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Bill Raney considers coal golden. After all, the black rock fuels half of the nation's electrical generation. But the West Virginia Coal Association's president and others in the industry say they've received mixed messages about president-elect Barack Obama's support for coal-fired power. Obama and vice president-elect Joe Biden both have said they support finding cleaner ways to burn coal. But during the campaign, Obama told a newspaper that electricity rates could soar under his energy plan, while Biden told a voter in Ohio that "we're not supporting clean coal" - though he has said the U.S. should develop clean coal...

The US Senate's oldest and longest-serving member, Robert Byrd, announced Friday he was stepping down as chairman of the appropriations committee. For the last 10 years, the 90-year-old Democratic dean from West Virginia has headed the committee which helps the government decide how to spend its money. Byrd, re-elected for his ninth Senate term in 2006, has spent nearly 50 years as a committee member and senator, casting a record 18,000 ballots as of last year. "A new day has dawned in Washington, and that is a good thing," Byrd, who endorsed Illinois Senator Barack Obama this year in his...

Based on exit polls, Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain will win the state of West Virginia, according to CBS News and Fox News. The Associated Press and other news organizations did not call the state for McCain. Throughout the race, Democratic Sen. Barack Obama had trailed the Republican senator from Arizona. Neither candidate spent much time in the state; McCain made a couple of brief appearances. This marks the third straight presidential election that West Virginians have picked a Republican for president, after years of voting Democratic for the nation's highest office. In the state's Democratic primaries in May,...

Fox News calls WV for McCain

Sen. John McCain has earned Americans' trust during a period measured in decades, from his valiant service in the military to his time in Congress. For a variety of reasons involving both domestic and foreign policy, The Intelligencer endorses McCain and urges voters to elect him as our next president. In 2005, McCain and three other senators attempted to correct major flaws in policy regarding "Fannie Mae" and "Freddie Mac." Liberals, including Sen. Barack Obama, defeated the measure. Had it passed, the current economic downturn probably would have been avoided. At the very least, it would have been less severe....

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Joe Biden is no Barack Obama. He channels many of the same well-tested phrases and platforms. But he doesn't just talk about families struggling to pay bills. He chokes up. And he doesn't just denounce Republicans for carving up America into "real" and "fake" parts. He's a finger-pointing, cheek-bulging ball of fury. With three dozen years of Senate service behind him, Biden is chanting Obama's mantra of change, and taking potshots. "John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin -- when they get on stage, I love to watch 'em. They get on and they say, they start, 'Yeah,...

Tuesday, October 21, 2008 The presidential race in West Virginia continues to hold steady as John McCain leads Barack Obama 52% to 43%, according the latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey. The latest poll is little changed from September, when McCain led his opponent 50% to 42%. The Republican also had an eight-point lead in the state back in June. McCain holds a dominant lead among unaffiliated voters in West Virginia, 57% to 36%. He also leads 55% to 42% among men and 49% to 43% among women. Rasmussen Markets data shows that Republicans are given a 60.1 % chance of...

The presidential race in West Virginia continues to hold steady as John McCain leads Barack Obama 52% to 43%, according the latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey. The latest poll is little changed from September, when McCain led his opponent 50% to 42%. The Republican also had an eight-point lead in the state back in June. McCain holds a dominant lead among unaffiliated voters in West Virginia, 57% to 36%. He also leads 55% to 42% among men and 49% to 43% among women.

"He is black" was the first thing Kenny Perdue, the state's AFL-CIO president, said. {snip} The president of the United Mine Workers, Cecil Roberts, spoke after Perdue in a parking lot set in the flat plateau below the remains of a strip-mined mountain. "I'd rather have a black friend than a white enemy," he said.

During a stop in OH, just a dozen miles from the WV border, Joe Biden pledged this week that Barack Obama will carry the Mountain State and "shock the living Devil out of you all." Next week, he can make that promise in person. The DE senator is tentatively planning to campaign in WV Friday, marking the first general election appearance in the state for the Democratic ticket.

While polls pop up with numbers attempting to predict a presidential winner, the West Virginia Wesleyan College poll for The State Journal tracks the profiles behind the numbers. The poll, conducted this week by Orion Strategies, questioned 600 "likely voters," with emphasis placed on duplicating the West Virginia electorate as closely as possible in regard to party affiliation, age, gender and district distribution. Below are the complete results of the poll. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q1. If the November Election for President were being held today, would you vote for John McCain or Barack Obama: (Rotate Names): John McCain 310 51.7% Barack Obama...

