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Jan 31, 2008

The State Journal - Without question, Barth vs. Capito is the race of the year in West Virginia

From the Understatement of the Week Department comes this: West Virginia politics can be unpredictable.

The State Journal published a story last week that shined a light on a rather weak lineup of Republican candidates. We illustrated the GOP's situation by showing an elephant on a milk carton. Have you seen any Republicans lately?

At least a couple of Republicans were not amused.

The reason for our coverage was simple: We believe a two-party system works better if two strong parties compete for voters' support.

While the candidates' filing deadline passed at midnight Jan. 26 with a few interesting surprises, the greatest surprise came from the Democrats.

John Unger, the senator from Berkeley County, had positioned himself to oppose four-term Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito in the 2nd Congressional District. And then Unger went away. Two Kanawha County Democrats also had committed to challenge Capito -- former South Charleston Mayor Richie Robb and attorney Thornton Cooper.

But then Anne Barth joined the field -- that's Anne Barth, longtime member of Sen. Robert C. Byrd's staff.

With Unger, Robb and Cooper in the field, Capito appeared to have another term all but assured. But Unger disappeared, and Barth stepped up.

Those who know West Virginia politics far better than I now see the 2nd Congressional District as a critical battleground -- one with national implications.

Barth is a party favorite. She knows politics. She knows the state and the 2nd Congressional District. Most important, she enjoys the unbridled support of the Democrat establishment, which never has been happy about losing a safe seat in 2000. That's when nine-term Congressman Bob Wise defeated incumbent Republican Gov. Cecil H. Underwood and left the door open for Capito.

And let's not forget that Byrd played a critical role in Wise's success in 2000. He jumped into the campaign late to support Wise, who had trailed Underwood in many campaign polls.

Leap forward to 2008: Barth immediately received strong support from all four members of the state's congressional delegation, including that of her boss. The battle is on.

"West Virginia's congressional delegation needs a unified voice in Washington," Byrd said in a news release that also included supportive comments from Sen. Jay Rockefeller and Congressmen Alan Mollohan and Nick Rahall.

"No person is more talented, experienced or qualified than Anne Barth to step into that role and hit the ground running," Byrd continued. "As my state director for over two decades, Anne has plenty of hands-on experience working with other congressional members."

Barth has some inherent advantages -- no legislative record to attack, endless connections to the right Democrats, access to money, knowledge of the issues and the state. As an educated, articulate woman, she even has potential appeal to the same demographics that have supported Capito. None of Capito's past vanquished opponents could claim as many attributes. Unger could not begin to demonstrate those advantages. Neither can Robb or Cooper.

Democrats will want to take advantage of a weakened President George W. Bush departing the White House and leaving little if any political capital for Republicans to use in their own interests.

But Capito will have a chance. She will have an opportunity to raise money beyond West Virginia, and the national Republican Party brokers surely will want to preserve Capito's seat. Capito also is a winner -- she campaigns well, she knows the issues, she won't be intimidated.

But this is complicated. Another factor could be the presidential ticket. One political wag suggested Hillary Clinton's name on the November presidential ballot could benefit Capito. The political analyst said the former first lady can be a divisive figure who could galvanize and drive to the polls moderate Democrats and Republicans, who would be inclined to vote for Capito.

It seems to me that even a strong candidate like Capito will have to have an expert campaign staff, one that knows the electorate in the 2nd Congressional District and how to wage a tough campaign. She'll have to run hard and smart.

Without question, Barth vs. Capito is the race of the year in West Virginia.