Democrats Story Archives - Page 3 of 3 - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Simpson Tops Fundraising in 5-Way Dem Primary for US House

Republican Congressman Alex Mooney has raised almost $150,000 for his re-election in West Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District.

According to campaign finance reports, the first-term House member raised $147,900 from January through March and has $376,900 cash left.

Cory Simpson yielded the biggest fundraising haul in the five-way Democratic primary.

The Army veteran raised $115,000, loaned his campaign $20,000 and has $106,500 cash left.

Attorney Harvey Peyton raised $57,400 and loaned himself $25,000, with $31,500 cash remaining.

Attorney Mark Hunt raised $12,800 with a $42,500 loan. He has $3,100 left.

Reports weren’t available for Democrats Tom Payne and Robin Wilson.

Mooney’s GOP primary opponent, Marc Savitt, raised $11,900 from January through March and has $2,200 remaining.

The seat stretches hundreds of miles east to west, through Martinsburg and Charleston.

Three Dems to Participate in West Virginia Gubernatorial Forum

Three Democratic candidates for West Virginia governor have agreed to participate in a forum next month.

The state Democratic Party says candidates Jim Justice, Booth Goodwin and Jeff Kessler will take part in the forum on April 16.

A statement released by the party says more details will be released at a later date.

Justice said in a statement Monday that he hopes Goodwin and Kessler “are ready to talk turkey at this debate about who can truly create jobs and bring companies to invest in West Virginia.”

Justice is the billionaire owner of the Greenbrier Resort. Goodwin resigned as U.S. attorney in Charleston in December to run for governor. Kessler is the state Senate minority leader.

The Democratic primary is May 10.

Democratic Lawmakers Look at Tobacco Tax for 2016

Democratic members of the House of Delegates met Tuesday to discuss their priorities for the 2016 legislative session.

House Minority Leader, Tim Miley of Harrison County shared a handful of the issues he says his party will propose during the 2016 session, but also made clear which Republican backed bills Democrats will oppose.

Those included a repeal of the state’s prevailing wage, the passage of a right-to-work law, and forced pooling; a measure that allows the natural gas industry to force the sale of certain minerals.

But Miley says his top priority is to fix the funding issue for PEIA.

PEIA – the Public Employees Insurance Agency – is one of the most prominent insurance providers in the state, and it’s received some major cuts in the past year.

Delegate Mick Bates from Raleigh County wants to make up for the funding cuts by raising the tobacco tax.

“What we’re proposing is an increase in the region for a dollar per pack,” Bates explained, “also expanding that to include all tobacco products including e-cigarettes, so that would be the initial increase. Also moving forward, we would propose adding additional ten cents per year over the course of five years.”

Bates says the initial 120 million dollars would go to PEIA in the first year, preventing many benefit cuts, with an additional $60 million in funding each year after. Bates says it would be a quote, “fix and fund now as well as a fix and fund for the future” solution.

House Minority Leader, Tim Miley says being in the minority could make it difficult to get some of their legislation passed, but he hopes by bringing ideas to the table, their voices will be heard.

“This has to be an educational campaign when it comes to the health of our citizens in this state; that’s really what has to be considered, but when the public is educated on what we think would be a benefit for the overall health to our state, they will in turn communicate that same understanding and appreciation to their legislators and we hope we can have change occur down here,” Miley said.

The 2016 legislative session begins Wednesday, January 13.

November 4, 1952: Democrat William Marland Elected Governor

On November 4, 1952, Democrat William Marland defeated Rush Holt to become West Virginia’s governor. For Holt, it was the virtual end of a once-promising political career.

The Weston native had burst onto the scene as a Democratic legislator in the early 1930s. In 1934, at age 29, he defeated incumbent Senator Henry Hatfield to become the youngest person ever elected to the U.S. Senate. Since senators must be 30 to serve, Holt had to wait nearly six months to take his seat.

Senator Holt soon ruffled feathers on both sides of the aisle. During the campaign, he’d been backed heavily by labor. Once in office, though, he voted against several prolabor bills and took on big industry, leading a congressional investigation into the Hawks Nest Tunnel Disaster in Fayette County.

Without labor or industry support, Holt lost the Democratic renomination in 1940. He returned to the state legislature for six years during the ’40s. In 1952, he ran as a Republican for governor against Attorney General Marland but was defeated. In 1954, Holt was again elected to the legislature but died a year later at age 49.

Fayette County Democrats Want Party Chairman to Step Down

Fayette County Democrats want state Democratic Party Chairman Larry Puccio to resign.

After a rough election for Democrats in West Virginia and nationwide, the Fayette County Democratic Executive Committee has passed a resolution seeking Puccio’s resignation.

It says the county party believes Puccio provided no leadership or strategy to avoid historic losses.

Democrats lost retiring Sen. Jay Rockefeller’s seat to GOP Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito. A three-seat sweep will give Republicans every U.S. House seat in the state for the first time since 1921.

Sen. Joe Manchin will be West Virginia’s lone congressional Democrat.

Republicans will control the Legislature for the first time in more than eight decades.

Puccio says it’s standard for elected officials not to have some people’s support. He says he’ll continue working hard for West Virginia.