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) – It has been reported for months that John McCain would have a relatively easy time winning West Virginia, but a new poll shows Barack Obama has made quite the comeback. The American Research Group reported that for the first time Obama has taken the lead here in the Mountain State. The poll shows that if the election were held today, Obama would capture 50 percent of the vote compared with Republican presidential candidate McCain's 42 percent. This is a big turn around from previous polls, which showed McCain leading by a wide margin in West Virginia.

Full breakdown here.

(The Register-Herald Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Oct. 4--Sticking to her conservative principles, Rep. Shelley Moore Capito again Friday voted to oppose Wall Street's multibillion-dollar parachute on its second, and this time successful, float through the House. West Virginia's two Democrats in the House -- Nick Rahall and Alan Mollohan -- voted with the majority in a 263-171 roll call. "While we've seen some key adjustments around the edges, this is fundamentally the same bill we considered on Monday," Capito, R-W.Va., said afterward.

FAIRMONT — Marion County Republicans will open their campaign headquarters at 201 Adams St. in downtown Fairmont on Monday, said Andrew Sabak. And the county GOP’s annual Reagan Dinner is set for Oct. 16 at Muriale’s Restaurant and Banquet Center, said Sabak. He is the chairman of the Marion County Republican Executive Committee. “Everyone who is interested in any of the Republican candidates for office on the November ballot is welcome to drop in and see our campaign headquarters,” Sabak said. The new office will be open from 3 p.m.-7 p.m. on Monday. Operating hours will gradually be expanded as...

BLUEFIELD — Democrat Natalie Tennant and Republican Charles Minimah are vying Nov. 4 for the position of Secretary of State. Both candidates met with members of the Daily Telegraph editorial board last week, where they discussed a variety of issues ranging from local election night problems in Mercer County to addressing voter apathy in the Mountain State. Betty Ireland, the incumbent Secretary of State, isn’t seeking re-election. Tennant, a former television reporter and anchor, now operates Wells Media Group with her husband Sen. Eric Wells, D-Kanawha. A graduate of West Virginia University, Tennant is a former candidate for the Secretary...

From a Betty Ireland press release Charleston, WV (HNN) – Preliminary investigations have revealed hundreds of fraudulent voter registrations , Secretary of State Betty Ireland told a Thursday, Sept. 25 press conference. The United States Attorney’s Office, the FBI, United States Postal Service and Kanawha County Prosecutor’s Office are investigating crimes that may have been committed by filing fraudulent voter registration forms. “My office takes the matter of election fraud seriously, and every precaution is being made to make sure no voter is disenfranchised by this activity,” Secretary Ireland stated. According to the press release, similar activities have been occurring...

A new poll shows that one in five West Virginia voters believe Barack Obama is a Muslim. And only half of voters in West Virginia say Obama is a Christian – despite a campaign by Obama and his supporters to shoot down the false rumor that he is Muslim. The poll of 600 likely voters was conducted by Orion Strategies for West Virginia Media and West Virginia Wesleyan College. It shows McCain 11 points ahead of Obama in West Virginia – 52 percent McCain; 41 percent Obama.

A new poll out from TIME/CNN Wednesday night shows Republican presidential candidate John McCain with a 50% to 46% lead over Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama in West Virginia. It's the first time TIME/CNN polled West Virginia. The cable channel lists the state as "Leaning McCain." CNN's poll findings include a 2 to 1 lead among Independent voters for McCain in West Virginia. According to the poll, Obama leads among self-identified moderate voters. Obama also has a three point advantage among female voters in West Virginia, according to the results. The survey of likely voters took place the past few...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- An off-the-cuff interview with Democratic nominee for Vice President Joe Biden posted on YouTube reveals that Biden apparently doesn't want coal plants in the United States. The video appears to have been shot in Ohio while Biden was campaigning. "No coal plants here in America," said Biden to a woman asking questions about clean coal. Biden says China is building two dirty coal plants every week, which is polluting the U.S. and causing people to die. "Guess what, China is going to burn 300 years of bad coal unless we can figure out how to clean...

