Rudy is the quintessential average white guy, right down to his last name. “It literally is Guy,” he said, laughing at the irony.<\/p>\n
Born in New Eagle and raised in Charleroi in Pennsylvania’s Monongahela Valley, Guy comes from a long line of Democrats. “My grandfather worked at Corning Glass, my father worked in the mines, the steel mill and finally at Corning,” he recalled. “The family always had union ties, and that usually meant a tie to the Democratic Party.”<\/p>\n
That’s no longer true for him, however: “As my life started to improve financially, I realized that unions seemed to be damaging the economy and Democrat legislation always seemed to impact my wallet.”<\/p>\n
Guy lives in a Canton suburb lively with soccer fields, businesses, car cruises and recycling programs. He has a blended family of six daughters and one son; his wife, Cheryl, is a nurse and a registered Democrat.<\/p>\n
His story is not much different than that of those West Virginia Democrats who protest-voted for a convicted felon over a sitting president in last Tuesday’s state primary.<\/p>\n
The problem for President Barack Obama and down-ticket Democrats on November’s ballot is that average white guys aren’t just found in West Virginia; they’re in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and other states, too, and they can tip this fall’s election.<\/p>\n