The West Virginia Secretary of State’s Office said more than 68,000 West Virginia residents have changed political parties in the past two years. (Photo by Lori Kersey/West Virginia Watch)
In the last two years 68,235 Voters in West Virginia have changed their party affiliation – more than half switching from Democrats or unaffiliated to Republicans, according to information released by Secretary of State Kris Warner’s office this week.
Since January 2024, 20,003 unaffiliated voters and 16,910 The Democrats have switched to the Republican Party, the Secretary of State said in a statement Press release Thursday evening.
In addition, since 2024, according to the Foreign Minister:
- 12,299 West Virginians switched from the Democratic party to the independent party
- 7,559 switched from Republican to unaffiliated
- 5,211 switched from the independent party to the Democratic Party
- 2,399 switched from Republican to Democrat
State Republican Party Chairman Del. Josh Holstein, R-Boone, noted that Republicans have been trending strongly for years. He estimates that the party gains between 700 and 1,500 people each month, while the Democrats lose between 300 and 1,000 each month.
“We’ve actually been seeing this trend since about 2016,” he said. “It accelerated dramatically in 2020 and really hasn’t let up since then.”
Between March 31st And April 21st This year, 6,776 West Virginia residents joined the Republican Party, monthly voter data shows. Registration reports by the Foreign Minister. In the last seven weeks, he noted, about 10,000 people have joined the Republican Party.
Holstein attributes the recent augment to the closed area code. For the first time in several years, only registered Republicans will be able to vote in the Republican primary.
“This huge increase in recent months is certainly related to the closure of the primaries,” he said. “According to the Secretary of State’s data, about two-thirds of independents who voted in the primary chose Republican ballots. So we’re looking at about 67% of people who … cast their vote in the primary and voted our ballot. I think that’s why a lot of those people said, ‘Hey, I’ll just register as a Republican.'”
In a statement Friday, state Democratic Party Chairman Del. Mike Pushkin, D-Kanawha, said the numbers showed an overall movement and not a unilateral shift.
“Thousands of West Virginians are retreating from party labels entirely, reflecting, as usual, a greater frustration with politics,” Pushkin wrote. “While Republicans have gained some voters, they are also losing thousands to No Party, and many voters who are re-engaged continue to vote Democratic.”
Pushkin said it’s crucial to note that the numbers cover all of 2024, when President Donald Trump was running for election. The president won every county in West Virginia in 2024.
“So none of this is particularly surprising,” he said.
“And if you look at the most recent numbers, the narrative of a mass shift simply doesn’t hold water,” Pushkin said.
He said there was “little evidence” of any large-scale movement toward the Republican Party, despite “deceptive direct mail tactics” by the state Republican Party.
“The reality is that independents and Democrats together make up a clear majority of registered voters in this state.”
According to preliminary data from the State Department in April, Democrats and independents together make up about 620,000 people, compared to 519,756 Republicans.
“The real story here is that voters are still undecided and Democrats are focused on winning their trust by delivering results for working families,” he said.
As of Thursday, According to Warner’s office, 1,198,019 West Virginia residents are registered to vote in this year’s primary election.
The registration deadline for the primary election was April 21st. The primary election will take place on May 12th. Early in-person voting begins April 29th.
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