The scene still makes plenty of West Virginians wince. A succession of Mountain State residents proclaim to a television camera that they'll never vote for Barack Obama because of his religion, which they get wrong, or his race. After a few such testimonials, "Daily Show'' host Jon Stewart mockingly suggests a new state motto: "West Virginia: No Interviews, Please.'' That ran in May, shortly after Sen. Hillary Clinton trounced Obama by a margin of more than 2-to-1 in a state roughly 94 percent white. Since then, residents have been on the defensive over charges of widespread bigotry while wondering themselves...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Republican congressional candidate Jay Wolfe, a businessman and former state senator from Harrison County, told Gazette editors Friday that he's been trying to get his opponent, U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, to agree to a public debate this fall, without success. Wolfe said Rockefeller also wouldn't debate him when the two ran against each other six years ago. Rockefeller won his third term in the 2002 election. "He wouldn't debate me six years ago. I sent him a letter asking him to debate [this year], but I have not received an answer." Wolfe has long been an opponent...

A poll of West Virginia voters shows only five percentage points separate Senators John McCain and Barack Obama in the race for President. Mark Blankenship of Mark Blankenship Enterprises (MBE) says the poll shows a very competitive race with a slight nod to McCain/Palin, 44 percent, over Obama/Biden, 39 percent. Blankenship says 17 percent voters surveyed last Friday, Saturday and this Monday indicated they were undecided. The poll shows only 55 percent of Democrats polled say they support Obama and 25 percent say they like the Republican John McCain in the November 4 General Election. Twenty percent of Democrats in...

The annual United Mine Workers Labor Day picnic in Boone County featured most of West Virginia's dominant Democratic Party leaders, but it failed to attract a large crowd of people to hear them speak. News photos of the event suggest there were more empty seats than interested voters, prompting the local county Republican chairman to label it the smallest turnout he can ever remember. Gov. Joe Manchin spelled out the party marching orders in the lead-off position, telling Hillary Clinton supporters in this state that it's now time for them to join ranks with party nominee Barack Obama partisans just...

Here is the latest campaign ad from Jay Wolfe. He is running a grassroots campaign to oust Jay Rockefeller. Jay Rockefeller - No Oil for You  

Original caption: Senator Robert Byrd is a mentor for Senator Barack Obama

Chestnut Hill, West Virginia---West Virginia's registered Democrats, like their cousins in western Pennsylvania and eastern and southern Ohio, are having a hard time fitting anywhere within Barack Obama's vision of the Democratic party. "Obama and his message just do not gel with me," said Mark Lamp as he climbed into his utility truck. Lamp, 47, from neighboring Weirton, is a registered Democrat who voted for Clinton in the May primary. "My first problem with him is taxes, the second is experience," he explained. Lamp has worked in construction all of his life, and the company he works for builds houses...

21 billboards erected. Goal is one in all 55 counties. August 11 2008Clarksburg, WV – Jay Wolfe’s campaign has erected billboards that strike at the very heart of the most important issue of this election - high gasoline prices. The culprits are those, like Senator Rockefeller, in Congress who have consistently blocked Americans from drilling for oil in ANWR, the Pacific, the Atlantic and for shale oil in states like Colorado, Utah and Wyoming. “After 24 years in the U.S. Senate, Senator Rockefeller expects us to believe he favors energy independence from our reliance on foreign oil. Yet, he...

CHARLESTON — Though the political sands can shift before November, the leading national analysts who dabble in Electoral College math appear uniformly certain that presumptive Republican presidential candidate John McCain can count on West Virginia’s five electoral votes. The scant attention paid it by McCain and Democrat Barack Obama has helped bring home the realization that the Mountain State is not the battleground it was during the last two races for the White House. By this time in 2004, for instance, President George Bush and Democrat John Kerry had each headlined three full-fledged events in the state since that year’s...

Before you watch this video, let me tell you it will be maddening. But it is worth watching for what you can get out of it. It is raw video of Sen. John McCain in Huntington, West Virginia today, August 6, 2008, where he went to a Marshall University Football practice and then spoke to the players after the practice. He spoke about his POW experience, and how courage and sacrifice are vital to the success of any team. The video is not professional, and at times it is as if McCain's words are cut off in mid-sentence. But if...

But that has not stopped Project Vote Smart from offering a detailed rundown of at least some of the state's federal hopefuls in advance of November. Just two of the seven active congressional candidates had responded to the group's Political Courage Test by last week's deadline. They are Marty Gearheart, the Mercer County businessman challenging Rep. Nick Rahall in the state's 3rd District; and Jay Wolfe, in a rematch against Sen. Jay Rockefeller.

