Rumors fly that Jay Rockefeller could drop out of US Senate Race

In an unusual move two Democratic Candidates filed to run against Rockefeller in the primary election.

Office/District	Party	Candidate	Filing Date	Res. County	Mailing Address
U.S. Senate -- U	D	Sheirl L. Fletcher	1/26/2008	Monongalia	P.O. Box 384 Dellslow, WV 26531
U.S. Senate -- U	D	Billy Hendricks Jr.	1/23/2008	Boone	Box 46 Whitesville, WV 25209
U.S. Senate -- U	D	Jay Rockefeller	1/18/2008	Kanawha	P. O. Box 1909 Charleston, WV 25327
U.S. Senate -- U	R	Philip E. Cline	1/26/2008	Cabell	PO Box 119 Huntington, WV 25706-0119
U.S. Senate -- U	R	Jay Wolfe	1/26/2008	Harrison	Rt. 4 Box 840 Salem, WV 26426

Sheirl Fletcher who originally filed pre-candidacy paper to run for the WV 14th out of Preston County was informed she could not run from Preston since Preston has a sitting senator from the 14th. She then proceeded to change her voter registration to Monongalia County clearing the way for her to run for the 14th district but suddenly filed for the US Senate against Rockefeller a position that did not require a change of address.

Billy Hendricks is virtually unknown out side of southern West Virginia. Neither candidate would have a real shot against Jay Rockefeller and his millions of personal dollars for his campaign. Historically Rockefeller has had uncontested primaries, and easily retained his senate seat against Republican Challengers.

2002 West Virginia United States Senatorial Election

Jay Rockefeller (D) (inc.) 63%

Jay Wolfe (R) 37%

1996 West Virginia United States Senatorial Election

Jay Rockefeller (D) (inc.) 77%

Betty Burkes (R) 23%

1990 West Virginia United States Senatorial Election

Jay Rockefeller (D) (inc.) 68.5%

John C. Yoder (R) 31.5%

1984 West Virginia United States Senatorial Elections

Jay Rockefeller (D) 51.8%

John Raese (R) 47.7%

Democratic Candidates will have a tough time picking up open seats in West Virginia, which is a conservative leaning state. An open US Senate seat would attract much national Republican money for a strong candidate.

Speculation is that Rockefeller who has reported back problems and a wife that is battling cancer was wanting to retire for the Senate. By filling to run for US Senate, but giving the internal party word he would drop out later opened the door for other Democrats in the state to file, while still keeping the door closed to Republicans.

The speculation and rumors explain the unusual filling of multiple Democratic primary opponents against Rockefeller. So the rumors are flying around the state that Jay Rockefeller is going to drop out of the US Senate race. Only time will tell if the rumors and speculations are correct.