The Blue Wave Meets the Red Sea
When The West Virginia Daily News last published, Greenbrier County was a majority Democrat county in voter registration, as it had been for the past 100 years. Now, our beautiful and majestic county has officially flipped the script.
As of August 27, 2020, Greenbrier County is now ruby red with a Republican majority in voter registration and, with the party switch by County Clerk Robin Loudermilk, a Republican majority in the courthouse (counting the surveyor). This is a historic shift, with Democrats holding a +4,540 advantage in August 2016. Today, Republicans hold a +100 advantage, steadily rising. According to the courthouse’s Voter Registration division, between June 1st and August 31st, 225 Democrats changed to the Republican Party. In contrast, only 9 Republicans changed to the Democrat Party.
The message is clear. The Democrat Party’s platform simply does not resonate with local residents. Radical social agendas and groundless shouts of “racism and bigotry” have utterly devastated the reputation of the modern Democrat Party (and its direct ally, local and national media), leaving the working men and women of Greenbrier County in the cold.
In perfect synchrony, Greenbrier officially became GOP territory on the final day of the 2020 Republican National Convention. This year’s convention showed how the Republican Party understands how to have an effective, intimate conversation with Americans. Nothing about the convention was insincere or pompous. The Republican message is simply more compelling and more inclusive for the average American family. No American’s intelligence was insulted, and no American was belittled.
Greenbrier’s leap to Republicanism is best explained by the county’s deep respect and admiration for the work of President Donald Trump, quite possibly our best advocate in the White House that West Virginia has ever experienced. The Trump tax cuts have doubled and tripled the tax returns for numerous local middle-class families. Trump’s slashing of burdensome regulations has jumpstarted long-dormant industries across the state. Trump has protected the 2nd Amendment, protected the rights of the unborn, and ensured record federal money to help combat the state’s opioid epidemic. In Greenbrier County, the Trump administration’s Opportunity Zone program has had a positive effect in designated areas such as Ronceverte and White Sulphur Springs, bringing greater potential for small business growth. The county voted for President Trump in 2016 with 68% of the vote, and the margin may be larger this time. With Republican leadership in the legislature and statehouse, job growth initiatives have flourished over the past few years, helping everyday citizens escape the cycle of welfare and poverty that Democrats had created. Republican leadership has been putting West Virginia back on the map.
Why can’t our legislators from Greenbrier County get on the same page? In a county of such undeniable potential, Greenbrier has been shackled by do-less Democrat leadership for far too long. Greenbrier County is the 15th largest county in the state with boundless tourism industry opportunities and potential for manufacturing expansion. However, the county is consistently losing population and falling behind the 8-ball on the statewide scene. In the build-up to ABB leaving Greenbrier County, taking many jobs out of the region, did you see either of your local Democrat delegates (up for election this year) do anything to try to stop them? Instead, Delegate Cindy Lavender-Bowe was busy trying to push the state’s minimum wage, which is already higher than most surrounding states, to $12 an hour. Wouldn’t that be a gut punch to local small businesses that are barely able to survive right now due to the Coronavirus pandemic? Ask yourselves, what has your local Democrat representation in Charleston truly accomplished for you over the past two years? You will quickly find that the cupboard of triumphs is quite bare.
Local Democrat candidates are falling right in line with the national leftist lunacy. For example, Mr. Good-Ole-Boy himself, Democrat State Senate candidate Bill Laird, was a delegate for Joe Biden in this year’s Democratic National Convention. Mr. Laird’s opponent, Summers County Commissioner Jack David Woodrum, was a delegate for President Trump at the RNC. The choice cannot get any clearer. You will also notice that local Democrat candidates have not been very visible in the past few months, unlike local GOP candidates that are out meeting people and knocking on doors. Why? Because the local Greenbrier Dems are waiting patiently for out-of-state and union money to pour in and hopefully save their flailing party.
The Greenbrier County Republican Party has put forward a powerful slate of Trump-supporting, pro-growth, pro-safety candidates, including Barry Bruce and Todd Longanacre for House of Delegates, Jack David Woodrum for State Senate, Lowell Rose for County Commissioner, and Doug Beard for Sheriff. Greenbrier County citizens are, beyond a shadow of a doubt, tired of political popularity contests. We are not fooled by fluff language and toothy grins. We seek substance and we seek results. As Chairman of the Greenbrier County Republican Party, I am proud to say that the GOP stands tall as the party of prosperity and hope for our future. Vote Red!
Cordially submitted,
Ben Anderson, Ronceverte
Chairman, Greenbrier County Republican Executive Committee
This page is available to subscribers. Click here to sign in or get access.