I could entirely understand why many West Virginians would feel somewhat disheartened about their part in the 2008 presidential election.

Not that I’m demeaning every person’s role as a valuable cog in the political machine, nor would I ever think about passing up on exercising my right to vote – but the predictions made by political prognosticators concerning West Virginia’s voting habits might make a young voter feel somewhat insignificant, as though their state’s electoral support for a certain candidate was a foregone conclusion.

Take, for instance, our Democratic primary, where Senator Hillary Clinton was expected to sweep the state in a landslide victory. Could this have persuaded supporters of Senator Barack Obama to save themselves costly gallons of fuel, knowing that their vote wasn’t likely to push the now presumptive Democratic nominee to a West Virginia win?

If this lethargic frame of mind played a role in our primary, things don’t bode well for the Illinois senator as far as taking West Virginia in the general election goes. The aforementioned political prognosticators, who proved accurate with their prediction of a landslide win for Clinton, favor presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain for a victory in the mountain state. Sure, perhaps our five votes might seem like a paltry sum, but keep in mind – since 1916, no Democratic nominee has won the presidency without taking West Virginia in the general election.

However, some recent campaign finance figures might show that things in West Virginia are not as “tied up” as our nation’s trustworthy political analysts might think. According to the latest Federal Election Commission filings, Sen. Obama has outraised Sen. McCain in campaign funds in West Virginia by a margin of about two to one.

The latest tally shows McCain has raised nearly $121,000 in West Virginia – in June alone, he raised $32,300, pushing his West Virginia campaign totals into the six-digit region. Sen. Obama, however, raised $58,800 from his mountaineer followers in June, propelling his totals to around $266,000.

Campaign fundraising, however, isn’t the most reliable bellwether when it comes to election predictions. For instance, in the months leading up to the 2004 presidential election, Kerry outraised Bush in West Virginia (though by a much smaller margin than the one seen above), and West Virginia sided with Bush come election day. Or look at the 1996 presidential election, when Bob Dole outraised Bill Clinton in all but six states, pushing his campaign finances to triple that of the former Arkansas governor – but we all know how that story ended.

If Obama wishes to overcome the powerful conservative vote in the 2008 election, he’ll have to put every single penny of his West Virginia finances to work – however, McCain has already seemingly beaten him to the punch, having already opened up a central campaign headquarters for the West Virginia general election in Charleston. While Obama’s campaign staff has claimed they’ll be running a 50-state campaign, meaning such a Democratic West Virginia headquarters is certainly on its way, it’s fairly unclear whether or not Obama will be focusing on West Virginia in the months preceding November.

However, these campaign finance figures might just be enough to upset the predictions cast months ago by political analysts, whose West Virginia predictions favor McCain by a fairly narrow margin.

To quote the Italian Stallion himself, Rocky Balboa – It ain’t over ‘till it’s over. Supporters of both candidates shouldn’t let the shadow of certainty cast by electoral soothsayers guide their voting habits – especially if those habits include staying home instead of fulfilling their civic duties.