Hope For Change In W. Virginia Special Election?

They're getting ready to put the old Klansman in the ground and once they do, looks like there will be a fight over how to replace him in the Senate.

The W. Virginia Secretary of State says the Governor can appoint someone to hold the seat until a Special Election is held in 2012. For his own reasons, namely he wants the seat, he's on board with that plan.

Not everyone is going along with the idea. The state Attorney General says he may have a different take on the law than the Secretary of State, the legislature may change the law in an upcoming special session and failing all of that, lawsuits are being prepared.

The state attorney general’s office announced Wednesday that it was looking into it, too, because, Chief Deputy Attorney General Fran Hughes said, “people don’t want for such an important position a caretaker replacement.”

Gubernatorial politics are factoring into the calculus. Manchin, the popular two-term governor whom Democrats say has been eyeing the Senate for years, told reporters Monday that he would not appoint himself to the seat. But if the election were held in 2010, and Manchin were to run and win, the ripple effect from his early departure would have a significant impact on the 2012 governor’s race.

“Right now, there are many people in West Virginia talking about many different options,” said Larry Puccio, the West Virginia Democratic Party chairman and a Manchin ally. “One of the options is that many individuals believe that we should have a special election, and they would ask the governor and the Legislature to put that on the special session. One of the options is asking the courts to interpret the law.”

West Virginia is still a pretty Democratic state but if a Republican can replace Ted Kennedy, one can certainly replace Exalted Cyclops Byrd.

Speaking of Bobby Byrds KKK past, via Allah, it turns out that it's no big deal. You see, he was running for office. So says....America's first black President, Bill Clinton.

posted by DrewM. at 03:25 PM

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