Oct. 12—FAIRMONT — Marion County Democrats are energized for the upcoming election, even as voter registration totals between Democrats and Republicans remain close.
“We don’t see it as great news, but I don’t read as much into it as others do,” Del. Mike Pushkin, chair of the West Virginia Democratic Party, said. “There’s a whole variety of reasons why people change registration. The reality is there are more choices in [the GOP] with them being the party in power. They have more active primaries, so I think a lot of people switched over to play a part in their primaries. I know that I’m feeling more enthusiasm on our side.”
Pushkin said the last time he saw this much enthusiasm within the party was in 2008, during President Barack Obama’s run.
The Marion County Democratic Party held its annual Democracy Dinner Thursday night. Pushkin joined Marion County Democratic candidates such as Joey Garcia, Stephanie Tomana, Rick Garcia, Frankie Delapas, Sherman Sapp and Belinda Biafore. Both Garcias, Tomana and Delapas are running for positions in the state legislature, while Sapp is running for county commission. Biafore seeks confirmation as circuit court clerk. U.S. Senate candidate Glenn Elliott joined statewide candidates Teresa Toriseva and Mary Ann Claytor and Steven Wendelin. Toriseva is running for attorney general, Claytor for state auditor and Wendelin for West Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District. The night was filled with several speeches from candidates.
According to the West Virginia Secretary of State, Marion County Democrats began the year with 14,132 registrants. The party lost some voters in February and March but gained over 400 in April, right before the May primary. However, in May the party dropped 657 registrants and kept losing voters through August, which ended at 13,653 registrants. By contrast, the Republican Party mostly grew, beginning the year at 12,087 voters and ending August with 12,679. Notably, Republicans and Independents lost roughly 500 registrations in April, but gained over 600 registrants back in May. Independents gained roughly 400 voters throughout the year, ending at 8,576 in August.
Democrats maintained a separation of 976 registrations over Republicans in August. They began the year with a gulf closer to 2,000. Earlier this year, Republican registrations overtook Democratic ones in Clay and Summers counties.
Marion County Party Chair Jarryd Powell acknowledged the gaps are closing. Marion County is one of the last few holdouts in an otherwise Republican dominated state.
“I think that we’re going to have a lot of messaging to do to express to our voters our priorities, because the reason we are bleeding numbers so bad is because we have failed to, one, express where we are delivering for West Virginians,” Powell said. “And, secondarily, they just feel disconnected from the political party and the political process in general.”
However, it’s not all doom and gloom. First of all, losing registered Democrats doesn’t mean they’re all going Republican. Independent numbers have risen and Powell suspects with Republicans closing their primary process, it may result in Democratic gains in some areas in the future.
Powell said the Party needs to think beyond the 2024 election, to 2026, 2028 and beyond, echoing some of the points made by Toriseva in her keynote speech. Toriseva honed in on the fact that statewide, 30% of the state is registered Democrat, 40% is registered Republican, and 25% is Independent. She questioned why in a state that is supposedly deep red Republican, the number of registered Republicans isn’t higher. Although there’s a 10 point difference between Republicans and Democrats, Independents could be the great leveling factor.
“You mix in the Independents, one in four, look around this room and imagine a room of randomized voters,” Toriseva said. “A fourth of you would be Independent. No party. So one in four in West Virginia have had it with both parties, tired of the fighting, tired of the vitriol, tired of the nastiness, but they haven’t given up on voting. We also know that a lot of Independents in West Virginia have historically voted Republican, but that’s all changing.”
Toriseva emphasized the Democrats need to capitalize on the tactical mistake Republicans made by closing their primary and think about how they’re going to win over Independent voters not just in this election, but the next one and one after that.
One aspect in which Republicans are dominant is fundraising, where they far outstrip Democrats. Winning elections could reverse donor confidence, but to win elections, the party needs to rebuild trust with its constituents.
“We need to do a better job of talking to one another as West Virginians, as neighbors, about the issues that actually matter to us,” Powell said. “Humanize our elected officials to show that they are not what the opposition might paint them out to be. These are good, hard-working, working class folks that want to advocate for their community because they see where there are shortcomings, like everyone in West Virginia, and they just want an opportunity to try and fix that.”
One new face to Marion County Democratic politics is Frankie Delapas. It’s his first time campaigning. From his family’s pumpkin farm at Poplar Island, Delapas is able to engage voters. Delapas has also knocked on doors with Joey Garcia, who has plenty of campaigning experience to share. While he respects a voter’s right to choose who to represent him, he thinks the ties Marion County has to the party makes it a Democratic stronghold.
“We’re always going to have a strong base in Marion County because we have a lot of people that are part of worker unions and a lot of retired miners, things like that,” he said. “I think we just need to stay up to date on making common sense decisions and making choices that are best for the entire state and specifically, North Central West Virginia.”
Reach Esteban at efernandez@timeswv.com
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