Republicans won 4 of the 6 races in Calhoun proving that the Republican Party is seriously back in the game. The County has been primarily Democrat for many years with the Republican Party almost non existent on a local level. But as the Red team gathered for pre-election coffee at Grinders there was buzz and excitement that continued after the votes came in.
So the Wednesday morning question is this, what direction will Calhoun County go as we head into the 2024 Major election? Although political races are results driven and there are no participation awards at nights end, the race for office in Calhoun County had respectable wins and losses on all sides. There were no big wins for either party on the local level, Statewide was a different story
Locally, Carol Miller, our House of Representatives garnered 71% of the vote. Which I find extremely interesting, being that I do not ever recall her stepping foot in our County. Ben Queen received almost 70% of the local vote, another candidate who’s paid Calhoun no mind, and yet our support for him was huge! Roger Hanshaw received a whopping 80% of Calhoun’s support which is not surprising being that he has made a presence in Calhoun County through visits and support. All three candidates won their bid for office in their districts.
Stateside, Republicans won 16 of the 17 Senate races on the ballot. There were democratic incumbents who lost their position, however no republicans were unseated. Most recently the Senate has had 23 Republicans and 11 Democrats, now there will be 30 Republicans representing West Virginia in the Senate.
How will that change the political dynamics for Calhoun? The voters will be the deciding factor as well as the local Executive Committees who will be in charge of letting their platforms be known throughout the next two years and listening to what citizens consider issues of great concern. The current liberal trend appears to be unappealing to both sides, yet die hard democrats will vote for their representatives, ignoring the devastating effect their decisions have on WV families.
As far as our newly elected officials, only time will tell if they earn their keep. Well, time will tell and so will Ridgeview News if they and their previously elected constituents don’t fulfill the obligations due their County. While I’m not elected, I consider myself accountable to telling the truth about how Calhoun officials perform.
I’m thinking I’ll work up a formula for a report card on every elected official with a grading scale put out prior to January 1 so they’ll know what we expect. The grades will be printed quarterly with performance graded on
- Economic Decisions
- Fiscal responsibility
- Response to community
- Calhoun Family Concern and Protection.
- Law Enforcement Support
- Crime and Punishment
- Ethics
I’m not sure where that list will go, but I’d gladly take recommendations. For now we are faced with a new chapter in Calhoun. Let’s make it a good read.
