Justice? Bizarre court race

Charleston Gazette Nov. 04, 2004 editorial

NEVER within memory has West Virginia witnessed a weird campaign like the 2004 state Supreme Court race.

Massey coal mogul Don Blankenship poured more than $3 million into distorted ads smearing incumbent Democratic Justice Warren McGraw. This millionaire bombardment succeeded in electing McGraw's unknown opponent, Brent Benjamin.

Bizarrely, McGraw's fellow Democratic justice, Elliott "Spike" Maynard, joined Blankenship at a cozy dinner and at a Benjamin victory celebration

Bizarrely, after his election was purchased by a single donor, Republican Benjamin declared: "I can tell you I am not bought by anyone."

Of course, McGraw was partly responsible for his own defeat, because he has a record of controversy and odd behavior, such as his shrieking speech at the Racine Labor Day rally (Ed. note: which was caught on tape by the son of the VP of WV Coal Association and used in radio ads.) . Nonetheless, the state's high court has been put under a cloud by

Blankenship's cash-and-carry campaign. His Massey empire is mired in various lawsuits and pollution crackdown actions, some of which come before the Supreme Court.