posted October 26, 2018 09:03 PM            

West Virginia was once a Democratic stronghold, but its political landscape has shifted solidly Republican in recent elections: in 2016, Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton there by 42%. But now, a Democratic congressional candidate who himself voted for Trump is resonating with the state’s residents. Yamiche Alcindor reports on Richard Ojeda and a surprisingly close contest.
Read the Full Transcript
Judy Woodruff:

Now a look at a surprisingly competitive congressional race unfolding in West Virginia, where a Democrat is making noise in a district President Trump dominated.

Yamiche Alcindor has this report.
Yamiche Alcindor:

A Democrat in Trump country, and some considering a leap of faith.

At Bridge Day in Fayetteville, West Virginia, tens of thousands of people came out to watch base jumpers, and talk about a surprisingly competitive race.

Democratic State Senator Richard Ojeda and state delegate Carol Miller, a Republican, are fighting to win a seat in Congress once thought to be solidly red. In 2016, Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton in this district by 42 percent.
Richard Ojeda:

We're going nothing but the filthy rich and the dirt poor.
Yamiche Alcindor:

But Ojeda, a 24-year Army veteran, has managed to make this race a nail-biter.
Man:

I'm a UMWA man. We need you.
Yamiche Alcindor:

Miller, a businesswoman who owns several car dealerships and a bison farm, declined to be Interviewed.

But in ads like this, she stressed her connection with the president.
President Donald Trump:

A woman that works very hard for you, Carol Miller.
Yamiche Alcindor:

At Bridge Day, that endorsement seemed to carry significant weight.
Richard McVey:

It would be Carol Miller, and that's a vote for Mr. Donald Trump. That's my entire reason for voting for her.
Yamiche Alcindor:

Others were unhappy with the direction of the Democratic Party.
Rick Kirk:

They left me. They left me, my morals. I think they're getting very weak on the Second Amendment. I'm pro-life 100 percent.
Yamiche Alcindor:

That, in part, has led to the shifting political landscape in West Virginia.

West Virginia was once a Democratic stronghold. But Republicans have made major inroads here. Now Democrats are wondering if Ojeda can be a model for taking back control in this state and others across the country.
Richard Ojeda:

We have got to get back to what the Democratic Party really was about.

We create opportunities for those who live in poverty.
Yamiche Alcindor:

At rallies and in Facebook videos, Ojeda rails against corporate money and lobbyists.
Richard Ojeda:

They're bootlickers, ladies and gentlemen.
Yamiche Alcindor:

He's won the backing of the state's largest coal and teachers unions. He also supports a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants and legalizing recreational marijuana.

Yet, Ojeda voted for President Trump.
Richard Ojeda:

Am I happy with him now? I'm not. But the thing about it is, I'm willing to stand in a corner and let people throw stones at me for supporting Donald Trump. But I will tell you what. Where I come from, the coal mines are operational.
Yamiche Alcindor:

Is there anything about him personally that's changed that made you not want to support him?
Richard Ojeda:

When you're the president of the United States, you're the president over every single citizen in the country, OK? Not just the Republicans. Put your cell phone away. Be the president.
Yamiche Alcindor:

Like the president, he's pro-coal.

How do you square your interest in environmental issues and the environment with your support with — for coal?
Richard Ojeda:

I want to make sure that our water and air are taken care of. I want to stop those things that cause those issues. But I still think there is a way to be able to mine our coal.

And if you want to come down here and you want to pull the plug on coal, bring me something down here, so that my coal miners can transition. And I don't mean minimum wage jobs.
Yamiche Alcindor:

And he spared little criticism for many of his fellow Democrats, who he says have forgotten about West Virginia.
Richard Ojeda:

Let's go ahead and start about why Democrats lost power. You want to know why? Because they sucked. They sucked. They got to the point where they were in office for so long. And you know what? People finally got tired of it, and they got kicked to the curb.
Mike Plante:

He talks like them, he dresses like them, and expresses the anger that they feel.
Yamiche Alcindor:

Mike Plante is a longtime Democratic strategist based in Charleston.
Mike Plante:

For a Democrat to reach across and get enough Republicans to be successful, or vice versa, you have to be seen as somebody who's not part of the political establishment that people have lost confidence in.
Yamiche Alcindor:

Brandon Blankenship understands that appeal. He grew up in a staunchly conservative family and has been a Republican all his life.

But after running into Ojeda at a restaurant and talking to him for an hour, Blankenship decided to vote for him.
Brandon Blankenship:

Even if I don't agree with everything that he says, it means more to me that you do. I need you to believe in what you're saying, not just say it because you think it's what people want to hear. He believes what he's saying.
Yamiche Alcindor:

Blankenship, no relation to Don Blankenship, the coal mine owner turned political candidate, works as an EMT, but says he and his wife don't have health insurance. He's hoping Ojeda's support for a public insurance option will lower health care prices.
Brandon Blankenship:

I get to see these patients' hospital bills and their ambulance bills. For eight hours in a hospital, it would wreck my family for the next nine months.
Yamiche Alcindor:

Other Republicans have painted Ojeda as a socialist and say his policies will cost taxpayers too much. And the president himself has criticized his demeanor.
President Donald Trump:

You can't have that person in Congress. That person is stone-cold crazy.
Yamiche Alcindor:

Despite their differences, some think Ojeda echoes President Trump's brand of politics.

