Paul,
Sen. Robert C. Byrd loves pork so much that everything he touches has to have his name on it, kind of like his own special brand. There is Robert C. Byrd High School in Nutter Fort, W.Va., Robert C. Byrd Drive in my hometown of Beckley, W.Va., the Robert C. Byrd Courthouse (also in Beckley), the Robert C. Byrd Highway, Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center at West Virginia University. If he brought it to the Mountain State, it has his name splashed on the marque.
The residents back home know it’s time for him to resign, but they don’t want to vote him out of office because of the respect that they have for him. John Raese, a businessman from Morgantown, W.Va., is not a strong opponent for Byrd, who will likely win by 15 to 20 percentage points. The Republicans really needed Rep. Shelley Moore Capito to run against him. She is liked in the state, but her obstacle would have been her father, Arch Moore, who served time in federal prison following his 1988 re-election bid on corruption charges. (I’ve met both Capito and Moore, by the way, and they are the nicest people you’ll ever meet.)
I don’t expect Byrd to continue his full term, if re-elected. If he resigns during his term, my hunch is that Gov. Joe Manchin, a Democrat, would nominate himself to fill the seat.
