Mountain State Matters

So, much has been made of the fact that Hillary won Tuesday’s democratic primary in West Virginia. The New York Times ran a story on it, blaming race as a huge factor.

The number of white Democratic voters who said that race influenced their choice on Tuesday was among the highest recorded in voter surveys in the Clinton-Obama nomination fight. Two in 10 white West Virginia voters said that race was an important factor in their vote, and more than 8 in 10 of them backed Mrs. Clinton, according to surveys of voters leaving the polls.

I wonder if it’s fair to compare West Virginia to any of the other races, as Obama definitely gave the state up to Hillary and was noticeably absent in the days leading up to the primary. Although 80 percent of the state backed Hillary, only 20 percent said race played a factor in their vote. I don’t think this is significant enough to paint WV voters as racist hillbillies.

Josh Marshall did a nice analysis of Obama’s troubles in Appalachia in Talking Points Memo.

Let me offer a series of overlapping explanations. First, some basic demographics. It’s widely accepted that Hillary Clinton does better with older voters, less educated voters and white voters. These demographics perfectly match West Virginia — and, more loosely, the entire Appalachian region. A few key points from tonight’s exit polls demonstrate the point: 4 out of 10 voters were over 60 years of age. 7 out of 10 lacked a college degree — the highest proportion of any electorate in the country. And 95% of the electorate was white.

Basically you have a state that is made up almost exclusively of Clinton’s voters. But there’s a deeper historical explanation that we have to apply as well — one nicely illustrated by the origins of West Virginia itself.

At least one West Virginia voter isn’t happy with Hillary for her campaigning in the state. In an open letter to Hillary Clinton on his blog, Tim Graves accuses Hillary of using the suspiciousness of West Virginians against them. While I haven’t seen any proof that Hillary actually “fanned the flames of racism,” it’s an interesting letter.