It's very hard to topple an incumbent, given built-in advantages like name recognition, free publicity and ready access to political contributions.

But West Virginia Democrats proved Tuesday all of that counts for nothing when an elected official -- this time the chief justice of the state Supreme Court -- has lost the public's confidence.

Chief Justice Elliott "Spike" Maynard was a favorite to win renomination until photos in January showed him on a vacation in Monaco in 2006 with the CEO of Massey Energy, a coal company that had a multimillion-dollar appeal before the court. A 3-2 majority that included Justice Maynard ruled last November in Massey's favor.

This year the justice recused himself from a rehearing of the case, but by then the damage apparently had been done. This week the state's Democrats demonstrated their lack of faith in Justice Maynard by denying him renomination. With two court seats to be filled in the November election, the party's voters chose two candidates ahead of him, leaving the judge of 28 years off the fall ballot.

Call it a lesson for anyone who holds a high position, whether in public office or public university -- another place where West Virginians have been outraged by the specter of favoritism. The lesson is that people may be duped at first, but when it's time to cast their votes -- or choose or donate to a university -- they'll reject those who have lost their trust every time.