United States Senate election in West Virginia, 2006

The West Virginia United States Senate Election of 2006 was held on November 7, 2006. Robert C. Byrd (D), John Raese (R), and Jesse Johnson (Mt) appeared on the ballot [http://www.wvsos.com/elections/candidates/CumulativeCandidateListResidentGenlist.pdf] . Byrd defeated Raese and Johnson 64-34-2 [http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2006/pages/results/states/WV/] . He was sworn in on January 4, 2007, to his ninth term; the term will expire on January 3, 2013. Byrd is the longest serving senator in United States Senate history.

Background

Before the 2000 presidential election, West Virginia had been won by the Democratic nominee every time since 1932 (except for the Republican landslides of 1956, 1972, and 1984). In 2000, then Republican Governor George W. Bush of Texas won West Virginia’s five electoral college votes over then Vice President Al Gore of Tennessee by a margin of 52-46. Also in the 2000 election, Republican Shelley Moore Capito, the daughter of Former West Virginia Governor Arch A. Moore, Jr., won a surprise victory over Democrat Jim Humphreys for West Virginia's 2nd Congressional District seat to the United States House of Representatives. She would become the first Republican in West Virginia to hold a Congressional office for more than one term since her father in 1969. Before these two major victories for national and West Virginia Republicans, it was difficult to find a Republican who could mount a formidable campaign against Democrats running for public office in West Virginia.

President Bush won West Virginia again in the 2004 presidential election over John F. Kerry, the Democratic junior Senator from Massachusetts by a margin of 56-43. Both Representative Alan Mollohan (D-1st District) and Representative Nick Rahall (D-3rd District) had more formidable challenges from Republicans when compared to 2000 and 2002. Republican Brent Benjamin defeated Democratic incumbent West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals Justice Warren McGraw, and Republican Betty Ireland defeated liberal-Democrat Ken Hechler, a former congressman and secretary of state, for West Virginia Secretary of State.

Since 2000, the Republicans have gained seven net seats in both the West Virginia Senate and the West Virginia House of Delegates. However, the Democrats hold 60% of the seats in the Senate and 68% of the seats in the House.

Along with continued majorities in the legislature, Democrats have also had some other victories. Even though both Bush and Capito won their respective offices in 2000, Senator Byrd sailed to an eighth term with 78% of the vote over Republican David Gallaher. Senator John D. Rockefeller, IV, easily won a fourth term to the Senate in 2002 by a margin of 63-37 over Republican Jay Wolfe. In 2000, 2002, and 2004, both Representative Mollohan and Representative Rahall were re-elected by much stronger margins than Capito. In 2004, Republican Monty Warner failed to defeat Democratic West Virginia Secretary of State Joe Manchin for governor.

After the Republicans failed to win the governor’s race, West Virginia Republican Committee Chairman Kris Warner, the brother of Monty, was put under pressure to resign his post; he did so in May 2005 [http://www.wowktv.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=2679] . Wheeling attorney Rob Capehart took his place. (Dr. Doug McKinney of Bridgeport now holds the post.) Another brother of Monty, Kasey, who was appointed by President Bush in 2001, was removed as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia on August 1, 2005. No explanation has been given for his departure and First Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles T. Miller currently represents the district.

The Republican search for a candidate

Capito: Both state and national Republicans chose Capito as their first choice to challenge Byrd. Early polling showed Byrd with only around a ten-point lead. Capito had even met with National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chairwoman Elizabeth Dole, whose husband, Robert Dole, served alongside Byrd as majority and minority leader in the Senate, to discuss a possible run [http://www.thehill.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Campaign/062305.html] . Despite party leaders pushing for her to run, on October 3, 2005, Capito announced she would seek a fourth term for her congressional seat rather than run against Byrd. She cited the negativity of a possible Byrd-Capito race as a reason for not running [http://www.wowktv.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=5576] . Other reasons for Capito not running include the following: Capito's seat is widely considered safe; Capito is rising in House leadership; if Capito ran against Byrd, her seat could possibly have fallen back into the Democratic column; and Capito's large amount of contributions from former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay could be brought into question.

Ireland: After Capito decided not to run, Republicans hoped to recruit Secretary of State Betty Ireland, the first woman elected to the executive branch of West Virginia. On October 27, 2005, however, Ireland announced she would not run against the eight-term senator. She said that the office of Secretary of State should not be used as a political stepping stone [http://www.wowktv.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=6227] . Ironically, Joe Manchin held the office of Secretary of State during his campaign for governor.

