What Happens When Voters In Red Constituencies Get A Real Choice-- Not A Lesser Evil Type Candidate?

In 2020, Trump won every single county in West Virginia and won the state 545,38 (68.6%) to 235,984 (29.7%). But the turnout was 57.6%, pathetic compared to states like Minnesota (80.0%), Colorado (76.4%) and Maine (76.3%). There were 8 states— all blue— where over 75% of the eligible voting population cast ballots. I wonder why so many voters decided not to cast ballots. Was it because they felt the choices wouldn’t make any difference in their lives?

The other day, I mentioned on Twitter that reactionary Republican Bill Johnson, who represents the most Appalachan part of Ohio, is resigning from Congress to take a job at Youngstown State University. I also noted that “The partisan lean is R+31, although... the 2 counties with the most voters voted pro-Choice-- Mahoning (56%) & Stark (53%). Only a socialist-leaning Dem would even have a chance.” The next day an old friend had tweeted back that “No Dem stands a chance in R +31 and it's time to retire the fantasy that solid red districts are just yearning to vote for a socialist because they haven't been offered the true left yet.”

That makes sense and Democrats don’t win in solid red districts like that. But Blue America has endorsed Zach Shrewsbury for the open West Virginia Senate seat and we’re in the middle of vetting a candidate in the deep red Ohio seat right next to Johnson’s. So I thought about it a little and recalled what happened in deep red West Virginia during the 2016 primaries. It was no surprise that socialist Bernie Sanders crushed Hillary statewide. But what was a surprise was how well Bernie did that day compared to Trump.

All of these counties eventually voted for Trump against Hillary in 2016 and against Biden in 2020… when there was no socialist on the ballot. But look how they voted in 2016 compared to Trump. And for the hell of it, I looked up how strong each of these Bernie counties was for Trump (that’s what the percentage represents)

• Boone Co-- Bernie- 2,410; Trump- 1,388… 76.6%

• Braxton Co-- Bernie- 1,321; Trump- 861… 72.7%

• Brooke Co-- Bernie- 1,966; Trump- 1,963… 70.8%

• Calhoun: Bernie- 803; Trumpanzee- 480… 79.6%

• Clay: Bernie- 754; Trumpanzee- 568… 79.6%

• Fayette: Bernie- 3,585; Trumpanzee- 2,683… 68.7%

• Gilmer: Bernie- 643; Trumpanzee- 433… 75.6%

• Lincoln: Bernie- 1,510; Trumpanzee- 1,193… 76.8%

• Logan: Bernie- 3,201; Trumpanzee- 1,665… 80.9%

• Marion: Bernie- 5,324; Trumpanzee- 4,035… 63.2%

• McDowell: Bernie- 1,473; Trumpanzee- 760… 78.9%

• Mingo: Bernie-2,425; Trumpanzee- 1,161… 85.2%

• Monongalia: Bernie- 8,096; Trumpanzee- 5,971… 49.4%

• Randolph: Bernie- 2,492; Trumpanzee- 2,206… 71.1%

• Wayne: Bernie- 2,898; Trumpanzee- 2,662… 74.3%

• Webster: Bernie- 837; Trumpanzee- 423… 81.1%

• Wetzel: Bernie- 1744; Trumpanzee- 1,096… 74.9%

In some of these counties, the number of people who voted for Bernie in the 2016 primary significantly exceeded the number of voters who turned out for Biden in the 2020 general election. That was especially true in economically depressed rural counties. That’s extraordinary and is very good news for Shrewsbury who has been tweeting messages like this today:

• Boone County: Bernie- 2,410 voters; Biden- 2,041 voters

• Calhoun County: Bernie- 803 voters; Biden- 568 voters

• Clay County: Bernie- 754 voters; Biden- 641 voters

• Gilmer County: Bernie- 643 voters; Biden- 599 voters

• Logan County: Bernie- 3,201 voters; Biden- 2,333 voters

• McDowell County: Bernie- 1,473 voters; Biden- 1,333 voters

• Mingo County: Bernie- 2,425 voters; Biden- 1,397 voters

• Webster County: Bernie- 837 voters; Biden- 610 voters

• Wetzel County: Bernie- 1,744 voters; Biden- 1,539 voters

So how is Shrewsbury getting a message out to voters that he's not the kind of corporate Democrat that has driven them into the arms of Republicans. "We need leaders that are cut from the working-class cloth," he told voters last week. "We need representation that will go toe to toe with corporate parasites and their bought politicians. We need a leader who will not waver in the face of these powers that keep the boot on our neck."

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