The body-politic of Greenbrier County has changed significantly over the past few years. The area, which had for decades been a Democratic stronghold, now has more voters registered as Republican than any other party. But what is perhaps even more noticeable is that a handful of elected officials have taken to changing their own registration while currently in office.
The recent party switch of a county commissioner is not the only time Greenbrier County has seen an elected official change their registration during their term.
In Greenbrier County over the past four years, several representatives changed their party registration to Republican after being elected by the public as a Democrat, citing their experience in the political realm rather than a shift in their own values.
In the past few weeks, County Commissioner Tammy Shifflett-Tincher announced a switch in voter registration to Republican. The local list also includes Gov. Jim Justice, County Clerk Robin Loudermilk, and former Commission President Woody Hanna.
This also includes the entire county shift over the past seven years from a 1,087 voter majority of Democrats to a 1,331 voter majority of Republicans.
After the majority flipped to Republican in 2020, Paul Detch, chairman of the Greenbrier County Democratic Executive Committee told The West Virginia Daily News that he believes Greenbrier has “always been a conservative county in many respects” and that “a lot of people don’t realize the differences between the two parties. In West Virginia, they’ve (the parties) been blended somewhat.”
For many voters, the letter next to a candidate’s name informs what they think the candidate will do when in office. Announcing an alignment with a party is sending a message, but what message each of these candidates looks to send can be muddied. For example, Tincher also highlighted how little party politics matter when it comes to local governance and decision-making.
“I know that some will continue to base their future voting decisions on the letter by my name,” Tincher said. “So be it. But what I would ask you is this: base your decision on how I do my job as a Greenbrier County Commissioner. … People will form their own opinion. But at the end of the day, no matter our differences, we are all human and deserving of love and compassion. I try each day to meet those needs and to work as hard as I possibly can for the betterment of Greenbrier County and its people. And that will never change.”
In some cases, the messaging is more clear, such as Justice’s change to Republican.
“West Virginia, at the altar, when we had it done, like it or not like it, the Democrats walked away from me,” said Justice at a rally in 2017. “Now, today I would tell you, with lots of prayers and lots of thinking, today I’ll tell you as West Virginians I can’t help you anymore being a Democrat governor. So tomorrow I will be changing my registration to Republican. … My mom and dad, no question in my mind, are in heaven right now, and they’re both saying the same thing, … ‘Jimmy it’s about damned time you came to your senses.’”
A resident of Greenbrier County and principal owner of the Greenbrier Hotel Corporation, Justice had been a registered member of the Republican party up until February 2015, when he changed his affiliation before seeking the Democratic nomination. He was elected as a Democrat in 2016 and served as such until the 2017 announcement.
Despite his own registrations, Justice primarily cited his work with Democrats during the previous session of the West Virginia Legislature as a reason for the change.
“I have to tell you that in the last session of our Legislature, I tried with all my soul,” Justice said. “… There was some greatness passed with our roads and so on, but there was way too much pain. … We hurt our vets, and our teachers, and our disabled, and our weak, and we walked away from the old. Now I can promise you just this. I came to only get something done.”
Justice made the announcement while standing next to then-President Donald Trump. The switch also came shortly after the 2016 election, in which Trump swept West Virginia, getting over 68% of total votes. Trump himself has a record of changing political parties, including spending years as a Democrat in the 2000s.
According to the Greenbrier County Clerk’s office, in 2014 Democrats were in the majority by 1,087 voters. By 2016, this number dropped by 774 – there were 7,444 residents registered as Democrats and 6,670 registered as Republicans.
In 2018, the West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warner’s office conducted a “purge” of over 4,000 voters that had moved, become deceased, or missed more than two consecutive federal elections were removed from the voter roll system, according to the Greenbrier County Clerk’s office.
A year after Justice, the local defections began — Hanna announced his change in registration. Rather than a sense of realigning values, Hanna pointed to support from Republicans and a desire to get back in the 2018 race as motivating factors.
According to Hanna, local Republicans intentionally did not offer up a challenger for his seat on the commission during the 2018 election cycle. Instead, Hanna lost the Democratic primary to Tincher. Rather than focus on party politics, Tincher’s 2018 campaign focused on more representation for the Meadow River Valley and skepticism about the Greenbrier Valley Sportsplex project.
“I want to publicly congratulate Tammy,” said Hanna during the May 10, 2018, Greenbrier County Commission meeting. “It has truly been an honor and a pleasure to serve as your county commissioner, and I will do everything in my power to make the transition as smooth as possible.”
Hanna was then approached to run as a write-in campaign on the Republican ticket during the general election, a proposition he initially turned down until talking to friends and family. Ultimately, he agreed to run.
“Switching wasn’t easy for me,” Hanna told The West Virginia Daily News in 2018. “I never switched before in my life. I registered as a Democrat at 18. On Saturday, I turned 65. Yesterday, I switched. … I served two terms and both times I worked, got myself elected, and the local [Democratic] executive committee did not help. When I ran for re-election, they found someone to run against me. This last time, I had two other people call me and say that they had been asked to run against me.”
Hanna did not point to values for the change, instead emphasized support from the Republican Party and the possibilities of the Sportsplex project.
“We’ve got the bills paid up and a little money to do some things with,” Hanna said. “It’s an exciting time to be a commissioner and we’ve got some projects started, and I’d like to see them through. … This is probably the last time I’ll run. If I hadn’t run this time, hadn’t done this write-in [campaign], then I’d wonder for the rest of my life.”
Hanna’s bid failed, and Tincher took the commission seat.
By August 21, 2020, the Democratic majority had decreased to 84 registered voters.
On August 26, 2020, Greenbrier County Circuit Clerk Robin Loudermilk became a Republican, not citing realigning values, but the decreasing Democratic majority and her own family’s political views.