Catlett: Conservative columnist Robert Novak wrote in a September 24, 2005, article [http://www.townhall.com/opinion/columns/robertnovak/2005/09/24/155691.html] that Gale Catlett's, the former Head Coach of the West Virginia University Men's Basketball team, name had been floated around as a possible challenger to Byrd. Catlett had in fact talked to West Virginia Republican Committee Chairman Capehart about either running against Byrd or possibly Representative Mollohan. It was also reported that if Capito had run against Byrd, Catlett would seek her seat. However, on November 11, 2005, Catlett decided not to run against Senator Byrd or Representative Mollohan [http://theintelligencer.net/news/story/1112202005_new2catlett.asp] . (A side note: On November 12, 2005, Ohio County Delegate Chris Wakim (R) announced his intentions to run against Representative Mollohan [http://www.wtrf.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=6721] .)

Capehart: Also mentioned as a possible challenger was Chairman Capehart. Capehart told West Virginia Media Holding’s State Journal on December 5, 2005, that he would not seek the seat. He said that he would remain as chairman to accomplish his main goal: To completely erase the party's $200,000 debt which was left over after the 2004 election cycle [http://wowktv.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=7120] .

Raese: On January 11, 2006, TheHill.com reported that NRSC Chairwoman Dole met with 1984 Republican United States Senate candidate and 1988 Republican Gubernatorial primary-candidate John Raese to discuss a possible run for the nomination in May [http://thehill.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/011106/byrd.html] . Raese did file for the primary by the deadline of January 28, 2006.

Candidates

"Note: the next section gives more in depth biographical information"

Two Democrats filed for the primary on May 9, 2006 [http://www.wvsos.com/elections/candidates/officialcandidate2006primary.pdf] [http://www.politics1.com/wv.htm] :
*Robert C. Byrd, (D-Raleigh)
*Billy Hendricks, Jr., (D-Boone)

Six Republicans filed for the primary on May 9, 2006 [http://www.wvsos.com/elections/candidates/officialcandidate2006primary.pdf] [http://www.politics1.com/wv.htm] :
*John Raese, (R-Monongalia)
*Hiram Lewis, (R-Monongalia)
*Rick Snuffer, (R-Raleigh)
*Zane Lawhorn, (R-Mercer)
*Charles G. "Bud" Railey, (R-Harrison)
*Paul J. Brown, (R-Nicholas)

Three candidates appeared on the ballot for the general election on November 7, 2006 [http://www.wvsos.com/elections/candidates/CumulativeCandidateListResidentGenlist.pdf] :

*Robert C. Byrd, (D-Raleigh)
*John Raese, (R-Monongalia)
*Jesse Johnson, (Mt-Kanawha)

Candidate Biographies

Democrats

*Robert C. Byrd – He is currently the senior senator representing West Virginia. He was first elected to the West Virginia House of Delegates in 1946 where he served two terms. He was elected to the West Virginia State Senate in 1950. He resigned his state Senate seat in December 1952 after he was elected to the United States House of Representatives in November 1952, to represent the now extinct 6th District. In November 1958, Byrd defeated incumbent Senator Chapman Revercomb for a seat in the United States Senate. He was reelected to the Senate in 1964, 1970, 1976, 1982, 1988, 1994, and 2000. He was unopposed in the election of 1976 and he carried all fifty-five counties of West Virginia in the elections of 1994 and 2000. In 2000, he won all but seven of West Virginia’s 1,970 precincts. He became the longest serving senator in United States Senate history on June 12, 2006, having served 17,327 days. Byrd formally announced his candidacy for a record ninth term to the Senate on September 27, 2005 [http://www.wowktv.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=5441] .

Defeated in primary

*Billy Hendricks, Jr. – He is currently an auto worker.

Republicans

*John Raese – He is currently the owner of Greer Industries, West Virginia Newspaper Publishing Company (which publishes "The Dominion Post"), and West Virginia Radio Corporation of Morgantown. He ran unsuccessfully for the United States Senate in 1984 against then Governor Rockefeller, losing by a 52-48 margin. In 1988, he ran against Governor Moore for the Republican nomination and lost; Moore went on to lose in the general election to Gaston Caperton. Raese won 58% of the vote in the 2006 May primary, against five other candidates. He faced Byrd in the November election.

