This Tuesday, West Virginia
Tuesday May 13, 2008
On the eve of the West Virginia (5 electoral votes) primary, Sen. Clinton said "that Democrats don't get elected president unless west Virginia votes for you. And everybody knows West Virginia has picked presidents pretty accurately over the last years."
Well, she's partially right. From 1972-2004, West Virginians voted for Jimmy Carter (first go round) and Bill Clinton (both times). But they also voted for Carter when he lost to Reagan and Dukakis when he lost to Bush the elder. The past two elections, West Virginians have voted for the Republicans.
Sen. Obama is expected to lose West Virginia, which is not representative of the rest of the nation. It is overwhelmingly white (94.9% v 80.1%); less educated (high school graduates, age 25+: 75.2% v 80.4%); and poorer (percent below poverty, 16.2% v 12.7%).