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Proposed Bylaw Could Open Republican Primaries Again if Adopted · Commentary - TJ Meadows

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  Speaker 1: Sometimes what captures all the attention isn't what ultimately matters.
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  Speaker 1: Most politics has a way of teaching that lesson. So
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  Speaker 1: do elections. Everyone watches the governor's race, the legislative contests,
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  Speaker 1: Supreme court elections, and they should. Those offices shape laws, budgets,
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  Speaker 1: and public policy for years to come. But every now
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  Speaker 1: and then, the election almost nobody notices, quietly changes everything.
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  Speaker 1: That may be exactly what happened in West Virginia this
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  Speaker 1: past May. Buried beneath the headline races were elections for
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  Speaker 1: the Republican state Executive Committee. Most voters paid little attention,
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  Speaker 1: Yet those relatively obscure contests may soon determine who gets
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  Speaker 1: to participate in future Republican primaries. Here's why. A while back,
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  Speaker 1: West Virginia Republicans closed their primaries to registered independence. Before then,
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  Speaker 1: independents could request a Republican ballot and help choose the
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  Speaker 1: party's nominees. Now, according to sources familiar with party discussions,
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  Speaker 1: a newly elected majority on the Executive Committee believes it
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  Speaker 1: has the votes to revisit that decision. The proposal goes
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  Speaker 1: beyond simply reopening the debate or reopening primaries. A bylaw.
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  Speaker 1: Amendment would establish a formal review once every four years,
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  Speaker 1: allowing one scheduled vote while preventing the issue from resurfacing
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  Speaker 1: meeting after meeting. If adopted on August first, the first
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  Speaker 1: review would come in twenty twenty seven, just ahead of
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  Speaker 1: the twenty eight election cycle. Why does that matter? Because
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  Speaker 1: Governor Patrick Morrissey is widely expected to face a Republican
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  Speaker 1: primary challenge in twenty twenty eight. The list of possible
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  Speaker 1: opponents is already the subject of political conversation, and if
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  Speaker 1: independents are once again allowed to vote in that primary,
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  Speaker 1: the political math changes. Whether that ultimately helps one candidate
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  Speaker 1: or another is impossible to note today, but one thing
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  Speaker 1: is becoming crystal clear. The races that received the fewest
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  Speaker 1: headlines may have produced the biggest political consequences. Sometimes power
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  Speaker 1: isn't found under the brightest spotlight. Sometimes it's hiding in
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  Speaker 1: the races almost nobody watched. And on August first, West
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  Speaker 1: Virginia may find out just how much those forgotten races
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  Speaker 1: really matter