That's Gotta Hurt!

Trey Smith

In an embarrassment to President Obama, Federal Inmate No. 11593-051 – otherwise known as Keith Judd – won 10 counties and 41 percent of the vote in West Virginia’s Democratic presidential primary Tuesday.

Mr. Judd is incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Institution in Texarkana, Texas, where he is serving a 210-month sentence for extortion, according to The Charleston Gazette. Judd had paid the $2,500 filing fee and submitted a notarized “certificate of announcement” to appear on the ballot.

He is even qualified to have a delegate at the Democratic National Convention, because he won at least 15 percent of vote.
~ from Ouch! Obama Loses 41 percent of W.Va. Primary Vote to Federal Inmate by Linda Feldmann ~

Let's be clear. Most of that 41 percent were not votes for Judd; they were votes against Obama. West Virginia is a so-called red state and it is assumed that the Republican nominee will win the state in the General Election.

But these facts in no way mitigate the result. These were Democratic Party primary voters and 4 in 10 rebuked the president and his administration. A result like this is almost unheard of!

I'm not merely speaking off-the-cuff. For years I was involved in either the Socialist Party or the Green Party in Oregon and Washington. Every two years we trotted out protest candidates in all sorts of races and not one of them -- in a primary or general election -- ever came anywhere close to scoring 40% of the vote. Heck, we were absolutely euphoric if one of these candidate was able to nudge above the 20% line, even in a two candidate race.

If Obama was only able to muster 59% of the vote against a completely nonviable opponent with no campaign budget, what chance does he have against the well-funded Mitt Romney? In West Virginia, it appears to be nil!