(Partially cross-posted on FDL Seminal)

I wrote earlier in the year about long-serving WV Congressman Alan Mollohan (WV-1) being defeated in the primary elections by fellow Democrat Michael Oliverio. Mollohan has had some troubles with the DOJ over corruption allegations, and Oliverio jumped at the chance to take him down with this. Oliverio was successful at defeating the 28-ish year veteran.

Mollohan hasn’t gone quietly. Politico issued a story regarding Mollohan and him lashing out at the media, and specifically Oliverio, for slander and spreading lies about him and his tenure in the United States House of Representatives.

(Taken from Politico, but direct quotes from Alan Mollohan himself)

“The fact is that during my 28 years of congressional service, I have never violated my public trust. I have never used my official position for personal gain,” Mollohan said in his memo.

“Yet my opponent in the primary election, Michael Oliverio, used a four-year-old dishonest Republican smear campaign as the centerpiece of his race. So, as I prepare to leave office, lingering questions about my ethical conduct float in the wake of the last campaign.”

The criminal investigation of Mollohan by the Justice Department centered on whether he used his position as a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee to steer multi-million dollar earmarks to non-profit groups run by political allies, who then donated tens of thousands of dollars to his reelection campaigns

The charges were dropped by the DOJ, but lingering feelings of uneasiness could potentially account for his defeat.

His beachfront property was also foreclosed upon, which would leave some tension up to the voters I’m sure.

Oct. 16–CHARLESTON — A North Carolina beachfront property co-owned by Rep. Alan Mollohan, D-W.Va., his wife, Barbara W. Mollohan, and two business associates is undergoing foreclosure. According to a legal ad in a North Carolina newspaper, it will be placed for public auction.

The property is at 15 Horsemint Trail, Bald Head Island, according to the ad in The State Port Pilot in Southport, N.C. Ad Assistant Marisa Bundrick verified that the ad was ordered by a North Carolina law firm and ran Oct. 7 and 14.

The ad says that the foreclosure sale is proceeding "because of default in the payment of the indebtedness secured by the Deed of Trust and failure to carry out or perform the stipulations and agreements therein contained."

Source: All Business (Pulled from the Dominion Post)

Several sources are confirming the defeat of Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-WV) in the West Virginia Democratic Primary to State Senator Michael Oliverio. Alan Mollohan was a 27 (roughly) year veteran incumbent who held the seat, and didn’t even face an opposition in his last election. This victory for Oliverio comes after a controversial healthcare vote cast by Mollohan. Oliverio opposes the current healthcare law, and many in the state also oppose it.
This from the fix blog:

West Virginia Democratic Rep. Alan Mollohan lost his bid for a 15th term tonight at the hands of state Sen. Mike Oliverio, a defeat that further affirms the anti-incumbent sentiment coursing through the country.

Mollohan hadn’t faced a serious primary fight in more than a decade and was seen in some circles as unbeatable given that the 1st district seat had been in his family since 1968. (His father held it from 1968-1982 before handing it off to the son.)

But, Oliverio, who served a single term in the state House of Delegates before being elected to the state Senate in 1994, ran hard against Mollohan’s entrenched incumbent status and the lingering whiff of ethics problems that had dogged the Congressman for years.

Out of Washington Post

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — W.Va. congressman Alan Mollohan defeated in Democratic primary; ends 28-year run in US House

In a rare challenge for his seat this early in the election year, Alan Mollohan (D-WV) is facing his first Democratic Primary opponent in almost 20 years.  Mike Oliverio, a state senator from Morgantown, is challenging Mollohan and running on a platform that focuses attention on deficit reduction measures.  

The race, up until the past week or two, has been relatively uneventful.  In fact, I didn't even know Mollohan was facing a primary opponent until I saw a facebook ad for Oliverio in March.  Taking an incumbent like Alan Mollohan on (who is approaching 28 years in Congress) is clearly a challenge.  West Virginia adores incumbents.  If you don't believe me then direct your attention towards Robert C. Byrd (D-WV).  The longest serving Congressman in the legislative body's history is among one of the several incumbent Democrats who rarely face challenging opposition.

The Mollohan name is synonymous with the seat that he currently holds, as Alan Mollohan succeeded his father (Bob) after he had served 16 years in the same seat.  

Mollohan's record of earmarking has come into question the past few years, but the charges initially brought by the Department of Justice have since been dropped.  However, this doesn't leave Mollohan off the hook as Oliverio has chosen to air ads attacking the Congressman's record.  Politico's Josh Krausharr recently reported this:

West Virginia Rep. Alan Mollohan's Democratic primary opponent is pulling no punches in the run-up to the May 11 election, airing an ad spotlighting Mollohan's ethics woes and accusing the congressman of "funnel[ing] millions of your tax dollars to his contributors and business partners." 

In his ad, state Sen. Mike Oliverio cites a recent report from the good-government group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington that named Mollohan one of the most corrupt members of Congress. 

Mollohan has not made his opinions regarding these ads a secret. His campaign manager, as well as him personally, issued statements denouncing the ads and criticizing Oliverio of not sticking to the real issues.  This is where the squabble begins, and it wouldn't be politics without it. 

