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Elections in West Virginia |
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The 2024 West Virginia gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 2024, to elect the governor of West Virginia, concurrently with the 2024 U.S. presidential election, as well as elections to the United States Senate and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Republican state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey was elected to his first term in office after defeating Democratic Huntington mayor Steve Williams in the general election. [1] Incumbent Republican Jim Justice was term-limited and was unable to seek re-election to a third consecutive term in office; he instead ran for the U.S. Senate. [2]
First elected in 2016 as a Democrat by 6.8 percentage points, Justice switched parties in August 2017 and won re-election in 2020 as a Republican by 33.3 percentage points. Primary elections took place on May 14, 2024. [3] This is the first time since 1972 that Republicans won consecutive gubernatorial elections in the state.
A conservative rural southeastern state, West Virginia is considered extremely Republican at the federal and state levels; Republicans hold all statewide executive offices and supermajorities in both state legislative houses, and from 2015 until he became an Independent in 2024, Senator Joe Manchin had been the state's only congressional Democrat. In the 2020 presidential election, Donald Trump carried West Virginia by 38.93 percentage points.
With Jim Justice term-limited and unable to run for a third consecutive term as Governor, the Republican primary was expected to be competitive and crowded. Most analysts considered Republicans to be a heavy favorite, given the state's partisan lean and the margin from the previous election. [4]
Federal politicians
Statewide politicians
Newspapers
Individuals
Individuals
Organizations
No. | Date | Host | Moderator | Link | Republican | Republican | Republican | Republican |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
P Participant A Absent N Non-invitee I Invitee W Withdrawn | ||||||||
Morrisey | Capito | Miller | Warner | |||||
1 | Dec. 8, 2023 | MetroNews | Hoppy Kercheval | YouTube | A | P | P | P |
2 | Feb. 29, 2024 | Hoppy Kercheval | YouTube | P | P | P | P | |
3 | Apr. 30, 2024 | WSAZ-3 | WSAZ-3 | P | P | P | P |
Campaign finance reports as of April 28, 2024 | |||
---|---|---|---|
Candidate | Raised | Spent | Cash on hand |
Patrick Morrisey (R) | $3,624,343 | $3,078,086 | $695,276 |
Moore Capito (R) | $2,131,285 | $1,519,377 | $599,354 |
Chris Miller (R) | $1,615,788 | $6,175,751 | $519,538 |
Mac Warner (R) | $559,038 | $372,948 | $172,787 |
Source: West Virginia Secretary of State [25] |
Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size [a] | Margin of error | Moore Capito | Chris Miller | Patrick Morrisey | Mac Warner | Other | Undecided |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Emerson College [26] | May 2–5, 2024 | 558 (LV) | ± 4.1% | 29% | 21% | 33% | 15% | 3% [b] | – |
Research America [27] [A] | April 24 – May 1, 2024 | 407 (LV) | ± 4.9% | 24% | 25% | 32% | 10% | 3% | 6% |
NMB Research [28] [B] | April 20–22, 2024 | 500 (LV) | ± 4.4% | 31% | 14% | 23% | 13% | – | 18% |
Research America [29] [A] | April 3–9, 2024 | 400 (LV) | ± 4.9% | 29% | 16% | 31% | 12% | 3% | 10% |
WPA Intelligence [30] [C] | April 1–3, 2024 | 501 (LV) | ± 4.4% | 20% | 19% | 37% | 14% | – | 9% |
Emerson College [31] | March 19–21, 2024 | 735 (LV) | ± 3.6% | 14% | 16% | 33% | 6% | – | 29% |
WPA Intelligence [32] [C] | November 27–29, 2023 | 507 (LV) | ± 4.4% | 23% | 10% | 39% | 14% | – | 14% |
American Pulse Research & Polling (R) [33] [D] | November 13–14, 2023 | 414 (LV) | ± 4.8% | 23% | 10% | 31% | 14% | – | 23% |
CAMP [34] [E] | November 10–12, 2023 | 863 (LV) | ± 3.26% | 18% | 11% | 24% | 21% | 5% | 21% |
Orion Strategies [35] [F] | June 17–20, 2023 | 651 (LV) | ± 6.0% | 30% | 5% | 31% | 9% | 8% [c] | 17% |
National Research Inc. [36] | February 23–28, 2023 | 600 (LV) | ± 4.0% | 15% | 6% | 28% | 11% | 6% [d] | 29% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Patrick Morrisey | 75,111 | 33.28% | |
Republican | Moore Capito | 62,181 | 27.55% | |
Republican | Chris Miller | 46,010 | 20.39% | |
Republican | Mac Warner | 36,170 | 16.03% | |
