What happened in Kentucky??

[kentuck]

Both Bill and Hillary won Kentucky big the last time they ran in the state. They also won West Virginia. Hillary beat Obama badly in both states - by about 40 percentage points in West Virginia. But she lost to Bernie Sanders last week.

Bernie was so sure that he would lose the "closed primary" in Kentucky that he up and went to Puerto Rico. If he had known it was going to be so close, maybe he would have spent another day or so on the ground?

Hillary brought Bill into the state to help her campaign and won the state of Kentucky by less than 1/2 of a percentage point. What does that tell us?

Could she lose West Virginia and Kentucky to Donald Trump? Do the coal miners in PA and OH have similar clout?

It was not a good sign.

[Barack_America]

1. I hope that Sanders asks for a recount in KY.

If for no other reason than to (hopefully) put to rest concerns of election fraud and favoritism impacting these closed primaries.

[reformist2]

13. It might not put the concerns to rest, if the result flips. I suspect the results *would* flip.

[Fawke Em]

2. I look for her to lose W.Va and Kentucky to Trump anyway.

But, I also think she'll lose both Ohio and PA to him. The Republicans and right-leaning Independents will crawl over broken glass naked to vote against her while the left-leaning Millennials and Independents will be anemic about a Clinton presidency.

Not a good sign in swing states.

[auntpurl]

19. You sound like you're really hoping so.

Fingers crossed!

MIRT!

[HooptieWagon]

29. She'll lose several swing states...

and several Blue states will become swing states. DWS's track record of losing House seats will continue. Third Way popularity only exists in the bubble of Wall St boardrooms...everyone else recognizes it as more Reaganomics 2.0 bullshit.

[Skwmom]

33. The bubble of Wall St boardrooms and the sold out and cashed in world of DC politicians.

The mistake is thinking you can fool people forever.

[floriduck]

3. For starters, Bill is no asset. His stock is in the shitter. But the candidate herself has hidden

behind the woman card, the misogyny card, the Brock slimes and the Wall Street dollars. What's to like? She took many of Bernie's policy positions when she saw his success. Then when she thought the southern swing put her in good shape, she slid back to the center in anticipation for the general election. But now the Clintons are limping to the finish line.

[silvershadow]

4. Same thing that happened everywhere this primary season...since the wheels fell off the bus

for HRC it has been a rocky road indeed.

[KingFlorez]

5. Clinton was not running against a black man this time

And she was a top cabinet member to the first black President, which probably does not set to well with Kentucky. Do the math.

[kentuck]

7. "Coal keeps the lights on"

..has been repeated over and over since Obama was first elected. The impact and influence of the coal industry is widespread in KY and W. VA. Hopefully it has not spread to Ohio and Pennsylvania?

But, it is scary at how precipitous the drop was for Hillary in both coal states. They love Trump - even many Bernie supporters in those states will vote for Trump against Hillary because he has made promises to bring back the coal industry. They are grasping at straws.

[Dem2]

6. OK

your concern is noted.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

8. She will lose KY and WV like PBO did and go on to a resounding victory general election victory...

She will lose KY and WV like PBO did and go on to a resounding victory general election victory like he did.

[itsrobert]

9. Good news. So you are saying Kentucky and West Virginia are in play.

Didn't expect that.

[auntpurl]

20. +10000

[Cali_Democrat]

10. Why did KY and WV hate Obama so much in 2008?

That's the real question here IMO.

I think skin tone had a lot to do with it.

[kentuck]

12. I'm sure that is a big part of it...

But Obama did not make any friends with his comments about the coal industry before he was elected.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

16. Would the earth be better or worse off if we found green energy sources to replace coal?

[kentuck]

18. These folks have something akin to Stockholm Syndrome...

They have grown to love their coal masters.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

21. I have nothing but respect for them.

I can't begin to imagine how tough someone has to be to work all day in a cave extracting elements so others can have light and power.

When I was a young man I dated a coal miner's daughter and knew people who lived in "the Holla" . They were salt of the earth.

[kentuck]

22. I was born in a coal mining camp.

It's all a lot of people know.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

23. She was from West Virginia. This is so long ago...

I can't think of much more grueling work.

[JI7]

14. in 2008 she was running against a black man. Grimes could not even bring herself to say she voted

for him

[Bill USA]

15. it's pretty obvious Clinton's 'unartful' comment about putting Coal Companies out of business hurt

her in coal mining states.

Clinton haunted by coal country comment

[msongs]

17. they are red states ya know nt

[Waiting For Everyman]

24. It tells us to change horses

the one we've got is lame.

[DookDook]

35. Spot on!

I remember when Shrub the lesser was running for his second term and it seemed that they took their entire election strategy from 'Wag the Dog.' I had a buddy of mine tell me that he was going to vote for Bush because, 'well, you don't change horses in mid stream!'

[onenote]

25. What happened is that the front runner did massively better in KY this year than in 2008

In 2008, the front runner in the race for the nomination came to Kentucky and had his ass kicked, getting less than 25 percent of the vote. It didn't slow down his march to the nomination.

In 2016, the front runner in the race for the nomination came to Kentucky and not only didn't get her ass kicked, she won, further propelling her towards the nomination.

Probably not the explanation you were looking for.

[tonyt53]

26. Easy. Bernie stayed away from places where he would be asked about his position on coal.

Very far away. Just like in WV, Hillary went right in the middle of the people. A real leader doesn't hide from adversity.

[LonePirate]

27. KY and WV have been reliably red in the past few presidential elections. This year is no different.

[tonyt53]

28. Bingo!

[bigtree]

30. the front runner LOST Kentucky in 2008

...Barack Obama lost Kentucky by 25 points, I believe.

Her win in Kentucky certainly bested that result.

Why should her result be compared to the loser (Hillary) in that race?

[Skwmom]

31. It is not ONLY the coal miners in PA and OH the Clintons need to worry about.

Clinton went around Ohio in 2008, looking at the devastation, and saying she was going to stand up for them on trade.

Now they find out from her emails she was pushing a trade agreement she told them she was against and she was the biggest cheerleader for TPP.

The Clintons sold them out and cashed in. The little people understand you aren't given that kind of money for nothing.

[apnu]

32. 2016 is not 1992

KY and WV are very different places between now and then. In the 90s there were still Conservative Democrats who'd never pull the lever for a Republican because they had a family tradition of Republican hating that goes back to the Civil War. Bill and Hillary were seen as Southerners back then and were acceptable to Conservative Democrats.

Today, decades later, demographics have changed in the South and there are no conservatives left who are Democrats.

[jillan]

34. She outspent Bernie there too. lol.