It does not have the high profile of last week's much-publicized contests in Indiana, Ohio, and North Carolina. And it certainly does not draw nearly the same amount of heat as next week's Congressional "Super Tuesday" of sorts in Arkansas, Kentucky, Oregon, and Pennsylvania (to say nothing of the special elections in HI-01 and PA-12).
That said, voters are heading to the polls in two states today: Nebraska and West Virginia. And on the heels of the GOP rejection of longtime incumbent Senator Bob Bennett over the weekend in Utah, it looks like another longtime Congressional incumbent, this one a Democrat, is very close to the chopping block:
Just days after Utah Sen. Bob Bennett (R) watched his political career ended by an unhappy party base, West Virginia Rep. Alan Mollohan (D) is hoping to avoid the same fate.
Mollohan, who, like Bennett, followed his father's footsteps into Congress, has watched as the anti-incumbent mood nationwide and years of inattention to the politics of his district have combined to imperil him in the Mountaineer State primary today, according to party sources familiar with the race.
State Sen. Mike Oliverio (D) has painted Mollohan as a creature of Washington -- the Congressman has held the 1st district since 1982 -- and used past ethical questions to suggest that the incumbent's time has run out.
The only qualm that might be had with Cillizza's characterization of the race might be the notion that an Oliverio victory would be some kind of a revolt by the Democratic base. Oliverio is not exactly anyone's notion of a base Democrat. Two weeks ago, he blasted Nancy Pelosi, and said that he would prefer to vote for someone other than her for Speaker. Worse still, he did so at a dinner where praised was heaped upon him by none other than Fox News' own Dick Morris.
Both sides have released dueling polls on the race, with Mollohan claiming his poll showed him up by nine, and Oliverio touting a survey showing him with an eight-point lead.
The air war in this one has gotten particularly ugly, with Oliverio calling Mollohan's ethics into question and Mollohan blasting back, saying Oliverio is a tool of the right-wing.
IN OTHER PRIMARIES TODAY...
- A total of six candidates are vying for the GOP nomination to challenge the winner of the Mollohan/Oliverio showdown. This is the most legitimate field on the Republican side in WV-01 in quite some time, with three current or former state legislators, plus attorney Mac Warner, leading the field.
- Down in the southern part of the state of West Virginia, a quartet of little-known and underfunded Republicans are battling for the right to face Nick Rahall, who faces an underfunded primary challenger himself.
- Meanwhile, in Nebraska, it is a pretty quiet affair. Governor Dave Heineman is expected to easily dispatch a pair of GOP primary challengers. If there is a race to keep at least one eye on, it will be in NE-02, where incumbent Lee Terry (who could face serious opposition in November from Democratic state senator Tom White) faces a teabagger revolt in the form of lightly-funded challenger Matt Sakalosky. On his web page, Sakalosky prominently touts winning a straw poll versus Terry sponsored by the 912 Project in Nebraska.
- Outside of the West Virginia and Nebraska primaries, there is one other election of note today, although there is not a ton of interests for Democrats. There is a special election today in Georgia's 9th district to replace Republican Nathan Deal, who resigned from office to focus on his bid for Governor. There is a Democrat in the field, but the district is so painfully Republican (one of the most GOP districts in America) that this would seem to be a glorified primary battle.
