West Virginia Primary Results: Hillary Clinton Defeats Barack Obama

Obama Has Issues Attracting Poor, White Voters

Despite the impressive victory manufactured by Hillary Clinton and her campaign, the outcome raises more questions about the general election dynamics more so than it does in regard to who is going to win the Democratic nomination. I am referring to the statistical struggles that Senator Obama has had among white, working class voters whether they be male or female.

Now let's have a little objective analysis here and admit the truth that a Democrat has not carried West Virginia since the 1992 and 1996 campaigns of Bill Clinton, as noted by Dave Leip's Election Atlas.

Even before that, the illustrious campaign of Governor Michael Dukakis in 1988, I assume that was either a lot of Lloyd Bentsen's part as well in sweeping victory of the Mountaineer State. Or the Democrats could have run nearly anyone that year and won. You can draw your own conclusions, but the fact of the matter is that the Democratic pedigree of West Virginia could hold its own against any other state in the union. It was rare for a socially conservative state such as West Virginia to hold on for as long as it did for the Dems in many cases.

With the endorsement of the state's junior senator John Rockefeller along with the endorsement of current Congressman Nick Rahall, as noted by the WSAZ Charleston News, those two gentlemen will appear to have a little political egg on their face at least for tonight. The question of elitism and a certain uncomfortable nature that many voters have with the statements in regards to guns and faith will make their way back to the surface once again. West Virginia is a state that strongly supports the 2nd Amendment and is also a state which had to turn to their faith to get through a crisis like the Sago mine disaster as noted by the Charleston Gazette so that may be where some of the hostility comes from towards Senator Obama.