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- Small African-American population
Everybody else - Bush
seniors. The middle ranks however were very unfriendly.
Everybody else - Bush
$15,000, it was Bush all the way.
- Heavy Democratic tilt
- Awful Democratic loyalty
- Above average Republican loyalty
- Independents tilt significantly Republican
wrist-slittingly depressing as West Virginia. Fully 50% of the state
is Democratic. Not Massachusetts, nor New York, nor California,
nor Vermont can match that. No bastion of liberalism in the
country, outside Washington D.C., has as big a percentage of the
population that identifies with the Democratic Party. Even the
Republican Party has trouble coming up with those kinds of
numbers in all but a few "dead red" Plains states. As for margin,
West Virginia Democrats have an unbeatable 18-point tilt on the
GOP. How big a margin is that? Its twice the margin the
Democrats have in Delaware, three times the margin of
California, six times that of Minnesota, nine times that of
Pennsylvania, and eighteen times that of Maine. In fact, outside D.
C. only two states - Rhode Island and Massachusetts have a
better Democratic advantage than West Virginia. Eighteen points
is a bigger advantage than the Republican Party enjoys in such
notable states as the Dakotas, Alabama and Indiana. It's twice
the margin they have in Mississippi. More than three times the
margin in Ohio. Six times the margin in Oklahoma. Nine times
the margin in Iowa. Eighteen times the margin in North Carolina.
In fact, as a percentage of population, the Democratic electorate
is fully twice as large here than it is in New Hampshire - a state
the Democrats actually won. West Virginia should be bluer than
a smurf's butthole. Even the Democrats, experts at losing though
they are, should be able to hold this state.
Oh, ye of little faith. Yes, John Kerry lost here. Not only that but on
the theory that if something is not worth doing, it is not worth
doing right, he lost it easily. Why? One reason was the
Democratic defection rate. Three of every ten West Virginia
Democrats voted for George W. Bush. Only one state - Oklahoma
- had a worse loyalty rate for Democrats - or for anyone else for
that matter. Meanwhile 94% of Republicans held to their man.
The independents did their part as well. Fifty-six percent of them
voted for George W.
Wow!
defection problem but not all of it. Perhaps more interesting is
that a quarter of liberals voted for Bush. The moderates - about
half the population - voted lightly for Kerry.
- Significant Catholic population
hostile than Protestants.
- Small suburban population
- Small urban population
ten West Virginians live. Fifty-five percent voted for Bush. The tiny
suburban population supported him even more. Kerry managed
to split the urban areas with Bush - representing about six
percent of the population.