[July 01, 2011] Key Democrats miss party unity dinner Tweet Jun 08, 2011 (Charleston Daily Mail - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- The state Democratic Party held a unity dinner last weekend following a gubernatorial primary where two candidates went negative on the eventual victor, acting Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin. Only one of the four losing candidates showed up, but Democratic Party officials said the party is united behind Tomblin. The party said about 200 people attended the Friday evening event in Charleston. But of this year's candidates, only Tomblin and Treasurer John Perdue attended. Secretary of State Natalie Tennant's mother had died earlier in the week. Tennant had already expressed support for Tomblin and attended his election night event after it became clear she had not won. House Speaker Rick Thompson and acting Senate President Jeff Kessler were both attending graduations. But both sent representatives, according to a press release from the Democratic Party. The third Democrat who didn't attend was Arne Moltis, an area landlord who received less than 500 votes. Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., attended. Sens. Jay Rockefeller and Joe Manchin, both sent messages. Mike Plante, the former campaign manager for Thompson who finished in second place, said Thompson missed the event because of his grandson's pre-school graduation. Plante went to the dinner to deliver a message on Thompson's behalf. "Rick is supporting Earl Ray without reservation and has communicated to him he'll help in any way he can and anyway the acting governor desires," Plante said in a telephone interview this week. He said Tomblin was "appreciative, very humbled and gracious to everybody" in his remarks and that the party itself was working to bring people together. "They've done a good job of trying to bring people back together and giving people a little time was a good move," Plante said. The election was May 14. Perdue and Thompson went negative in the race, mainly on Tomblin. An outside group with ties to the abortion rights group EMILY's List released ads designed to help Tennant and criticized Perdue, Thompson, Tomblin and Kessler for having nothing more than "big talk." The Republican Party held a unity event May 23, just over a week after the election to unite behind its nominee, Morgantown businessman Bill Maloney. Eight Republicans ran for their party's nomination, though one received less than 300 votes. The party's second place finisher, former Secretary of State Betty Ireland, didn't attend that unity event. Besides Maloney, Putnam County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Sorsaia and state House of Delegates member Mitch Carmichael both attended, according to GOP Chairman Mike Stuart. Stuart also said former state lawmaker Larry Faircloth was unable to attend but would have if possible. A spokesman for Maloney's campaign said Ralph William Clark endorsed the party's nominee at a GOP event over the weekend in Glenville. Contact writer Ry Rivard at [email protected] or 304-348-1796. To see more of the Khaleej Times, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.khaleejtimes.com. Copyright (c) 2011, Charleston Daily Mail, W.Va. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]