Republican | Mitch Roberts | 3,138 | 1.39% | |
Republican | Kevin Christian | 3,088 | 1.37% | |
Total votes | 225,698 | 100.00% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Steve Williams | 89,545 | 100.00% | |
Total votes | 89,545 | 100.00% |
Source | Ranking | As of |
---|---|---|
The Cook Political Report [45] | Solid R | June 13, 2024 |
Inside Elections [46] | Solid R | July 14, 2023 |
Sabato's Crystal Ball [47] | Safe R | June 4, 2024 |
RCP [48] | Solid R | July 13, 2024 |
Elections Daily [49] | Safe R | July 12, 2023 |
CNalysis [50] | Solid R | August 17, 2024 |
Federal officials
Federal officials
No. | Date | Host | Moderator | Link | Republican | Democratic |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Key: P Participant A Absent N Not invited I Invited W Withdrawn | ||||||
Morrisey | Williams | |||||
1 | Oct. 29, 2024 | MetroNews | Hoppy Kercheval | C-SPAN | P | P |
Campaign finance reports as of October 25, 2024 | |||
---|---|---|---|
Candidate | Raised | Spent | Cash on hand |
Patrick Morrisey (R) | $6,824,464 | $6,183,264 | $1,351,895 |
Steve Williams (D) | $250,255 | $92,274 | $156,426 |
Source: West Virginia Secretary of State [53] |
Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size [a] | Margin of error | Patrick Morrisey (R) | Steve Williams (D) | Undecided |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Research America [54] [G] | August 21–27, 2024 | 400 (RV) | ± 4.9% | 49% | 35% | 16% [e] |
Patrick Morrisey vs. Joe Manchin vs. Steve Williams
Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size [a] | Margin of error | Patrick Morrisey (R) | Joe Manchin (I) | Steve Williams (D) | Other | Undecided |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kaplan Strategies [55] | June 4, 2024 | 464 (LV) | ± 4.6% | 34% | 26% | 21% | 1% | 18% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Patrick Morrisey | 459,300 | 61.99% | 1.50% | |
Democratic | Steve Williams | 233,976 | 31.58% | 1.36% | |
Libertarian | Erika Kolenich | 21,228 | 2.87% | ||
Constitution | S. Marshall Wilson | 16,828 | 2.27% | N/A | |
Mountain | Chase Linko-Looper | 9,596 | 1.30% | 0.14% | |
Write-in | 10 | 0.00% | 0.05% | ||
Total votes | 740,938 | 100.00% | N/A | ||
Republican hold |
Morrisey won both congressional districts. [60]
District | Morrisey | Williams | Representative |
---|---|---|---|
1st | 60% | 34% | Carol Miller |
2nd | 63% | 30% | Alex Mooney (118th Congress) |
Riley Moore (119th Congress) |
Partisan clients
Shelley Wellons Moore Capito is an American politician and retired educator serving as the senior United States senator from West Virginia; she has served in the senate since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, Capito served seven terms as the U.S. representative from West Virginia's 2nd congressional district from 2001 to 2015. The daughter of three-term West Virginia governor Arch Alfred Moore Jr, she is the dean of West Virginia's congressional delegation, having served in Congress since 2001.
From the time of the Great Depression through the 1990s, the politics of West Virginia were largely dominated by the Democratic Party. In the 2000 presidential election, George W. Bush claimed a surprise victory over Al Gore, with 52% of the vote; he won West Virginia again in 2004, with 56% of the vote. West Virginia is now a heavily Republican state, with John McCain winning the state in 2008, Mitt Romney in 2012 and Donald Trump in 2016, 2020, and 2024.
The West Virginia Republican Party is the affiliate of the United States Republican Party in West Virginia. Matthew Herridge is the party chair. It is currently the dominant party in the state, and is one of the strongest affiliates of the national Republican Party. It controls both of West Virginia's U.S. House seats, both of the U.S. Senate seats, the governorship, and has supermajorities in both houses of the state legislature.
West Virginia's 2012 general elections were held on November 6, 2012. Primary elections were held on May 8, 2012.
The 2014 United States Senate election in West Virginia was held on November 4, 2014, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of West Virginia, concurrently with other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. This election was the fifth consecutive even-number year in which a senate election was held in West Virginia after elections in 2006, 2008, 2010, and 2012.
