Looking Forward to a 2010 Senate Race in West Virginia

If West Virginia's secretary of state has anything to say about it, the state's Democratic governor will appoint a replacement for the late Sen. Robert Byrd and a special election won't be held until 2012, but the GOP wants a lawsuit. In the meantime, The National Review's Jim Geraghty is optimistic about Republicans' chances in a potential 2010 race between Gov. Joe Manchin and Republican Rep. Shelly Moore Capito:

Sure, Manchin is relatively popular (hard to tell with so little polling in the state); he would probably be the favorite, but not overwhelmingly so. But this is a year in which the Democrats already have to defend Senate seats in states they never expected -- California, Washington, Wisconsin -- and so this adds one more battlefront. The DSCC just isn't going to have enough resources to fight everywhere; Manchin is probably going to be on his own for much of his fight. For what it is worth, Obama is terribly unpopular in the state.

Read the full post at The Campaign Spot.