Jay Rockefeller | 1985 | Democrat |
| Robert Byrd | 1988 | Democrat |
| Jay Rockefeller | 1990 | Democrat |
| Robert Byrd | 1994 | Democrat |
| Jay Rockefeller | 1996 | Democrat |
| Robert Byrd | 2000 | Democrat |
| Jay Rockefeller | 2002 | Democrat |
| Robert Byrd | 2006 | Democrat |
| Jay Rockefeller | 2008 | Democrat |
Over the years, coal’s kind of lost its luster. In 2008 the United States elected a Democrat for President who’s not too keen on coal:
Now West Virginia’s looking at 10% unemployment with no prospects of improving any time soon. And, with Obama’s attitude, really stand the prospect of becoming much, much, worse if he succeeds in cramming cap and trade down our, and their, throats.
They’ve also got something else to ponder as well. They have to choose a new Senator. I’m just wondering what the chances are of the Mountaineers going outside the box they’ve pinned themselves in for the last 64 years? I can’t wait to watch the coal unions tell their people to vote Democrat.
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