Does the Road to the White House Run Through West Virginia?

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2:44 PM, May 12, 2008 • By BRIAN FAUGHNAN

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Craig Crawford points out that West Virginia -- which seems about to reject Barack Obama by an overwhelming margin -- has picked the winner of the White House in every presidential election since 1916:

West Virginia might not matter to Barack Obama's tightening grip on the Democratic nomination, but no one has been elected president without the Mountain State since Woodrow Wilson's narrow reelection in 1916. Obama's snub of the state for Tuesday's primary could endanger his party's hopes for West Virginia in November, unless his message of winning the general election by breaking from the past includes breaking the state's near 100-year record of backing the White House winner.

Every streak comes to an end eventually, right?

Note: Crawford's point is not quite right; while no Democrat has won the White House without carrying West Virginia since 1916, Democrats have carried the state and lost several times. James McKnight was the first of several to point out the error.

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