……This week we present to you profiles of the State Senate candidates. In past weeks we’ve featured profiles of the locally contested races and while this is the primary, it is the deciding election as to who will hold the office. No Democratic candidates have filed meaning there is no General election race. If I am correct, the Sheriff’s race between incumbent Scott Gittings (R) and Dezo Polgar (D) will be the only locally contested race in the Fall.

……Early voting begins May 1. You don’t need an excuse (like I’ll be out of town on election day), it’s your decision to go to the Courthouse to cast your vote early.

……The only Statewide race I see generating excitement may be Democratic Steve Williams, the Mayor of Huntington, and Republican Moore Capito. Williams is a seasoned politician with whom I served in the House of Delegates in the nineties. I don’t think Steve would have wasted his time entering the race if he didn’t have the resources and support. The national Democratic party is hungry for a win and I’m sure will pull funding into it. Look for a well-run, professional campaign.

…….Moore is Shelly Capito’s son and will have the resources of a very powerful Mom. A couple of random questions I ponder in this case: when does the lure of politics….the power….the spotlight…..outweigh the risks and the hurt that sometimes follow. Do political families consider inditements, prison sentences and the embarrassment just part of the game and something they are willing to risk to take another shot at the apple?

……Obviously, Sen. Shelly Moore Capito must have come to grips with Arch Moore’s conviction and imprisonment when she made the decision to run, She began her career in the House of Delegates and for two years occupied the seat directly in front of me in the Chamber. On one side of me I had the late Del. Sam Love and on the other side, Earnie Kuhn, a coal miner from Boone County who chewed Mail Pouch and constantly had his spitting cup in his left hand (he shook hands with his right.) We had a lot down time between votes, to cajole, converse and really had a great time, Shelly was aloof from us ruffians and I while I respected her I can’t say I ever had a conversation with her,

…….She was, however, friends with a good friend of mine who told me that when Shelly told her mother she was going to run for office, her mother was highly upset. After the trauma of her husband going to prison, her mother couldn’t understand why her daughter would return to the arena.

……And, now comes yet another generation of Moore’s ready to serve the State, I wonder, is politics a hereditary disease or learned behavior that leads us blindly down a path? Arch was charismatic guy who never forgot a face or a name and whose sparkling blue eyes made you feel like you were the only person in the room when he talked to you, I can only imagine how his grandson must have worshipped him. Does that love cloud the vision of Moore’s actions as Governor?

…….The District 1 State Senate Race has become especially vicious and a ton of TV, news adjacency time has been purchased. I looked at Ryan Weld’s financial report just filed and he has in excess of $200,000.00 in his coffers. Scott Adams on the other hand was showing under $2,000.00 A Political Action Committee is paying for those ads, Look at the lower right hand side of the ad the next time you see it and the PAC’s name is shown, then take a look at who is behind the PAC and what it stands for. Remember the PAC “For the Sake of our Kids” that it turned out coal magnate Don Blankenship was behind?