1996 West Virginia gubernatorial election

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1996 West Virginia gubernatorial election
Flag of West Virginia.svg
  1992 November 5, 1996 2000  
  Cecil Underwood 1998 (cropped).jpg 3x4.svg
Nominee Cecil Underwood Charlotte Pritt
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote324,518287,870
Percentage51.6%45.8%

1996 West Virginia gubernatorial election results map by county.svg
County results
Underwood:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%
Pritt:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%

Governor before election

Gaston Caperton
Democratic

Elected Governor

Cecil Underwood
Republican

The 1996 West Virginia gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 1996 to elect the governor of West Virginia. Republican Cecil Underwood, who had previously been the governor of West Virginia from 1957 to 1961, defeated Democratic State Senator Charlotte Pritt. Concurrently, the state voted the opposite way federally, choosing Democratic U.S. presidential nominee, incumbent Bill Clinton over Republican nominee Bob Dole in the presidential election that year.

Contents

Pritt was the first woman to secure the West Virginia gubernatorial nomination of either of the two major political parties. This was the last election in which a Republican was elected governor of West Virginia until 2020. Former Republican Jim Justice was elected in the 2016 election as a Democrat and later switched back to the Republican Party seven months into his term, making him the first Republican governor since 2001 when Underwood left office.

Democratic primary

Candidates

West Virginia Democratic gubernatorial primary, 1996 [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Charlotte Pritt 130,107 39.54%
Democratic Joe Manchin 107,12432.56%
Democratic Jim Lees64,10019.48%
Democratic Larrie Bailey15,7334.78%
Democratic Bobbie Edward Myers3,0380.92%
Democratic Lyle Sattes2,9310.89%
Democratic Bob Henry Baber1,4560.44%
Democratic Louis J. Davis1,3510.41%
Democratic Frank Rochetti1,3300.40%
Democratic Richard E. Koon1,1540.35%
Democratic Fred Schell7330.22%
Total votes329,057 100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

West Virginia Republican gubernatorial primary, 1996 [2]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Cecil Underwood 54,628 40.78%
Republican Jon McBride 44,25533.03%
Republican David McKinley 35,08926.19%
Total votes133,972 100.00%

Results

West Virginia gubernatorial election, 1996 [3]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Republican Cecil Underwood 324,518 51.63% +15.07%
Democratic Charlotte Pritt 287,87045.80%−10.21%
Libertarian Wallace Johnson16,1712.57%+2.57%
Margin of victory36,6485.83%−13.62%
Total votes628,559 100.00% N/A
Republican gain from Democratic Swing

References

  1. "WV Governor - D Primary 1996". Our Campaigns. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
  2. "1996 Primary Election - Official Returns of the Republican party" (PDF). WV Secretary of State. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
  3. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections".