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WEST
VIRGINIA |
Nov. 6, 2012 Governor |
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Plurality: 32,177 votes (4.84 percentage points). WV
Sec. of State
Notes: Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin (D) assumed office as acting governor on Nov. 15, 2010 after the seat was vacated by Joe Manchin following his election to the U.S. Senate. Tomblin was elected in an Oct. 4, 2011 special election, defeating businessman Bill Maloney (R) by a narrow 2.5 percentage point margin. Thirteen months later, with turnout boosted by the presidential election, more than twice as many votes were tallied in the race (664,455 versus 301,084). Tomblin again defeated Maloney, this time by a 4.8 point margin. Also on the November ballot were Jesse Johnson (M) and David Moran (L). Tomblin had more than three decades of service in public office. He was first elected to the WV House in 1974 at age 22. In 1980 he was elected to the WV Senate in 1980 and served as president of the Senate from 1995 to 2011. Maloney, a drilling consultant, was principal at Cow Run Energy LLC and Drill Leader LLC. The May 8 primaries were not competitive, Tomblin garnering 76.9% and Maloney 89.7%. Tomblin and Maloney participated in a debate hosted by the West Virginia Broadcasters Association at the Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences in Charleston on Oct. 9 (>). As in the 2011 special election, Republicans sought to tie Tomblin to Obama, who was not popular in the state. In a Sept. 12, 2012 press release an RGA spokesman stated, "West Virginia will never be able to thoroughly push back against the Obama administration until it switches governors." An Oct. 2012 RGA ad highlighted "Earl Ray Tomblin’s role in the war on coal being waged in West Virginia." While Tomblin won by 4.84 percentage points, Obama lost by 26.76 percentage points. FollowTheMoney.org reported that the Tomblin campaign raised $3.5 million in contributions compared to $2.7 million for the Maloney campaign (>). Campaign Managers: Earl Ray Tomblin: Joe Shafer (Feb. 2011-Nov. 2012) Northeast political director at the DCCC, Apr. 2009-Jan. 2011. Executive director for the Pennsylvania HDCC, Mar. 2008-Mar. 2009. Campaign manager on No on I-960 (WA), Aug.-Nov. 2007. Campaign manager on Zack Space for Congress (OH-18), June-Nov. 2006. Campaign manager on Tammy Duckworth for Congress (IL-6), Dec. 2005-Apr. 2006. Campaign manager on Leslie Byrne for Lt. Governor (VA), Mar.-Nov. 2005. Campaign manager on David Valesky for State Senate (NY), July-Nov. 2004. Studied at Northwestern University. Bill Maloney: Seth Wimer (2012) Executive director of the Republican Party of Delaware, 2008-11. Spokesman on Recorder of Deeds Steve McDonald's state Senate campaign in Lancaster County, PA 2007. Bachelor's degree in business administration from Wesley College in Delaware, 2007. Served two terms as chair of the Delaware Federation of College Republicans. |
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