One of the closest races in the country is the special election taking place in West Virginia to fill the seat of Senate doyen Robert Byrd – the longest-serving member of Congress when he died this summer.
Although Senator Byrd was a Democrat and the state registration numbers show that most voters still consider themselves Democratic, West Virginia has shifted to the right in recent years.
Joe Manchin, the Democratic candidate and current governor, is favored – slightly – in the polls, partly because he has based his campaign largely on running against President Obama, even going so far in one ad as to take literal “aim” – with a rifle – at Senate Democrats’ cap-and-trade legislation.
Both he and Republican opponent John Raese are to the right of some moderate Republicans in other races (like Illinois’s Mark Kirk).
Governor Manchin is also highly popular in the state, but seems to be suffering from voters’ determination to send an anti-Obama message to Washington.
He’s enjoying a slight lead in the polls right now – and Mr. Raese has made some missteps, including an ad for which the casting agency asked for “hicky” looking actors to play West Virginia voters – but it’s still very close.
