1998 West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals special election

1998 West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals special election

←  1996 [a] November 3, 1998 2000  →

← 1992 2004  →

Nominee Warren McGraw John F. McCuskey Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 194,951 167,907 Percentage 53.73% 46.27%

Justice before election John F. McCuskey Republican Elected Justice Warren McGraw Democratic

The 1998 West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals special election took place on November 3, 1998, to elect a Justice of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia for the next six years. The election was held to complete the unexpired term of Democratic Justice Thomas McHugh, who retired in December 1997. Republican governor Cecil H. Underwood appointed John F. McCuskey to fill the vacancy.

McCuskey lost the general election to Democratic nominee and former Senate President Warren McGraw, 53.7% to 46.3%.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Warren McGraw, former Senate President (1981-1985), candidate for governor in 1984, and brother of incumbent Attorney General Darrell McGraw.

Eliminated in primary

• Joseph Albright, former Justice of the Supreme Court of Appeals (1995-1996) and former Speaker of the House of Delegates (1985-1987).
• William C. "Bill" Forbes, Kanawha County Prosecuting Attorney and lead prosecutor in the investigation of Attorney General Charlie Brown in 1989. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

Results

Democratic primary ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Warren McGraw	88,091	45.06%
	Democratic	Joseph Albright	61,219	31.31%
	Democratic	Bill Forbes	46,191	23.63%
Total votes			195,501	100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• John F. McCuskey, incumbent Justice of the Supreme Court of Appeals.

Eliminated in primary

• John C. Yoder, former State Senator from the 16th district (1993-1997).

Results

Republican primary ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John F. McCuskey (incumbent)	47,923	65.86%
	Republican	John C. Yoder	24,843	34.14%
Total votes			72,766	100.00%

General election

Results

1998 West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals special election ^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Warren McGraw	194,951	53.73%
	Republican	John F. McCuskey (incumbent)	167,907	46.27%
Total votes			362,858	100.00%
	Democratic gain from Republican

References

1. "Supreme Court - Bill Forbes". Williamson Daily News . May 8, 1998.
2. "William C. Forbes". Forbes Law Offices.
3. "Brown quits to stop grand jury investigation". Williamson Daily News . August 22, 1989.
4. "West Virginia Blue Book - 1998 - Pages 546-547" (PDF). West Virginia Legislature.
5. "West Virginia Blue Book - 1998 - Page 563" (PDF). West Virginia Legislature.
6. "West Virginia Blue Book - 1999 - Page 732" (PDF). West Virginia Legislature.

Notes

1. Concurrently held with a special election to complete the unexpired term of Franklin Cleckley's seat.