May 10, 2016 West Virginia Primary

OVERVIEW
"The war on coal" narrative that has hurt Democratic candidates here came into play.  Clinton was in hot water over remarks she had made during a March 13 CNN town hall in Ohio. 

"I'm the only candidate which has a policy about how to bring economic opportunity using clean renewable energy as the key into coal country.  Because we're going to put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business, right,...  And we're going to make it clear that we don't want to forget those people.  Those people labored in those mines for generations, losing their health, often losing their lives to turn on our lights and power our factories.  Now we've got to move away from coal and all the other fossil fuels, but I don't want to move away from the people who did the best they could to produce the energy that we relied on."

The intent of the remarks is clear, but the sound bite about putting "coal miners and coal companies out of business" was, in the words of early supporter U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, "horrific."

Clinton visited West Virginia on May 2 as part of what was billed a "Breaking Down Barriers" driving tour through Kentucky, West Virginia and Ohio; the famous "Scooby van" made a reappearance.  In Williamson, WV, she toured the Williamson Health and Wellness Center, then held a discussion, and met with retired mine workers and community members.  On May 3 she held a discussion on substance abuse and addiction at University of Charleston's Erma Byrd Gallery.  Former President Bill Clinton also visited, speaking at organizing events at Logan Middle School in Logan and at the State Capitol Rotunda in Charleston on May 1.

Bernie Sanders held a rally at the Big Sandy Superstore Arena in Huntington on April 26, and spoke on poverty (+) at the Five Loaves & Two Fishes Food Bank in Kimball (McDowell County) on May 5.

Paul T. Farrell, Jr., an attorney in Huntington, obtained a surprising 9-percent of the vote.   He wrote on his Facebook page, "My name is on the ballot simply to provide a choice other than Sec. Hillary Clinton or Bernie 'look-free-stuff' Sanders."  (There is a precedent for longshots getting a significant number of votes in the West Virginia Democratic presidential primary; in the May 8, 2012 primary Keith Judd, an inmate in the Federal Correctional Institution in Texarkana, Texas, obtained 40.65% of the vote agains President Obama).

Secretary of State Natalie Tennant reported a record number of people cast their ballots in the early voting period (+).

REACTIONS

Bernie 2016

Sanders Wins West Virginia

SALEM, Ore. – U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders on Tuesday issued the following statement after The Associated Press projected that he won the presidential primary election in West Virginia:

“I want to thank the people of West Virginia for the tremendous victory they gave us today in a state that provided a landslide vote for Hillary Clinton in 2008. West Virginia is a working-class state and many of the people there are hurting. They know, like most Americans, that it is too late for establishment politics and establishment economics. They want real change.

“With this outcome, we now have won primaries and caucuses in 19 states. We are in this campaign to win the Democratic nomination and we’re going to stay in the race until the last vote is cast. We expect more victories in the weeks to come when voters go to the polls in Kentucky, Oregon, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, California, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota and the District of Columbia.

“We fully acknowledge we have an uphill climb ahead of us, but we’re used to that. We have been fighting uphill from the day this campaign began. And after all the votes are cast and counted and this contest moves to the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, the delegates will decide which candidate is the strongest nominee to take on Donald Trump in November. All of the evidence indicates that I am that candidate.

“As voters in the remaining states and territories make up their minds about the future of the Democratic Party, I believe they deserve a chance to compare my record and Secretary Clinton’s record on creating jobs, raising the minimum wage, war and peace, the need for health care for all, breaking up big banks, combating climate change and other critical issues. Secretary Clinton’s campaign already has agreed to another debate in California. I hope that we can soon settle on a date and place for that debate.”

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Correct the Record

CTR STATEMENT ON TONIGHT’S DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY RESULTS

Washington, D.C. – Correct The Record President Brad Woodhouse released the following statement in response to tonight’s West Virginia Democratic primary results.

“Tonight’s results do not alter the overall delegate math,” said Brad Woodhouse President of Correct The Record. “Hillary Clinton still holds a nearly insurmountable lead, with over 3 million more votes and hundreds more pledged delegates. Throughout the primary process, voters from every corner of this country have shown that they believe Clinton offers the strongest message and best chance of winning the White House. Facing an unpredictable and dangerous opponent in Donald Trump, Democrats need to unite behind the shared cause of breaking down barriers for all Americans and preventing our country from being led by Trump, whose policies would cause economic and national insecurity."

Correct The Record is a strategic research and rapid response team designed to defend Hillary Clinton from baseless attacks.

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Republican National Committee

RNC Statement On Hillary Clinton's 20th Loss To Bernie Sanders

WASHINGTON – Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Reince Priebus released the following statement on Hillary Clinton’s defeat in the West Virginia primary and her twentieth loss to Bernie Sanders:

“It is nothing short of embarrassing that Hillary Clinton has now been defeated twenty times by a 74-year old socialist from Vermont, and for the second straight week lost a state she carried in 2008. Setbacks this late into the primary calendar show her long track record of dishonesty and hypocrisy continues to alienate large swathes of Democrat voters. Whether it’s her vows to decimate the coal industry, the FBI’s investigation into her reckless conduct as secretary of state, or her support for a left-wing majority on the Supreme Court, Hillary Clinton has shown she is incapable of delivering the leadership our country desperately needs.” 

DELEGATES
37 Delegates and 2 Alternates:
20 District-level Delegates
6 At-large Delegates
3 Pledged Party Leaders and Elected Officials
8 Unpledged Party Leaders and Elected Officials

Pledged delegate allocation:  Sanders 18, Clinton 11.

District-level delegates elected at District Caucus at the State Convention (+) on June 10, 2016.
At-large and PLEO delegates election by the WV Democrats State Executive Committee meeting on June 11, 2016.

Delegates