West Virginians Probably Don't Like Being Called Hicks

Which is why this ad from the Senate campaign of West Virginia's Democratic Governor Joe Manchin is quite effective:



As I wrote when the story at the center of this ad first broke, "When a party's candidate in a major Senate election faces questions of whether he resides in the state, it's probably not a good idea for that party to hire out-of-state actors to portray voters. It's also probably not a good idea for the casting call for these out-of-state actors to ask for a 'hicky' look." This Manchin ad is exactly why I wrote this: now the Democrats have an added opportunity to hit Republican John Raese over questions about his residency, and tie all of these attacks into a broader narrative that he doesn't get West Virginia. Quite the costly mistake for the National Republican Senatorial Committee.