“Today I am choosing to switch my party affiliation from Democrat to Republican,” Loudermilk said in a press release. “This is a decision that has been troubling me for the last couple years as I watched the numbers of Democrats decrease and the number of Republicans increase. I come from both sides of political parties whereas one set of grandparents was Democrat and the other set were Republicans.”
Loudermilk was not up for election in 2020 but cited her experience as chief election officer for Greenbrier County as informing her decision.
“My decision to switch is based on the majority of the citizens and when I have 84 and over aged people coming in or calling me to switch them from Democrat to Republican that I know have been Democrats since they were old enough to register to vote tells me a lot about what is going on in the country. People that age just don’t switch because it’s the thing to do.”
Loudermilk also emphasized the change would not affect her role as chief election officer for the county.
“With my position as County Clerk being the chief Election officer, I do not treat anyone different because of their political choice. I value my job and feel I give 100% to make sure my office is run properly and by the state code.”
The next day, Greenbrier County shifted to a Republican majority of registered voters.
By August 31, 2020, the Greenbrier County Clerk’s office reported that there were 8,516 residents registered as Republicans, compared to the 8,428 registered Democrats out of 22,975 total registered voters.
The 2020 general election was a sweep for Republicans in Greenbrier County. District 42 Democrats Jeff Campbell and Cindy Lavender-Bowe were replaced by Republicans Barry Bruce and Todd Longanacre. Senator Kenny Mann announced he would not be running again, and he was replaced by current Senator Jack Woodrum, both Republicans.
For West Virginia, Justice won re-election with 64% of the vote.
Trump again received just over 68% of the West Virginia vote.
Now nearly a year after the majority flip, the number of Democrats continues to fall, having lost over 1,000 registered voters in the county. As of August 5, there are 8,689 Republicans, 7,358 Democrats, and a decreased total of registered voters — 21,732.
Just under a year later, Tincher announced on Friday, July 30, she had changed her voter registration the Tuesday before.
“After much consideration and deliberation over the last year, I believe that my moderate position is best suited in this party at this time,” wrote Tincher in an announcement posted to her social media. “I am extremely fiscally responsible and believe in working hard for everything that I receive. I recognize that the majority electorate of Greenbrier County has changed, and believe that I must adapt to best serve their needs.”
Tincher also did not cite a change in values as a reason for the shift, instead offering a promise to those worried this could affect her votes.
“I take this mindset into my position of serving Greenbrier County and will continue to do so in my term of office. With that said, I am still who I am. I am still the same person you voted for and elected to serve our community. I will continue to do so to the very best of my ability, and I will continue to strive to be the commissioner that Greenbrier County deserves.”
The local Democratic Women’s Club and executive committee struck out against Tincher in a press release the night before her announcement. Noting that they “campaigned for her, supported and stood by her when attacked by her opponent, Woody Hanna, and his supporters, the people whose party she has now chosen to embrace.”
The Democrats also appreciated “her service, and [hopes] she [continues] to well represent all the citizens of Greenbrier County, regardless of the letter next to her name.”
When a representative is elected, it can be assumed that a large part of the decision for many voters is party registration. Although politicians often have the reputation of saying one thing and doing another, a change in registration during their term can potentially highlight this contradiction even more.
When policy and ideology don’t inform a candidate or elected official’s party affiliations, how can voters put stock in the ideology or policy positions of the party at large?
Among the high-profile examples for Greenbrier County, one commonality is a rejection of realigning values as the reason for the shift.
What party a candidate or representative runs with often boils down to political realities instead of party platforms.
This is also true of former President Donald Trump, whose stated position and actual policy often disagreed.
According to Politifact, Trump was registered as a Republican in July of 1987. However, by October 1999, he had registered as a member of the Independence Party. In August 2001, he was registered as a Democratic, then shifted back to Republican by September 2009. In December 2011, he filed with no party, but by April 2012 he returned to the Republican Party, running as a candidate in that year’s presidential primary.
According to an archive with NPR, Trump highlighted one way his stated politics didn’t align with the parties while speaking with Larry King in 1999.
“I’m a registered Republican, I’m a pretty conservative guy, I’m somewhat liberal on social issues, especially healthcare. … I’m quite liberal, and getting much more liberal, on healthcare and other things. I really say, what’s the purpose of a country if you’re not going to have defense and health care. If you can’t take care of your sick in the country, forget it. It’s all over. I mean, it’s no good. So I’m very liberal when it comes to health care. I believe in universal health care. I believe in whatever it takes to make people well and better.”
This opinion was also seen during his time as President — in 2017, Trump told the Washington Post “we’re going to have insurance for everybody … There was a philosophy in some circles that if you can’t pay for it, you don’t get it. That’s not going to happen with us.” People covered under the law “can expect to have great health care. It will be in a much-simplified form. Much less expensive and much better.”
However, in 2017, with Trump as president, the Republican majority in Congress attempted to repeal the Affordable Care Act, a bill designed to make healthcare more affordable for those with serious medical issues and pre-existing conditions but failed.
Trump railed against the failure of the ACA-killing bill nearly two years later, after the passing of John McCain, the senator who’s “no” vote killed the bill.
“I think that’s disgraceful. Plus there are other things,” Trump said of McCain in remarks to reporters at the White House. “I was never a fan of John McCain and I never will be. … I’m very unhappy that he didn’t repeal and replace Obamacare.”
There was no alternative bill or plan offered by Republicans or Trump to increase healthcare affordability or access.
“Actions speak louder than words,” goes the saying.
Watching what each elected official does and what policy positions they take during their time in office is the only way to ultimately know where they come down on the political spectrum, rather than the label next to their name.
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