Top GOP prospect won’t seek Byrd’s Senate seat
Wednesday, Jul. 21, 2010- By LAWRENCE MESSINA – Associated Press Writer
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The top GOP prospect for the late Sen. Robert C. Byrd’s seat said Wednesday she won’t run, leaving the state’s Democratic governor the clear favorite as his party looks to keep its Senate majority in November.
Republican U.S. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito announced she would not enter the race a day after popular Gov. Joe Manchin launched his campaign to fill the remaining two-plus years of Byrd’s term. The filing deadline for candidates is Friday.
West Virginia GOP Chairman Doug McKinney said he has not heard from any Republican seriously weighing a bid and noted that a candidate would likely need to raise several million dollars quickly to mount a credible campaign.
Two Democratic challengers to Manchin stepped forward Wednesday: Ken Hechler, a 95-year-old former congressman and secretary of state; and former Monongalia County lawmaker Sheirl Fletcher.
The primary will be Aug. 28. Fletcher is an ex-Republican who ran against U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., in the 2008 primary and attracted less than 15 percent of the vote in a three-way race.
Hechler said he filed so voters can weigh in against the controversial strip mining method known as mountaintop removal that exposes coal seams through large-scale blasting. Manchin is a champion of the state’s coal industry, which considers the method highly efficient. Read entire article