Carol Pittman supports Ojeda and President Trump.
Carol Pittman:

They are not going to sit around and just talk really mild and calm and say, oh, everything is going to be OK, I'm going to do this, I'm going to do that. No. Give me some excitement. Show me you're going to do it.
Yamiche Alcindor:

Republican David Roby disagrees.
David Roby:

There's no comparison between the two. Do I like everything Trump does? No. But, you know, that's just who he is. You take the good with the bad. What he's done positive for the country outweighs anything negative he's said or done.
Yamiche Alcindor:

The father of five works for the Department of Veterans Affairs. In his spare time, he and his wife raise chickens and grow vegetables. Inside their family's greenhouse, Roby explained his support for Carol Miller.
David Roby:

Carol Miller is the epitome of a job creator. Her and her husband own several car dealerships. She has a bison farm. She employs people through there. She knows how to create jobs.
Yamiche Alcindor:

Like Ojeda, Roby is a veteran. But they disagree on politics.
David Roby:

He's making basically the usual politician promises. I'm going to this, I'm going to do that, I'm going to do this. How? Severance tax? I mean, how are you going to pay for all these grand ideas?
Yamiche Alcindor:

Polls show only single digits separating Ojeda and Miller. Democratic strategist Mike Plante says this race should send a message ahead of 2020.
Mike Plante:

I think Democrats forgot how to tell a compelling narrative along with the data. You look at Trump's message, you know, make America great again, very simple, very compelling.

I say fight like hell and let your constituents know that's what you're doing.
Richard Ojeda:

That's what I believe in. That's why I will die a Democrat.
Yamiche Alcindor:

In less than two weeks, West Virginians will have an answer as to whether that strategy succeeds.

posted October 26, 2018 09:47 PM            

you already made it clear you weren't.

posted October 27, 2018 04:54 AM            

FOR WHOM ?

posted October 27, 2018 11:59 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by jwhop:
The only way forward is Socialism?

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posted October 28, 2018 06:26 AM            

quote:

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Originally posted by teasel:
Except that Sanders wouldn't have been elected on his own merits, either - otherwise he would have won the primary (if all of those non-voters wanted him in the election - they would have voted for him in the primary). He would have had to count on the people who voted Hillary, to add to his ardent followers (I was a fan, but I'm now sick of the bernie-only people). They put their votes towards him, instead of Clinton, but wouldn't have been happy with Clinton supporters doing that to Bern, had he been the candidate. Either way, it feels like they're trying to force the rest of us to vote for him, and I'm not okay with that.

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Absolutely, which highlight the importance of detachment in politics, something Trump supporters do not understand. And put them appart.
The style of doing politics that ostracize the opponent, like Trump is fmous for doing, is not helpful.
Politics is a perpetual compromise made by willing parties sharing together the burden to try to reach a middle ground. Or it is anihilation of the other side.

And not choosing is choosing

posted October 28, 2018 01:19 PM            

Like 10% Tax for Family Income between $120,000 and $200,000 . Including 100% Tax Deduction for any amount given for college tuiton fees.
Below $120,000, ZERO Taxes.
And 35% tax for family incomes/corporate profits above $500,000.00

And bring back Estate Taxes and 20% Capital Gains Taxes.

Deficit will stay balanced and Middle Class Businesses will boom. The Rich scr*ewed America under by using Trump, they used Tax Cuts to buy back stocks than for Capacity Expansion. They need to be taught a lesson.

posted October 28, 2018 05:55 PM            

The centrists, center left, and center right are being hung out to dry.

posted October 29, 2018 12:56 AM            

quote:

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Originally posted by BlueRoamer:
I do NOT want socialism, it's a nightmare. But I'll take it over fascism.

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No. Just, no.

You really want almost all of your take-home pay to be demolished for higher taxes?

posted October 29, 2018 08:58 AM            

quote:

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Originally posted by StubbornVirgo:
No. Just, no.

You really want almost all of your take-home pay to be demolished for higher taxes?

There are moderate Democrats out there, people. Do your research and vote for them.

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posted October 30, 2018 12:28 AM            

Setback happen here and there, but let's not tv and medias decide of our focus.

posted October 30, 2018 10:26 AM            

quote:

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Originally posted by pire:
Liberals have to be careful of being lured to fight harder. Angertainment is a tool used by fearful minds

Setback happen here and there, but let's not tv and medias decide of our focus.

The span of a human life is an eternity in media's world. Tv/internet pace is not the same as social changes.

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posted November 01, 2018 05:54 PM            

Do you have figures to explain this fear StubbornV? What does "nearly all your paycheck" mean?