Governor Patrick Morrisey holds a press conference for the bill signing ceremony at the State Capitol on May 7, 2026. (Photo courtesy of West Virginia Governor’s Office Patrick Morrisey)
Gov. Patrick Morrisey promises he will support more candidates ahead of Election Day next week. The outcome of several key House races could affect how the Legislature will engage with the governor after two years of wrangling under the Republican supermajority.
“I’m willing to step in if there’s a better candidate,” Morrisey said Wednesday as he responded to questions from reporters during a press conference at the State Capitol.
“We can’t settle for second best, and if we don’t accomplish what we need to do to save and transform our state, then I will fight to make that happen,” Morrisey said. “We’re talking about people who want to make West Virginia better. Those are the people I support and I want to make sure we have the best legislation possible.”
Morrisey has already publicly commented on preferred Republican candidates in several Senate and House primaries.
Republicans currently hold 123 seats in the 134-member state Legislature. All 100 House seats and 19 Senate seats across West Virginia will be voted on.
That was a unusually pricey The state’s primary elections are in full swing, with political action committees spending more than $4 million in West Virginia this election cycle. Many of the groups are spending millions of dollars on state House races Support school-friendly initiatives and school vouchers.
Several of the PACs spending money on state House elections have ties to Morrisey.
“I would also like to note that I am very comfortable exercising my First Amendment rights just as Sen. (Shelley Moore) Capito does, just as Sen. Tom. Takubo (R-Kanawha) does, just as they raise significant funds to support their cause,” Morrisey said.
Publicly, the governor has endorsed incumbent Sen. Mike Azinger, R-Wood (challenged by Del. Bob Fehrenbacher, R-Wood), Sen. Trenton Barnhart, R-Pleasants (challenged by Jason Harshbarger), Sen. Laura Wakim Chapman, R-Ohio (challenged by Joe Eddy), and Sen. Anne Charnock, R-Kanawha (challenged by Michael Jarrouj).
Morrisey and his wife Denise Morrisey, urge that her friend, Baptist pastor Jonathan Comer, defeated Sen. Vince Deeds, R-Greenbrier. Deeds, also a Baptist pastor, has held the seat since 2022.
Denise Morrisey posted on her Facebook page last week that she personally voted for Comer in Greenbrier County and shared a photo with Comer near a polling place. West Virginia Watch has confirmed that she is registered to vote with a home address in Greenbrier County.
Republicans in the Senate are split into two factions. Depending on the outcome of this contentious primary season, this could result in the Senate increasing support for Morrisey or potentially blocking the governor’s initiatives even more.
In the House races, Morrisey Del. Wayne Clark, R-Jefferson (challenged by Robert Fluharty) and Greenbrier County attorney Mary Catherine Tuckwiller (who is running against Del. Ray Canterbury, R-Greenbrier).
Morrisey has publicly endorsed Charles Hartzog over House Finance Committee Chairman Vernon Criss, R-Wood; The Governor and Criss have argued publicly during the last two legislative sessions on issues surrounding the state budget and funding priorities.
The governor joined members of the West Virginia chapter of Americans for Prosperity knock on doors last weekend in Wood County in support of Hartzog.
If Morrisey’s preferred candidates lose, Morrisey said he would “work with whoever wins this election.”
“I think it’s important that we put the people of West Virginia first, not just people who have been here a long time,” Morrisey said. “We have to do this on a political basis, based on what’s best for the state, and that’s why I’m committed. I want our state to prosper and I will never give in to letting the people do it.”
Early voting lasts until May 9th.
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