Longtime West Virginia Democratic Rep. Alan B. Mollohan on Tuesday became the latest casualty of the nation’s anti-incumbent fever, losing to state Sen. Mike Oliverio in the state’s 1st Congressional District primary in the most closely watched race as three states held primary contests Tuesday.
“Everybody’s excited, especially about the decisiveness of this win” Oliverio campaign manager Curtis Wilkerson said at the victory party. “We’ve fulfilled a mandate with the Democratic party.”
He said he is confident Mr. Oliverio will win in November and that political analysts were calling the race in this Democrat-heavy state a tossup because they though Mr. Mollohan would survive.
Mr. Mollohan, chairman of a House Appropriations subcommittee, had not faced a primary challenge since 1992 and did not even attract a Republican opponent in 2008. But he trailed consistently throughout the evening by a double-digit margin against Mr. Oliverio.
Republicans see the seat as a possible pickup, and former state Delegate David B. McKinley was leading a six-candidate GOP field to challenge Mr. Oliverio this fall.
With 71 percent of the precincts reporting, Mr. Oliverio had nearly 56 percent of the vote, compared with Mr. Mollohan’s 44 percent. Mr. Mollohan thus becomes the first House incumbent to lose his primary race this year.
In Nebraska’s three House primaries, all three Republican incumbents retained their seats, as expected. Rep. Jeff L. Fortenberry won in the 1st District. Rep. Lee Terry won in the 2nd District and Rep. Adrian M. Smith won in the 3rd District.
And in Georgia, the special election to replace Republican Rep. Nathan Deal will now go to a June 8 runoff after no candidate in the crowded all-party field was able to break 50 percent Tuesday night.
Former state Rep. Tom Graves, a Republican, will definitely appear on the runoff ballot, with fellow Republican former state Sen. Lee Hawkins leading a tight field to make the two-candidate runoff.
The 66-year-old Mr. Mollohan, who succeeded his father in the seat, came under criticism this election cycle for lingering ethics issues and voting in favor of the 2008 economic bailout and President Obama’s health care overhaul bill, which cost him the support of pro-life groups concerned about increased federal funding for abortion.
Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser, an anti-abortion activist who campaigned against the incumbent, said his health care vote had cost him his job.
“Congressman Mollohan now fully realizes that votes do have consequences. Mollohans loss comes as a direct result of his vote for health care reform that included federal funding of abortion,” she said Tuesday night.
Reports that Mr. Mollohan had earmarked spending in appropriations bills for nonprofit groups run by campaign supporters prompted a four-year Justice Department probe, which ended in January without charges.
In West Virginia’s 2nd District, Republican incumbent Rep. Shelley Moore Capito did not face a primary challenge. In the 3rd District, incumbent Rep. Nick J. Rahall II easily won the Democratic primary.
Earlier in the day, Mr. Mollohan’s campaign said they were hoping voters could look beyond the “politically motivated” charges to see their candidate refused to become a career Washington politician to focus on such local concerns as bringing high-tech jobs to the state.
An estimated $1 million to help with TV and radio ads was funneled into the final weeks of the Oliverio-Mollohan race, which was seen as an early test on whether Democrats could limit their losses this fall in congressional and gubernatorial races.
The Cook Political Report and other forecasters suggest a Republican could win in November and are calling that race a tossup. Veteran campaign strategist Dick Morris predicted recently that a Republican would win the 1st District seat, which has been held by Democrats since 1969.
Though the district has long been a Democratic stronghold, Mr. Obama received only 42 percent of the vote in the 2008 election.
The race drew national attention largely because Mr. Oliverio suggested that if elected he would prefer having a candidate for House speaker more concerned about West Virginia than Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat who supports cap-and-trade climate change legislation.
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