Ethically embattled Rep. Alan Mollohan, D-W.Va., may become the second incumbent casualty of Election 2010 if Democratic primary voters in West Virginia choose to nominate his more conservative primary opponent. Chris Cillizza writes at The Fix:
The race has gotten very nasty over its final weeks with Oliverio referring to Mollohan as “one of the most corrupt members of Congress” and the incumbent retorting that his opponent is “lying” and “spreading right-wing smears”. And that’s just the television ads!
Cillizza calls the race a toss-up, and notes that Republicans are praying for a wounded Mollohan to survive until the fall, giving them a better chance at a pickup. The district voted heavily for both George W. Bush (twice) and for John McCain.
One charge that has resonated in this coal-country primary is that Mollohan announced last year he would vote against the cap-and-trade bill only after Speaker Pelosi already had the votes to pass it. If voters there prove sophisticated enough to understand these games Congressmen play, expect to hear the same line this fall against many of the Democrats who voted against Obamacare.