For a candidate who has insinuated that Sen. John McCain is too old to handle the stress of the presidency, Sen. Barack Obama has a strange way of demonstrating his own abilities. He will provide an example of his own limitations on Friday, when he visits Columbus. It has been no secret thus far during the campaign that Obama does best in highly controlled, scripted appearances. He plans one for Friday, when he will go to Columbus — to appear at an invitation-only event for a limited number of senior citizens. Meanwhile, McCain has begun the series of “town hall”...

Senator Byrd In Step with West Virginians, Poll ShowsByrd Opposes Lieberman-Warner Global Warming Bill Rejected by Overwhelming Majority in Region For Release: June 6, 2008 Washington, DC - Senator Robert Byrd, who opposes America's Climate Security Act presently scheduled for a key Senate vote at 9 AM Friday, is in sync with a majority of West Virginians, says a poll released by the National Center for Public Policy Research. The survey found 64% of likely voters in mid-Atlantic states (WV, VA, MD, PA, NY, NJ and DE) oppose spending more for gasoline to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 71% oppose spending...

John McCain begins the general election season with an eight-point advantage over Barack Obama in West Virginia. The first Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of this general election match-up shows McCain attracting 45% of the vote while Obama earns 37%. Neither man is terribly popular in the state. McCain earns favorable reviews from 48% and unfavorable ratings from another 48%. The numbers for Obama are 40% favorable and 57% unfavorable. Those figures include 26% with a Very Unfavorable opinion of McCain and 35% with such a negative view of Obama. McCain and Obama are very competitive nationally in the Rasmussen Reports...

Johnny Telvor was not happy about Barack Obama becoming the Democratic presidential nominee. Not happy at all. Standing outside the sturdy courthouse in the sweltering heat of a West Virginia afternoon in the small town of Williamson, Telvor smoked a cigarette and bluntly gave his opinion of Obama's historic mission to be America's first black president. 'We'll end up slaves. We'll be made slaves just like they was once slaves,' he said. Telvor, a white Democrat who supported Hillary Clinton in West Virginia's primary, said he planned to vote for Republican John McCain in November. 'At least he's an American,'...

John McCain begins the general election season with an eight-point advantage over Barack Obama in West Virginia. The first Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of this general election match-up shows McCain attracting 45% of the vote while Obama earns 37%. Neither man is terribly popular in the state. McCain earns favorable reviews from 48% and unfavorable ratings from another 48%. The numbers for Obama are 40% favorable and 57% unfavorable. Those figures include 26% with a Very Unfavorable opinion of McCain and 35% with such a negative view of Obama.

Robert Byrd Endorses Obama Sen. Robert C. Byrd, a former member of the Ku Klux Klan and a one-time opponent of civil rights legislation, endorsed Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination on Monday. Obama is vying to be the nation's first black president. Byrd's support comes almost a week after the Illinois senator's 41-point loss to Hillary Rodham Clinton in the longtime lawmaker's home state of West Virginia.

WASHINGTON - Sen. Robert C. Byrd, a former member of the Ku Klux Klan and a one-time opponent of civil rights legislation, endorsed Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination on Monday. Obama is vying to be the nation's first black president. Byrd's support comes almost a week after the Illinois senator's 41-point loss to Hillary Rodham Clinton in the longtime lawmaker's home state of West Virginia. Byrd said he had no intention of getting involved while his state was in the midst of a primary. "But the stakes this November could not be higher," he said in a written...

A significant number of West Virginians (and some others in America) evidently take the view that U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Hussein Obama is a Muslim. In a surpassingly depressing report from the coal-miner state on the eve of Tuesday's West Virginia primary, The Los Angeles Times noted voter views that go like this: "We do not need a Muslim to lead the good ole USA." It would not necessarily be so horrible if this well-spoken senator from Illinois were in fact Muslim. It turns out that most Muslims, like those in the country with the world's most Muslims (Indonesia),...

Even with Hillary Clinton’s wide margin win in the West Virginia primary, Barack Obama will be the Democrat standard bearer in November. However, Democrats may well have buyer’s remorse. Their rush to nominate Mr. Obama, the least vetted presidential candidate in memory, will likely cost them the fall election. The voters, who many believe, Mr. Obama needs for victory in November are trending to John McCain. Obviously, Team Obama is looking at a different trail to the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency. West Virginia is thought of as a reliably Democrat state. Democrat Governor Joe Manchin won...

