2014 Election Megathread

[jimmy olsen]

Dems raised $731,321,968 and spent $648,783,350

GOP raised $574,492,069 and spent $543,507,001

https://www.opensecrets.org/parties/

Looks like the GOP staff deserves a raise, while the Dems need some heads to roll.

[Valmy]

Such a waste of money.

[Tonitrus]

Such a waste of money.

Local TV/Radio stations and Youtube would disagree. 

[jimmy olsen]

Such a waste of money.

That doesn't even count the money raised by individual candidates.

[derspiess]

Hey, derspiess, did you hear that in WV, the Republicans captured both houses in the state legislature.  That's almost unbelievable. 

Yeah, I never ever thought that would happen, in addition to the three congresspeople and one GOP senator.

When I was in high school, IIRC the Democrats had a 33-1 edge in the state Senate and a 91-9 edge in the House.

Yeah, and now the people have finally come to their senses and have overthrown the old order. 

Long Live the 2014 Revolution.

[CountDeMoney]

Long Live the 2014 Revolution.

It's the coal, stupid.   

[Valmy]

Long Live the 2014 Revolution.

I don't know.  When that happened in Texas it was literally the same guys, they just changed their party label.  Is that what happened here?

[CountDeMoney]

Long Live the 2014 Revolution.

I don't know.  When that happened in Texas it was literally the same guys, they just changed their party label.  Is that what happened here?

Pretty much.  West Virginia was always the last of the Dixiecrat holdouts, and the Byrd political machine has run its course, dead and buried.  After 6 years of Obama = coal hate and the shrinking political power of the coal union, their opponents have naturally gravitated to the GOP.

[jimmy olsen]

Do we have an Languishites in Tennessee? Looks like becoming a high ranking democratic nominee is laughably easy there, and almost anyone here would be an improvement compared to who's actually run.

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2014/08/charlie_brown_democratic_candidate_for_tennessee_governor_the_72_year_old.html

Dude lost

70.33% to 22.83% 

[derspiess]

Long Live the 2014 Revolution.

I don't know.  When that happened in Texas it was literally the same guys, they just changed their party label.  Is that what happened here?

That happened in only one case I know of-- the guy who unseated the Ayrab dude who had held my old district's House seat since the 70s was an ex-Dem.  As far as I know, the others are gen-yoo-wine Republicans.  Senator-elect Capito definitely is (her dad was a GOP governor).  The McKinley dude has have a GOP pedigree with a name like that.

But as before I'll defer to Seedy and his vast knowledge of WV politics

[CountDeMoney]

But as before I'll defer to Seedy and his vast knowledge of WV politics

It's West Virginia.  Not exactly a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma, dude.

[derspiess]

But as before I'll defer to Seedy and his vast knowledge of WV politics

It's West Virginia.  Not exactly a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma, dude.

Yeah.  Which is why it's laughable that you can't even get it right.

[CountDeMoney]

Yeah.  Which is why it's laughable that you can't even get it right.

Oh, nonsense.  Coal has swung the majority of the conservatives from the Democrats to the GOP over the course of the last several years, which made the specific targeting of certain long-standing incumbents as an election strategy a hell of a lot easier, The End. 

[derspiess]

I listed one Democrat-turned-GOP politician who won in WV.  Do you know of any others?

[Ed Anger]

FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT