West Virginia newspaper speculates on Senate transportation chairman's political future

Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) could face a tough race for reelection when he is up in 2014, a newspaper in his home state suggested Monday.

Rockefeller, who recently was at the middle of the fight over funding for the Federal Aviation Administration, could be in trouble because of a combination of factors, including his age and President Obama's unpopularity in West Virginia, an op-ed in the Charleston Daily Mail said.

"In the 2014 election, U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia will be a five-term Democratic incumbent with an estimated wealth of over $80 million," the op-ed said.   

"Life is good," the paper continued. "Yet Rockefeller has reason to be at least concerned about his chances, should he decide to run for re-election. A Public Policy Poll out this week shows Rockefeller with a 45 percent approval rating. That's not bad considering the approval rating for Congress as a whole is in the teens or lower, depending on the poll. But PPP also found that 42 percent of voters disapprove of him."

It doesn't help that the president is deeply unpopular in Rockefeller's home state, where Obama lost to the Republican Party's 2008 presidential nominee, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), by 13 points, the paper added.

Rockefeller's fellow West Virginia senator, freshman Sen. Joe Manchin (D), has worked hard to distance himself from Obama, saying recently he did not know if he would vote for the president in 2012.

Rockefeller backed Obama in '08 — if he does so against next year, he could pay for it in his own election two years later, the paper said.

"The president's approval rating in West Virginia is just 32 percent, while 62 percent of voters disapprove of him," the op-ed said. "If Rockefeller supports Obama in 2012 and Obama wins, it could cost Rockefeller and other Democrats in the 2014 midterm elections if the economy does not improve and the president remains unpopular in West Virginia.

"Interestingly, re-election might be easier for Rockefeller if Obama loses next year," the piece continued.

Rockefeller, who will be 77 in 2014, has not said whether he will run for what would be a sixth term.

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