"He's lying. He’s just straight out lying about me," Mollohan told MetroNews in a Monday phone interview. "When that happens you just have to take it on and call it what it is."

Mollohan says Oliverio should be talking about the issues, but instead he's digging up past allegations made by the Chris Wakim campaign in 2006.

"He's pretty well defining himself, not only his character with the kind of campaign he's running, but he's defining himself by his right wing policies," Mollohan said.

Oliverio says he's defined himself by serving 18 years in the state legislature. "Balancing budgets, educating children, delivering health care, the kinds of things people expect from an elected official. That's who I am," Oliverio said.

Source:  WVMetroNews

Of course, words were not enough to champion himself over Oliverio.  Mollohan incorporated an ad of his own that criticized Oliverio's membership with The American Legislative Exchange Council. (WV Public Broadcasting)

Mollohan responded with an ad criticizing Oliverio’s relationship with the American Legislative Exchange Council.

 

According to its website, Oliverio is the co-state chair of the group. Mollohan describes the ALEC as right-wing.

ALEC has been a highly criticized organization by more left-wing pundits and bloggers for its ties to big tobacco lobbies and is claimed to be a right-wing favoring organization by some.  

To make matters even more interesting, Oliverio challenged Alan Mollohan to a debate in early March to formally address issues.

"I've asked for a debate, and he doesn't want to debate," Oliverio said. "A lot of people have questions about how Congressman Mollohan became a multi-millionaire, and accumulated this enormous wealth.

Mollohan's response was this:

Mollohan has refused to debate Oliverio, which the senator calls a "display of arrogance." Mollohan says he may have agreed to a debate if it would have focused on the real issues of the First District.

The Democratic Primary is May 11 in West Virginia, a week from today, and this race only continues to get more interesting.  Many across the state believe that Mollohan's days are numbered, while many still view Oliverio as more of a blue-dog Democrat unwilling to support a progressive agenda.  I don't know how this race will turn out, but I'm excited to watch it happen.

In a previous diary a few days ago I posted about how Mike Oliverio, Democratic state senator running against Alan Mollohan, produced polls showing him in the lead with less than 3 weeks left before the West Virginia primary elections.

The Hill's Ballot Box reported this:

The poll, which was conducted by in-state pollster Orion Strategies, shows Oliverio surging to an eight-point lead on the incumbent, 41-33. A couple months ago, Mollohan led 41-31

Mollohan's campaign manager didn't believe the validity of these results. I don't know how they extrapolated those numbers," said Pam Van Horn, Mollohan's campaign manager.(Parkersburg News)

Mollohan and his campaign thus released their polls, conducted by FrederickPolls in Arlington.

The Mollohan poll by FrederickPolls of Arlington, Va., was done Wednesday and Thursday and surveyed by telephone 400 Democrats and independents who were asked if the election were today, for whom would they vote, Van Horn said.

Forty-five percent said they'll vote for Mollohan, 36 percent were for state Sen. Michael Oliverio and 19 percent were undecided, she said.

Source: Parkersburg News

A full statement regarding the polling data can be found here

A link pulled from the Charleston Gazette detailing Oliverio's polling data can be seen here

This race has the potential to get heated in the coming days.

Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-WV) is seeing his first Democratic primary challenger since 1992, and his name is Mike Oliverio.  (Mollohan is currently running to secure his 14th term in the House of Representatives. 

His challenger, Mike Oliverio, currently holds a seat on the West Virginia State Senate.  

Polls show the 27 year veteran facing quite an opposition.  A seat once thought would certainly be held by Mollohan is now up for contention, and Oliverio has an upper hand going into the final week of April.  

During the last week of January, as Oliverio prepared for a potential run for Congress, he commissioned Orion Strategies to conduct a poll of 600 Democratic voters likely to vote in the primary based on their history. Oliverio pointed to two factors in the poll's results that led him to decide to run against Mollohan, D-W.Va.

• Asked the question "In a race between Alan Mollohan and another Democratic candidate, would you vote for Alan Mollohan?" half of those responding said they would vote for Mollohan, while another 23 percent were undecided.
• The voters also were asked if they approved of leadership of some top Democrats. Gov. Joe Manchin's resulting approval rating was 67 percent; that of President Barack Obama, 46 percent; and Mollohan's, 40 percent

This is just an example of the political climate surrounding state politics in West Virginia, and specifically on Mollohan as reported in the Wheeling Intelligencer  

Aaron Blake, of The Hill's Ballot Box Campaign Blog, had this to say:

Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-W.Va.) is in serious trouble in his primary, according to a new poll released by state Sen. Mike Oliverio.

The poll, which was conducted by in-state pollster Orion Strategies, shows Oliverio surging to an eight-point lead on the incumbent, 41-33. A couple months ago, Mollohan led 41-31

Growing opposition to Rep. Mollohan continues in the wake of corruption charges that have been brought against him over the past few years.  A recent investigation by the DOJ was dropped, but the public opinion has been significantly dropping.

There are roughly 17 days until the primary election, it will be very interesting to see how this develops.  Does Oliverio have a chance to win the primary and face a Republican foe in the November elections?

We shall see.