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The Election Story is the Court! · Commentary - TJ Meadows

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  Speaker 1: The big story election night may not be the legislature
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  Speaker 1: at all. It may be the West Virginia Supreme Court
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  Speaker 1: of Appeals. For all the fighting between Republican factions this
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  Speaker 1: primary season, there was one thing both sides largely agreed on.
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  Speaker 1: They wanted what they viewed as a conservative court. They
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  Speaker 1: wanted Titus and Ewing to remain. That didn't happen. The
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  Speaker 1: warning signs started servicing about a week ago. Operatives from
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  Speaker 1: both camps quietly making phone calls saying the same thing.
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: Were worried about the court. Why because many believed the
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: scorched earth tactics used in the Senate battle could create
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  Speaker 1: a backlash. Remember, this was the first Republican primary closed
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  Speaker 1: to independence. Even though many independents, according to some observers,
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  Speaker 1: historically did not vote in GOP primaries regularly, plenty saw
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: the move as a slap in the face. You could
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  Speaker 1: hear it in the public uproar for weeks, and with
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  Speaker 1: no Republican races available to vent that frustration, many appear
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  Speaker 1: to have turned to the only place left on the
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  Speaker 1: ballot to send a message, the judicial races. More than
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  Speaker 1: a few Republicans privately admitted Tuesday night they believe that
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  Speaker 1: is exactly what happened. Independence broke more liberal in those races.
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  Speaker 1: Add in traditional democratic voting patterns, and suddenly the court
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  Speaker 1: makeup changed. The late flood of pack money, especially into
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  Speaker 1: the Titus race, definitely now looks like concern and because
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  Speaker 1: these were races to fill unexpired terms, the impact comes quickly.
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  Speaker 1: Governor Patrick Morrissey appointed both Titus and Ewing, but once
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  Speaker 1: canvassing is complete, Kirkpatrick and Flanagan immediately take those seats
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  Speaker 1: on the bench. Now political observers are already asking bigger questions.
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  Speaker 1: Could pass legislative priorities and wins, things like right to
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  Speaker 1: work or tort reform face renewed judicial scrutiny. What about
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: ongoing education fights or vaccine related cases? Too early to know,
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  Speaker 1: but one thing is clear across political circles, there's real
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  Speaker 1: nervousness about what this means moving forward. And meanwhile, after
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: all the spending and all the political warfare, the legislature
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: itself may end up looking remarkably similar to before