Rockefeller retirement a boon to GOP

Sen. Jay Rockefeller?s retirement gives Republicans a prime opportunity to pick up a Senate seat in West Virginia and is an early indicator that 2014 could be a rough year for Senate Democrats.

It?s also a good start for Republicans, coming off a disastrous cycle in which they thought control of the Senate was well within reach only to end up losing two seats in a major victory for Democrats.

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(PHOTOS: Jay Rockefeller?s career)

There is not a clear Democratic frontrunner to pick up the torch in the Mountain State, but Democratic Party state chairman Larry Puccio said he expects ?a few folks? will run in a primary.

?I would never try to sell anyone on the fact that any Democrat who jumps in will be as strong as Jay Rockefeller was,? Puccio told POLITICO, noting that the incumbent ? elected to the House of Delegates in 1966, governor in 1976 and senator in 1984 ? has a reserve of ?support and trust? in a state where that counts a lot.

(Also on POLITICO: Rockefeller faced rough re-elect)

West Virginia GOP Chairman Conrad Lucas called it ?an incredible loss? for the Democrats.

?We were already confident going into 2014 but today really strengthens that confidence, and we are anxious for a Republican pickup,? he said. ?The Democrats in West Virginia don?t have a very strong bench.?

Democrats hold a major registration advantage and control the state House, Senate and governorship. The state?s most popular Democrat, Joe Manchin, just won reelection to a full-term in November. But voters have increasingly soured on national Democrats: President Barack Obama lost all 55 West Virginia counties and pulled just 36 percent of the vote. A federal prison inmate garnered 42 percent of the vote against Obama in the state?s Democratic presidential primary.

Republican Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito threw her hat in the ring shortly after her November reelection, certainly a factor in Rockefeller?s decision at 75 not to seek a sixth term. She becomes the frontrunner, though she could potentially face a competitive primary challenger from her right ? especially now that it?s an open seat.

Another Republican congressman, David McKinley, kept the door open to a primary challenge in an interview with a West Virginia radio station Thursday. He said he?s watching closely what Capito does in upcoming legislative battles.

?If she is not going to be that fiscal hawk that is going to make sure that we get our spending under control, then we?ll find another candidate,? he told radio host Hoppy Kercheval.

Source: http://feeds.politico.com/click.phdo?i=64aee7cee04281bbf5ef38890d726401

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