Defeated in primary

*Hiram Lewis – He is currently a JAG Officer in the West Virginia Army National Guard and a self-employed attorney in Morgantown. In 2004, he was an unsuccessful candidate for West Virginia Attorney General, losing narrowly, 50.4% to 49.6%, to incumbent Darrell McGraw. Lewis’ good showing can probably be related to a coinciding election for Justice on the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, where McGraw’s brother, Warren, was defeated.
*Rick Snuffer – He was an unsuccessful candidate for West Virginia's 3rd Congressional District in 2004, losing to incumbent Nick Joe Rahall, 65% to 35%.
*Zane Lawhorn – He is currently an optometrist. He has never run for public office.
*Charles G. "Bud" Railey – He is currently a land-developer in Bridgeport. He unsuccessfully ran for the nomination for governor in 2004.
*John J. Brown

Not running

*Shelley Moore Capito – She is currently the congresswoman for West Virginia's Second Congressional District. She announced on October 3, 2005, that she would not seek the Senate seat.
*Betty Ireland – She is currently West Virginia Secretary of State. She announced on October 27, 2005, that she would not seek the Senate seat.
*Gale Catlett – He was formerly the Head Coach of West Virginia University's Men's Basketball Team. He has the most wins of any coach in WVU basketball history. He announced on November 11, 2005, that he would not seek the Senate seat.
*Rob Capehart – He is currently the Chairman of the West Virginia Republican Party. He announced on December 5, 2005, that he would not seek the Senate seat.
*George Johnson – He is currently working in his family business of coal and land development. His campaign focused on the eminent domain decision as handed down by the United States Supreme Court in the case "Kelo v. City of New London". (See Also: Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution). After the decision by Raese to run for the Senate, Johnson decided not to seek the nomination. Instead, according to the Monongalia County Clerk, he filed to run for the West Virginia House of Delegates in the 44th Delegate District. (Note: His campaign website was www.georgejohnson.com.)

=Mountain=

*Jesse Johnson

2006 Primary Election Results

Election box candidate with party link
party = Democratic Party (United States)
candidate = Robert C. Byrd (Incumbent)
votes = 159,154
percentage = 85.7%
change = Election box candidate with party link
party = Democratic Party (United States)
candidate = Billy Hendricks, Jr.
votes = 26,609
percentage = 14.3%
change =

Election box candidate with party link
party = Republican Party (United States)
candidate = John Raese
votes = 47,408
percentage = 58.3%
change = Election box candidate with party link
party = Republican Party (United States)
candidate = Hiram Lewis
votes = 18,496
percentage = 22.7%
change = Election box candidate with party link
party = Republican Party (United States)
candidate = Rick Snuffer
votes = 4,870
percentage = 6.0%
change = Election box candidate with party link
party = Republican Party (United States)
candidate = Charles G. "Bud" Railey
votes = 4,364
percentage = 5.4%
change = Election box candidate with party link
party = Republican Party (United States)
candidate = Paul J. Brown
votes = 3,464
percentage = 4.3%
change = Election box candidate with party link
party = Republican Party (United States)
candidate = Zane Lawhorn
votes = 2,723
percentage = 3.3%
change =

2006 General Election Results

Election box candidate with party link
party = Democratic Party (United States)
candidate = Robert C. Byrd (I)
votes = 296,276
percentage = 64.4
change = -13.3Election box candidate with party link
party = Republican Party (United States)
candidate = John Raese
votes = 155,043
percentage = 33.7
change = +13.56Election box candidate with party link
party = Mountain Party
candidate = Jesse Johnson
votes = 8,565
percentage = 1.9
change = "n/a"Election box majority
votes = 141,233
percentage = 30.7
change = -26.9Election box turnout
votes = 459,884
percentage = 40.4%
change = -21.5Election box hold with party link
winner = Democratic Party (US)
swing =

Election 2006, West Virginia Edition, Wrap-Up

Byrd defeated Raese and Johnson 64-34-2. Representative Mollohan defeated Delegate Wakim 64-36. Representative Capito defeated former West Virginia Democratic Party Chairman Mike Callaghan 57-43. Representative Rahall defeated Cabell County Sherrif Kim Wolfe 69-31.

Even though there was a two million dollar ad campaign by Massey Energy's CEO Don Blankenship against West Virginia House of Delegates and Senate Democrats, Democrats gained a net four seats in the House and two seats in the Senate. This resulted in a 72-28 Democrat advantage in the House and a 23-11 Democrat advantage in the Senate.

With the Democratic takeover of the Congress, Senator Byrd will become the President "pro tempore" of the Senate (the third person in the presidential line of succession) as well as the Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. Senator Rockefeller will become Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Representative Mollohan will become the fourth ranking Democratic member on the House Appropriations Committee. Representative Rahall will become the Chairman of the House Resources Committee.

Byrd's job approval ratings

All Job Approval Ratings from [http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollTrack.aspx?g=170c2bc6-d53e-4437-a60b-8612f2da90c8 Survey USA]

Opinion Polling

ee also

*United States Senate elections, 2006
*United States House elections, 2006
*United States gubernatorial elections, 2006
*United States presidential election, 2004