Zach Shrewsbury faces an improbable task to replace the conservative Democrat in the face of a Republican onslaught – but he won’t be put off

  • OldWoodFrame@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    If he doesn’t win, it’s because centrist Democrats stayed home when they didn’t get their first choice and didn’t want to vote blue no matter who.

    No, it means Trump voters refused to vote for him when enough of them were ok with voting for a centrist Democrat.

    69% of West Virginia voted for Trump. You cannot win without at least some of them. We shall see if a self described Socialist can get enough of them but it doesn’t look good.

    • Ensign_Crab@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      No, it means Trump voters refused to vote for him when enough of them were ok with voting for a centrist Democrat.

      Already addressed that. Manchin’s not seeking re-election because he knows that centrist Democrats’ only strategy of moving to the right has failed.

      • OldWoodFrame@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        But you claimed that Shrewsbury losing would be because centrist Democrats didn’t come out to vote for him and that’s just not (necessarily) the case. Any Democrat needs all Democrats to win in West Virginia, but they also need much more than that. That is why a centrist Democrat like Manchin had a chance to win multiple times in the state. That strategy isn’t “failed,” it’s the only reason we’re even talking about a Democratic Senator from West Virginia.

        If there is an alternative strategy that can win West Virginia as a Socialist Democrat, it would truly be unprecedented, that would absolutely cause a big shift for political strategy in the party. But a Socialist Democrat losing in West Virginia doesn’t prove anything, that’s the obvious outcome everyone expects.

        • Ensign_Crab@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          Your god is leaving because he knows he can no longer win, and there’s no one who is as big a sellout as he is to replace him.

          Moving to the right has failed. I get that you want to keep doing it, but it’s failed.

          • OldWoodFrame@lemm.ee
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            1 year ago

            You don’t have to be a fan of Manchin to know his way is the only way a Democrat could win in West Virginia.

            Him choosing not to run for Senate again doesn’t mean he didn’t win the seat 3 times. It did work. He is currently in the Senate. Shrewsbury hasn’t gotten a single vote yet, let’s pump the brakes on assuming his strategy is better, let alone actually able to win.

            • Ensign_Crab@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              You don’t have to be a fan of Manchin to know his way is the only way a Democrat could win in West Virginia.

              Was the only way. He’s not running, and there’s no one in the party to his right. The party can move left or abandon the state entirely.

              I get that Shrewsbury isn’t your first choice, but vote blue no matter who.

              • OldWoodFrame@lemm.ee
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                1 year ago

                I would absolutely vote for Shrewsbury in a general election if that was the choice in front of me, and I wouldn’t even complain relentlessly about “voting blue no matter who” because I know it is indeed the best way to accomplish my preferred political goals.

                I follow your logic to a point. There is obviously a potential candidate who is to the left of Manchin while not being as far left as Shrewsbury, they just haven’t declared a candidacy yet.

                If the Democrats end up nominating a socialist in West Virginia, they chose the “abandon the state entirely” option.

    • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      There’s a fair few who don’t vote at all anymore. Also, many Trump voters did so because it was a chance to get away from establishment politics. They could as easily see the same thing in a socialist candidate.