Bill Maloney Projected to Win Gubernatorial Nomination

Bill Maloney, Morgantown businessman, has been projected the winner of the Republican nomination with 86% of the votes in.

Polling for this race was sparse and dreadfully inaccurate. Second place winner Betty Ireland was projected a few days before the election to be in a tie with Maloney, but as of this point, is down by almost 15% points. Maloney's biggest obstacle was name recognition. He was relatively anonymous insofar as political recognitioon was concerned, but overcame the fact that Ireland had been the only victorious statewide Republican candidate since Governor Underwood in 1996. Back then, Ireland defeated the much more well known Ken Hechler who had held the position before. She did so with a powerful and personal campaign that introduced her to West Virginians as a powerful and decisive figure. As Secretary of State, Ireland succeeded in implementing measures to combat voter fraud and update voting technology.

The race at first seemed to be a referendum on Ireland herself with people deciding whether or not they liked the pugnacious politician. Late in the race, the personalities of Maloney and State Senator Clark Barnes emerged and they picked up support on their own as more than being "not Betty." Others could have gained support, but lacked funds. Mitch Carmichael and Clark Barnes have positioned themselves for future runs at higher office. The name recognition that came from this race was a no-lose proposition for them.

Maloney made an amazing run at the nomination, closing the gap over the past two weeks in polling. Of course a huge discrepancy exists between the final polls and the final numbers. This makes you wonder how accurate they have been all along.

The Maloney campaign must now switch gears and try to appeal to the broad spectrum of West Virginia voters. Many of them see Earl Ray Tomblin as experienced and, most of all, safe. Maloney must convince voters that this most established of establishment candidates represents business as usual. He must convince the state that business as usual cannot work anymore for this state. Eight decades of Democratic domination have led us to see mediocrity as safe instead of unacceptable. Maloney needs to overturn that belief system.

We were disappointed to see so little direct contact with candidates with much of the Eastern Panhandle. This is a large concentration of Republican voters and needed attention. Maloney should try to shore up his base and energize the Republican vote in the Panhandle. He can also make appeals to Democrats and Independents who might be wary of a Southern West Virginia politico running the state.

We were lucky, speaking as a Republican. We had a good slate of experienced candidates, many of whom would have done well as governor. I know that we commented little on this race, but as members of the county executive committee in Mineral, we had to remain publicly neutral. We all must get behind Maloney because he is the only canidate who can rescue West Virginia from mediocrity.

Hiatus

The Potomac Highlands Conservative will be on hiatus this week. We will return with a commentary on the election next week.

Geronimo

The following has been lifted from Wikipedia........

Geronimo (June 16, 1829 – February 17, 1909) was a prominent Native American leader of the Chiricahua Apache who fought against Mexico and the United States for their expansion into Apache tribal lands for several decades during the Apache Wars. Geronimo was the name given to him by the Mexicans but his real name was Goyaałé from the Chiricahua language meaning "one who yawns"; often spelled Goyathlay or Goyahkla[2][3] in English.
After an attack by a company of Mexican soldiers killed many members of his family in 1858, Geronimo joined revenge attacks on the Mexicans and later against the United States. He became known for bravery and daring feats and was revered by the Apaches as a warrior with spiritual powers. In 1886 Geronimo was eventually tracked down by U.S. authorities and surrendered. As a prisoner of war in old age he became a celebrity but was never allowed to return to the land of his birth. He later regretted his surrender and claimed the conditions he made had been ignored. Geronimo died in 1909 after being thrown from his horse.

I am going to say here that I actually agree with the Indians on this one. Geronimo is one of their most respected heroes.

Consider if the code name referred to another successful and elusive warrior who took arms against the United States, say Stonewall Jackson?

Someone, somewhere really should think before they do these things. I don't think that this controversey is excessive PC as much as respect and courtesy.