The decision by Kanawha County Commissioner Ben Salango not to enter the race for the Democratic nomination for governor in 2024 offers insight into just how challenging the political landscape is in West Virginia now for Democrats.
Salango was the party’s nominee in 2020, and even though he lost badly to incumbent Republican Jim Justice (65% to 31%) he was seriously considering a second attempt. With a popular governor out of the picture — Justice is term-limited and now running for the Senate — Salango felt his odds were better this time.
But even those better odds are long. West Virginia has gone so deeply red that the path forward for any Democrat running for statewide office is extremely narrow. If Donald Trump is at the top of the ticket, the down ballot effect makes it even more unlikely that a Democrat can win.
Enter Steve Williams, the unfailingly optimistic Democratic mayor of Huntington. Williams has been hinting for months that he is running for governor, although he has not yet made a formal announcement. That will come, either this month or next, after Williams has finished laying the groundwork for his campaign.
Salango’s decision not to run clears the way for Williams. Had Salango run, the two would have had to spend precious time and money trying to win the nomination. With Salango out, and no other Democratic candidate on the horizon now, Williams can concentrate on introducing himself to the state.
That is a monumental task. Williams is not well known, or known at all, outside of Huntington. That is a significant downside for someone with statewide aspirations. However, the upside is that Williams has a clean slate. With little or no primary opposition he can spend his time and money defining himself before his opponents have a chance to define him.
Meanwhile, the candidates in a crowded field in the race for the Republican nomination for governor will be busy going after each other. The eventual nominee will likely emerge with a few political bruises.
But I keep thinking about Salango’s decision.
Yes, Williams is helped significantly by Salango being out of the race. But Salango’s exit is yet another indicator of the weakness of the state’s Democratic Party. He would have entered the contest as the front-runner to win the primary. It was the General Election that spooked him — expensive, time-consuming and probably a loss.
For decades, leading state Democrats jockeyed for their turn to run for governor, and many times big names ended up squaring off in the primary because they felt it was their time. Now the bench is ever so thin.
The Democratic Party is fortunate that Steve Williams is willing to step into the fray. He will at least give his party a fighting chance.