Patrick James Morrisey is an American politician and attorney who is serving as the 37th governor of West Virginia, since 2025. He has previously served as the 34th attorney general of West Virginia from 2013 to 2025. A member of the Republican Party, he was elected to the position in 2012, becoming the first Republican to serve in the role since 1933. Running for the United States Senate in 2018, Morrisey won the Republican Party nomination, but was narrowly defeated by incumbent Democratic Senator Joe Manchin in the November general election.
The 2014 United States House of Representatives election in West Virginia was held on November 4, 2014, to elect the three U.S. representatives from West Virginia, one from each of the state's three congressional districts.
Stephen Taylor Williams is an American politician who served as the 47th mayor of Huntington, West Virginia from 2013 to 2025. Williams previously served as Huntington's city manager, a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates, and a member of the Huntington City Council. On September 4, 2023, he became the first Democrat to declare candidacy for governor of West Virginia in the 2024 West Virginia gubernatorial election and subsequently won the nomination but lost the general election to Republican Patrick Morrisey.
The 2016 West Virginia gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 2016, to elect the governor of West Virginia, concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. The primaries were held on May 10.
James Conley Justice II is an American businessman and politician who is serving as the junior United States senator from West Virginia since 2025. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 36th governor of West Virginia from 2017 to 2025. Justice was once a billionaire, but his net worth had declined to $513.3 million as of 2021. He inherited a coal mining business from his father that included 94 companies, including the Greenbrier, a luxury resort and National Historic Landmark in White Sulphur Springs.
The 2018 United States Senate election in West Virginia took place on November 6, 2018, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of West Virginia, concurrently with other elections to the United States Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives, and various state and local elections. This was one of ten Democratic-held Senate seats up for election in a state won by Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election.
The 2020 West Virginia gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 2020, to elect the governor of West Virginia, concurrently with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as elections to the United States Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
Arch Alfred Moore Capito is an American attorney and politician who served in the West Virginia House of Delegates from 2016 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he was a candidate for governor of West Virginia in the state's 2024 gubernatorial election but was defeated by Patrick Morrisey. He resigned from the West Virginia House in December 2023 to focus on his campaign.
Riley McGowan Moore is an American politician who is the U.S. representative for West Virginia's 2nd congressional district. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 25th West Virginia State Treasurer from 2021 to 2025 and represented district 67 in the West Virginia House of Delegates from 2017 to 2019.
West Virginia held elections on November 3, 2020. The Democratic and Republican party primary elections were held on June 9, 2020.
The 2024 United States Senate election in West Virginia was held on November 5, 2024, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of West Virginia. Democratic Wheeling mayor Glenn Elliott and Republican Governor Jim Justice were seeking their first term in office. Justice will succeed independent incumbent Joe Manchin, who did not seek a third full term.
United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 5, 2024, in 11 states and two territories. The previous gubernatorial elections for this group of states took place in 2020, except in New Hampshire and Vermont, where governors only serve two-year terms and elected their governors in 2022. In addition to state gubernatorial elections, the territories of American Samoa and Puerto Rico held elections for their governors. This was also the first time since 1988 that a Republican nominee won the gubernatorial election in American Samoa and also the first time since 1996 that an incumbent governor there lost re-election.
The 2024 United States House of Representatives elections in West Virginia were held on November 5, 2024, to elect the two U.S. representatives from the State of West Virginia, one from each of the state's two congressional districts. The elections coincided with the 2024 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate, and various state and local elections. The primary elections were held on May 14, 2024.
The 2024 West Virginia Attorney General election was held on November 5, 2024, to elect the next attorney general of West Virginia, concurrently with the 2024 U.S. presidential election, as well as various state and local elections, including for U.S. Senate, U.S. House, and governor of West Virginia. Incumbent Republican Attorney General Patrick Morrisey was eligible to run for re-election to a fourth term but has decided instead to run for governor. Republican state auditor JB McCuskey defeated Democratic attorney Teresa Toriseva with 70.02% of the vote.
West Virginia held elections on November 5, 2024. Primary elections were held on May 14, 2024.
Two-term state Auditor J.B. McCuskey, who was competing in a crowded field for governor, has pivoted to the attorney general's race instead.
Kent Leonhardt announced Wednesday he will seek a third term and will not run for governor.
He did rule out running for West Virginia governor in 2024.
Official campaign websites