2004 West Virginia Secretary of State election

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2004 West Virginia Secretary of State election
Flag of West Virginia.svg
  2000
November 2, 2004
2008  
  Betty Ireland.jpg Ken Hechler 2008.jpg
Nominee Betty Ireland Ken Hechler
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote375,024347,780
Percentage51.88%48.12%

2004 West Virginia Secretary of State election results map by county.svg
Ireland:     50–60%     60–70%
Hechler:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%

Secretary of State before election

Joe Manchin
Democratic

Elected Secretary of State

Betty Ireland
Republican

The 2004 West Virginia secretary of state election was held on November 2, 2004, to elect the secretary of state of West Virginia. Democratic incumbent Joe Manchin chose to run for governor of West Virginia rather than seek a second term. Primaries were held on May 11, 2004. Manchin's predecessor, Democrat Ken Hechler, who had served as Secretary of State of West Virginia for 16 years prior, ran for a non-consecutive sixth term in office but was defeated by businesswoman Betty Ireland by a narrow margin of three percentage points.

Contents

With her victory, Ireland became the first woman elected to the executive branch in West Virginia.

This election, alongside the concurrent presidential election, were the only statewide victories for Republicans in West Virginia in 2004.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Campaign

Hechler won the primary by a razor-thin margin of 0.43 percentage points over TV reporter and future Secretary of State of West Virginia Natalie Tennant.

Results

Democratic primary results [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Ken Hechler 67,065 25.74%
Democratic Natalie Tennant65,94725.31%
Democratic Mike Oliverio52,72020.23%
Democratic Roger Pritt40,82315.57%
Democratic Larrie Bailey17,5906.75%
Democratic Donna Acord9,2963.57%
Democratic George Daugherty7,1392.74%
Total votes260,580 100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

Campaign

Ireland won the Republican nomination unopposed.

Results

Republican primary results [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Betty Ireland 91,039 100.00%
Total votes91,039 100.00%

General election

Candidates

Results

2004 West Virginia Secretary of State election results [2]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Republican Betty Ireland 375,024 51.88% N/A
Democratic Ken Hechler347,78048.12%−41.32
Total votes722,804 100.00%
Republican gain from Democratic

References

  1. 1 2 "2004 SoS Pri.pdf" (PDF). Retrieved December 15, 2025.
  2. "2004 Secretary of State General Election Results - West Virginia" . Retrieved December 15, 2025.

Official campaign websites (archived)