WV Democrats say buzz around Harris-Walz ticket could help them win in heavily red state

The Nicholas County Democratic Executive Committee’s recent festival booth featured a cardboard cutout of Vice President Kamala Harris. (Photo courtesy Pam Cline)

Some West Virginia Democrats say the re-energized national party and buzz around the presidential campaign could help them down the ballot as they look to win tough races in the red state.

On Tuesday, Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, named Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate. Walz, 60, is also a two-term congressman who has championed paid family and medical leave, free school lunches and the legalization of recreational marijuana. He formerly worked as a social studies teacher.

Since President Joe Biden stepped down last month as the presumptive Democratic candidate for president, there has been a vibe shift in the national Democrat campaign as Harris has taken his place at the top of the ticket.

Pam Cline said the high energy has trickled down to Nicholas County, where she serves as chair of the county’s Democratic Executive Committee. She is working to register and motivate constituents in a red county where voters will decide seats in the state House of Delegates, the county commission and more come November.

“ It helps tremendously down ballot,” said Cline, 63. “It’s going to bring out voters.”

Maria Russo is a 29-year-old Democrat running for the House in the Eastern Pandhandle’s 100th District, where she is facing Republican incumbent Del. Bill Ridenour, R-Jefferson, in November’s general election.

In a state with the nation’s lowest rate of women serving in the statehouse, Russo hopes the Harris-Walz ticket helps boost her campaign.

“I have definitely seen a shift in the last few weeks since Kamala Harris stepped into her run for presidency,” said Russo, who lives in Shepherdstown and works as the clean water campaign coordinator for the West Virginia Rivers Coalition. “Especially as a woman candidate, this has really been a time where there is a lot of excitement about the changes that are in front of us now.”

Democrats running for local and statewide seats still face uphill battles in West Virginia. In the 2020 election, former President Donald Trump won nearly 70 percent of the state’s presidential votes.

As of July 31, the number of Republicans registered to vote in West Virginia outnumbered Democrats by more than 130,000, according to the Secretary of State’s Office .

In the gubernatorial race, Democrat Steve Williams, the mayor of Huntington, has been vastly outspent by Republican candidate Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, according to the latest campaign finance reports.

Former Wheeling Mayor Glenn Elliott is the Democratic candidate running against Republican Gov. Jim Justice for the congressional seat currently held by Sen. Joe Manchin, I-W.Va. On Tuesday, Elliott said he and his campaign have so far talked with nearly 2,000 people in 37 West Virginia counties as part of his quest to campaign in all 55 counties by Labor Day.

He noted that support for Trump is “fairly baked in” across West Virginia.

“I haven’t heard a single voter bring up Vice President Harris to me since she’s been announced as the nominee,” Elliott said.

But, he said, Harris could have a positive effect for Democrats on down-ballot races like his.

“Gov. Justice is, to me, a much more vulnerable candidate than [Trump] is for West Virginia voters,” Elliott said. “I think he has some broad appeal and people like his folksiness, they like his dog, but when you actually talk to them about the actual issues, when you talk about his record, when you look at his failed business dealings, I think there’s a lot of opportunity there in my race to make the case that he is not the best suited to represent West Virginia on the national stage.”

The Greenbrier Hotel, one of the largest assets owned by the Justice family’s business empire, is set to go to auction later this month after the companies defaulted on a loan. The governor last week called the foreclosure “another political stunt by the Democrat machine.” An attorney representing Justice vowed that the resort will not be sold, and that the company will ensure no adverse impact on their ownership of it or the Greenbrier’s operations.

The foreclosure was the latest in a series of financial struggles for the governor’s family businesses. It comes after the federal Department of Justice filed suit against Justice and his coal mining businesses for failure to pay $5 million in health and safety fines and the state tax department filed liens against The Greenbrier for unpaid sales taxes totaling $3.5 million, among many other things.

“Clearly, [Justice] needs to spend some more time running his own business before everything’s foreclosed upon,” Elliott said.

Abortion access a key issue in 2024 election

Access to abortion is one of the key issues in this year’s presidential race since the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, which allowed abortion restrictions and bans to take effect around the country.

Harris supports abortion rights and links the issue to rising maternal mortality.

In West Virginia, a state with a near-total abortion ban, Cline said the issue has led some Republican women in her part of the state to put their support behind Harris.

Last week, at a local festival, a Nicholas County Democrats’ booth featured a cardboard cutout of Harris. Cline said women, including Republicans, “bombarded” the tent to take a photo with the cutout and pledge support to Democratic candidates.

“There are a lot of women who understand it’s about women’s health care,” Cline said. “We’re going to try to really engage women.”

Russo emphasized, “We need to be represented in all of the rooms where decisions are being made about us.”

Earlier this year, Williams led a petition asking Justice to put abortion access on the agenda for a special legislative session. He said that the governor and lawmakers “should listen to Trump and let the people decide by putting this question on November’s ballot.”

The West Virginia Democratic Party supported Walz as Harris’ pick for vice president, applauding his dedication to education, health care and economic growth.

“Tim Walz’s proven ability to bring people together and tackle pressing issues with practical solutions aligns perfectly with the values we hold dear in West Virginia. I am confident that his partnership on the ticket will bring a renewed sense of hope and progress to our nation,” said Party Chairman Del. Mike Pushkin, D-Kanawha, in a statement.

Manchin, now registered as an Independent after decades of serving as a Democrat, has publicly thrown his support behind Walz, as well.

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