18-Year-Old Wins State Legislature Seat in West Virginia

[FBaggins]

The Republican Wave lifted many boats last night, including that of 18-year-old Saira Blair. The college freshman was elected to the West Virginia House of Delegates in a landslide—she earned 63 percent of the vote to her 44-year-old Democratic opponent's 30 percent—and officially became the youngest lawmaker in the country. She'll represent a district of about 18,000 people in the eastern part of the state, near the Maryland border.

The Wall Street Journal describes Blair as "fiscally conservative," and she "campaigned on a pledge to work to reduce certain taxes on businesses." Her website boasts an "A" rating from the NRA and endorsements from West Virginians for Life. As a 17-year-old, Blair primaried the 66-year-old Republican incumbent Larry Kump and advanced to the general election—all while legally being unable to cast a vote for herself. Democratic attorney Layne Diehl, her general election opponent, had only good things to say last night about the teenager who beat her: "Quite frankly a 17- or 18-year-old young woman that has put herself out there and won a political campaign has certainly brought some positive press to the state."

Blair, an economics and Spanish major at West Virginia University, will defer her spring classes to attend the legislative session in the state capital. There, she'll join her father and campaign manager, Craig, who is a state senator.

http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2014/11/18-year-old-wins-state-legislature-seat-west-virginia

I thought this was a neat story until I got to the last line.

Now it's just another commentary on the electorate. They probably just voted on name recognition.

[phil89]

1. Disgraceful stupity.

voting for an 18 year old is just bad judgment.

[joeglow3]

5. Can't fuck it up any worse than what we have today

[GGJohn]

9. Why?

[brendan120678]

2. And Ted Kennedy, Jr. won a State Senate seat...

here in Connecticut. Think that wasn't name recognition?

[Downwinder]

3. Didn't help Sam Houston.

[pstokely]

4. Was she homeskooled?

?

[bucolic_frolic]

6. Sorry, Charlie

An 18 year old is not ready to exercise sound reasoning, judgment, complexity about
society, laws, ideas, or much else.

Of course she'll be the next Robert Byrd - which gives her what, 74 more years in office?

Don't think it couldn't happen.

[sorechasm]

7. If you were expecting..

"sound reasoning, judgment, complexity about society, laws, ideas..."

You must have missed the fact that she is a Republican. These traits only get in the way of promoting scripted talking points.

The clone army is hatching.

[bucolic_frolic]

8. As you put it, frightening and true

LOL .... i had the best chuckle this week on that one, thanks

but it's the laugh of high anxiety

[LiberalElite]

10. I bet her daddy will tell her what to do nt

[GGJohn]

12. Does it matter if she goes to her dad for advice?

[Odin2005]

11. The Ageism in this thread is disgusting.

[redruddyred]

13. it annoys me to meet people my age who are libertarians.

I always wonder if they'll grow out of it.