Attending the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Assembly and Enterprise Summit is all the time an fascinating place to be main as much as a significant election.
The occasion all the time brings out candidates and present workplace holders for statewide and legislative seats, both attempting to drum up extra money for his or her campaigns, potential endorsements, or simply being seen and networking. The summit places lawmakers and officers face-to-face with trade leaders
From all accounts, this 12 months’s Chamber summit was the largest crowd but, or not less than the largest crowd post-COVID. There appeared to be loads of optimism about how the state is doing and the present financial setting. No less than two financial growth bulletins have been made final week, together with the re-start of the Pleasants Energy Plant.
Aside from making the bulletins firstly of every day final Wednesday and Thursday, Justice actually wasn’t seen a lot at his resort. To his credit score, not less than a type of days he had gone into flood-damaged areas in Kanawha County.
Then once more, U.S. Rep. Alex Mooney, R-W.Va. wasn’t there in any respect. In fact, he and the Chamber haven’t been good buddies. The Chamber endorsed former U.S. Rep. David McKinley over Mooney within the 2022 Republican major for the brand new 2nd District. Nonetheless, looks like somebody behind in all of the polls ought to carry his nostril and are available to the summit.
For instance, the Chamber and state Sen. Mike Stuart, R-Kanawha, don’t have the very best of relationships. However Stuart is operating for Lawyer Normal and got here to the summit. As a result of once more, it’s place to get in entrance of individuals and clarify why they’re the very best candidate for this or that.
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The Chamber Summit performed host to the primary occasion that includes the highest 4 Republican candidates for governor of West Virginia. Positive, they’ve probably been in the identical rooms and dinners collectively a number of occasions, however this was the primary time they have been featured suddenly.
The occasion was a discussion board, not a debate. I do assume the format wasn’t very best, contemplating it was 40-minutes lengthy and solely featured the candidates answering 4 questions. I believe forcing the discussion board to a restricted timeframe because of the determination by WSAZ to air it reside actually unfairly confined the candidates. It’s laborious to reply a sophisticated public coverage query – like reversing the state’s inhabitants loss – in 90 seconds or so.
I’m reluctant to fee the candidates based mostly on winners and losers. I’ll say that I assumed Home Judiciary Committee Chairman Moore Capito and Huntington businessman Chris Miller did effectively. I assumed Morrisey carried out as anticipated, giving that I’ve lined him on and off for greater than a decade and know what to anticipate. And Warner appeared to stumble rhetorically.
I’d additionally urge any candidate to tailor their messaging for the audiences they’re in entrance of. This wasn’t a Republican Occasion Lincoln Day dinner. This was the state’s enterprise neighborhood, and whereas it will get stereotyped as Republican-leaning, lots of the attendees have various levels of political views. I dare say a few of the corporations in attendance have DEI (range, fairness, and inclusion) statements.
Level being: the attendees may not be Democratic Socialists, however they don’t seem to be knee-jerk anti-woke both. Many of those companies don’t care in regards to the newest political ideological craze; they only need to make cash, give again to their communities, and rent the best-qualified folks.
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A part of the annual West Virginia Ballot was launched Friday, displaying Capito within the lead for the 2024 Republican major for governor with 32% of respondents expressing help, adopted by Morrisey (23%), Miller (9%), Warner (7%), and 29% of Republican respondents uncertain who to help.
As a frequent ballot reader, I used to be just a little dissatisfied. Rex Repass of Analysis America conducts this ballot yearly and it often combines a phone ballot with a web based ballot part. This 12 months, it was solely on-line. And whereas the ballot consists of responses from folks in all 55 counties, it’s unclear what these numbers are.
Very like the Orion Methods ballot launched a number of months in the past, I’m not saying the West Virginia Ballot is dangerous. No less than one of many candidates (Morrisey) has already known as the ballot “pretend.” It’s not a pretend ballot in any respect, however I do assume it doesn’t drill down so far as it might.
It has turn out to be clearer to me that West Virginia is only a laborious state to ballot. And good polling may be very costly. Why do you assume you don’t see many information shops within the state do polls? The West Virginia Ballot is sponsored by WV MetroNews, the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce, and this 12 months they added The Well being Plan as a sponsor.
In West Virginia, areas matter, particularly the Jap Panhandle. And you may’t ballot Berkeley County evenly with Mingo County. The voters are completely different, their motivations are completely different, and what drives turnout is completely different.
Nevertheless, I do assume the West Virginia Ballot is true that the governor’s race is a two-man race proper now. There may be loads of time for that to alter although. The ballot continues to indicate Gov. Jim Justice in a large lead over U.S. Rep. Alex Mooney for the 2024 U.S. Senate Republican major in line with different polls over the past a number of months.
Notably, the ballot reveals U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin’s job approval numbers up, although it additionally reveals a plurality of respondents assume Manchin ought to retire and never search re-election to the U.S. Senate or a third-party presidential run. It additionally reveals former Republican president Donald Trump at 49% help, although nonetheless performing higher than present Democratic President Joe Biden.
