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Morrisey Dives into Senate Race, Reveals Faction Preference · Commentary - TJ Meadows

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  Speaker 1: West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrissey didn't waste any time jumping
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  Speaker 1: into a Northern Panhandles State Senate race, and he did
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  Speaker 1: it before the filing period even closed. Late Friday night,
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  Speaker 1: the governor posted on x framing the contest as a
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  Speaker 1: showdown between incumbent Republican Senator Laura Wakem Chapman and Democratic
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  Speaker 1: House of Delegates member Sean Fluhrdy. He called it a
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  Speaker 1: defining race and drew the familiar line common sense conservatism
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  Speaker 1: versus left wing extremism. But here's what he left out.
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  Speaker 1: Chapman isn't alone in the Republican primary. Joe Eddie, an
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  Speaker 1: engineer and former manufacturing executive, is running against her. By
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  Speaker 1: presenting this as Chapman versus Fluhrdy, the governor essentially skipped
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  Speaker 1: over the GOP primary altogether. That's not a small detail.
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  Speaker 1: That's a signal. It tells Republicans which side of the
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  Speaker 1: party divide the governor is on. He's aligning with the
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  Speaker 1: Senate's populist wing rather than the business minded conservatives challenge incumbents.
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  Speaker 1: Republican operative Greg Thomas argues candidates like Eddie represent a
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  Speaker 1: shift toward economic priorities over social battles his view as
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  Speaker 1: the party has largely settled the big social questions and
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  Speaker 1: voters are ready to move on. So Morrissey's post may
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  Speaker 1: be less about supporting Chapman and more about shaping his
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  Speaker 1: own political landscape ahead of twenty twenty eight. In a
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  Speaker 1: deep red state where general elections aren't always competitive, primaries
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  Speaker 1: matter most. The governor wants Republicans aligned with his agenda,
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  Speaker 1: an agenda he needs to produce fruit he can campaign
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  Speaker 1: on in his next election, But jumping in early carries risk.
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  Speaker 1: If Eddie wins, the Governor can alienate Panhandle Republicans who
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  Speaker 1: backed Eddie. Neutrality is safe, picking signs is not, especially
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  Speaker 1: within your own party, faction or no factions. That said,
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  Speaker 1: now we clearly know where the governor stands, what Senate
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  Speaker 1: faction he favors. Time will tell if that was smart move.