LOS ANGELES — There is good news and bad news for Democrats in the wake of Tuesday’s voting in West Virginia and Mississippi. The good news is that Democrats are now three-for-three in the contests for open House seats, adding Mississippi to the list where a Democrat, albeit one running as pro-life and pro-gun, defeated his Republican opponent in a traditionally Republican, conservative district. The bad news is that Barack Obama, who has been crowned by the media as the "presumptive nominee" of the Democratic Party, got trounced in a state that every Democrat to be elected president in recent...

Hillary Wins West Virginia Click the pic to watch the video! Dunlap: "The media and the super delegates are abandoning in droves Hillary the Loser!" Jackie: "But she keeps winning!" Dunlap: "Jackie, you cannot stop rats from deserting the sinking ship!" Jackie: "What...that don't make no sense. Why are the rats deserting a sinking ship if the ship ain't sinkin?" Dunlap: "Rats are stupid."

Barack Obama really didn't need a victory in West Virginia. He was already well on his way to wrapping up the Democratic nomination, and the 28 delegates at stake were not going to change that picture, no matter how that primary came out. But he should have competed there, if only to signal his awareness of its special place in Democratic history. Forty-eight years ago, it was West Virginia more than any other state that propelled John Kennedy into the White House. And it did so in a way that Obama should have wanted to emulate. Admittedly, I have a...

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton arranged to meet with uncommitted superdelegates following her lopsided victory in the West Virginia primary, as her supporters argued that her appeal to some traditional Democratic voting blocks may change opinions despite the long odds against her... Governor Ed Rendell of pennsylvania, a Clinton supporter, said in an interview on CNN on Wednesday that "superdelegates have to have second thoughts" after West Virginia... The number of white Democratic voters who said that race influenced their choice Tuesday was among the highest recorded in voter surveys in the Clinton-Obama nomination fight. Two in 10 white West Virginia...

Barack Obama is in hot pursuit of general election voters, hoping America won't notice he got his head handed to him in West Virginia. The Illinois senator virtually pretended the primary didn't happen Tuesday, with no election night speech or any public appearance at all after the polls closed and gave Hillary Rodham Clinton (web|news|bio) a more than 2-1 victory even though her candidacy is likely doomed. At Obama's Chicago headquarters, advisers said there was no reason to worry - West Virginia was demographically suited to Clinton and won't be part of their general election plans. It's also true that...

Tonight in West Virginia Hillary Clinton crushed Barack Obama 67%-26%. Obama is widely expected to win the Democratic Party nomination for president. John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, won with a 76%-24% margin over five other candidates. Three of McCain's opponents dropped out of the race two months ago. The other two did not actually campaign in West Virginia.

If a tree falls in the forest when everybody expects it to fall, does it make a sound? Yes, says Hillary Clinton. It makes a deafening roar, says Hillary Clinton. SHE WON THE WEST VIRGINIA PRIMARY BY A KAZILLION PERCENTAGE POINTS TUESDAY NIGHT, AND THAT, SHE SAYS, HAS TO MEAN SOMETHING! Except the press doesn’t think so. The press is unimpressed. This may be the first time in election history in which the press has withdrawn from a race before the candidate. As John Harwood of the New York Times and CNBC said on MSNBC Tuesday several hours before the...

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton routed Sen. Barack Obama in the West Virginia primary yesterday, scoring one of her most lopsided victories of the long campaign even as she continued to battle overwhelming odds in her bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. Clinton's easy victory in a state that has slipped away from Democrats in the past two elections added fresh ammunition to her claim that she is better positioned than Obama to capture critical swing states in November. But the primary win may have come too late to have a significant impact on the trajectory of a nomination battle in...

A confluence of groups customarily inclined toward Hillary Clinton was voting in the West Virginia primary, with less-educated, lower-income Southern whites predominating. Nonetheless there was room for criticism of Clinton -- and bringing "needed change," Barack Obama's trademark, was again the most-desired candidate trait. The Race Factor Racially motivated voting appeared to be running higher than usual: Two in 10 whites said the race of the candidate was a factor in their vote, second only to Mississippi. And only a third of those voters said they'd support Obama as the nominee against John McCain, fewer than in other primaries where...

Fox News projects HRC wins WV.