EDITORIAL: If Maloney or Ireland Wins Now, WV GOP Will Have Broken Nominee

Until yesterday, the simmering conflict between Ireland and Maloney was mostly under the radar in the form of mailings and occasional snipes at each other in the state press.  However, Maloney has now started a negative TV ad against Ireland, playing statewide, which we assume will run all the way through Saturday's election. 

That's four straight days of TV battering--and it's no longer behind the scenes but on everyone's TV sets.

Here's the significance of this new TV ad by Maloney.  If Ireland or Maloney were to win the party's nomination on Saturday, what are the odds that either of them will be able to pick up the other's supporters for the fall campaign.   A former Republican Governor was famous for saying that the GOP nominee for Governor always had to have 85% of the Republican vote in order to have a chance in the fall. 

Now put yourself in Maloney's or Ireland's supporters' shoes for just a moment.  After watching your candidate getting punched, humiliated, and misrepresented, what are the odds that either side is going to help the other in this abbreviated fall campaign that ends in early October?

The truth is now that neither Maloney nor Ireland can win in the fall campaign.  They have neutralized each other. 

As a result, we hope that West Virginia's Republican and Independent voters will see in State Senator Clark Barnes of Elkins what we have seen over the past few months:  a dedicated family man, successful businessman, and tenacious legislator who is vigilant in the defense of West Virginians' rights and the taxpayers' purse.  

Barnes has demonstrated in two elections in a predominantly Democratic district that he can interpret conservative values across the aisle.  He's considered a lionkiller in the Eastern part of the state for dethroning former Democratic Senator Mike Ross, who was a key part of Earl Ray Tomblin's Senate inner circle over the years.

While Maloney and Ireland have cut into each other like roosters at a cockfight, making Republicans miserable statewide, Clark Barnes continues campaigning by talking about the issues in detail.   Senator Barnes brings a deep understanding of our state's economic issues to the table, informed by his business background.  He says that if we put him in for a year to fill out this term, he will show us once and for all what a seriously streamlined state budget looks like.

We'd like to see that.  We've never seen a seriously streamlined state budget before.

So let's just allow Maloney and Ireland to keep shooting at each other in their historical reenactment of an old-fashioned duel.  But instead of killing Republican chances in October, let's vote for State Senator Clark Barnes of Elkins, who alone can unite the West Virginai GOP and then gather Independent and conservative Democratic support in October.

For more information on Senator Barnes' campaign for a new West Virginia, go to: www.clarkbarnesforgovernor.com or look up "Clark Barnes" on Facebook.