West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey. | Chris Dickerson / Album
CHARLESTON – West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey has officially filed the paperwork needed to run for governor in the May primary election.
“I am the only proven conservative in this race with an unparalleled track record of delivering win after win for West Virginia,” Morrisey said on Jan. 16 after filing his paperwork with the Secretary of State’s office. “Having won some of the largest and most impactful victories against the swamp, protecting our values, jobs, families and more, West Virginians know I am the only candidate who will hit the ground running on my first day as governor. “
Morrisey, a Republican, is currently serving his third four-year term as AG. Other Republicans who have expressed interest in running for governor include current Secretary of State Mac Warner and Mitch Roberts. Democratic and Huntington Mayor Steve Williams has also filed to run for the position.
Elliott | File photo
Other Republicans expected to file official papers include former House of Delegates member Moore Capito, Huntington businessman Chris Miller and Berkeley County businesswoman Rashida Yost.
Morrisey’s campaign ended in the fourth quarter of 2023, raising more than $590,000 and more than $2 million in cash, more than the entire slate of other gubernatorial candidates combined.
In other election news, Wheeling Mayor Glenn Elliott announced his U.S. Senate campaign in an effort to retain retiring Joe Manchin’s seat for Democrats.
“I am running for the United States Senate because I have both the experience and the temperament to break the gridlock in Washington and find commonsense solutions to the most pressing challenges facing our nation,” Elliott said in a news release. “As the mayor of a city struggling to regain its fame, I have seen first-hand how crucial it is to have a clear vision, roll up your sleeves and bring people together to achieve a common goal.
“Mayors are frontline activists in their communities. And successful mayors put people and action before politics. My successes in Wheeling speak for themselves, and I look forward to bringing this common-sense approach to the United States Senate in West Virginia.”
Republicans running for the Senate seat are outgoing Gov. Jim Justice, U.S. Rep. Alex X. Mooney and Martinsburg resident Janet McNulty.
U.S. Representative Carol Miller is seeking re-election. The Republican incumbent in District 1 has two challengers so far, both Democrats, namely Chris Bob Reed of Charleston and Jim Umberger of Lewisburg.
In District 2, State Treasurer Riley Moore is seeking Mooney’s House seat along with fellow Republicans Dennis “Nate” Cain of Hedgesville and Joe Earley of Bridgeport. Democrat Steven Wendelin of Lost River is also seeking the seat.
Democrat Thornton Cooper and Republican Kris Warner have filed to run for secretary of state. Warner is the brother of current Secretary and gubernatorial candidate Mac Warner.
With two nonpartisan state Supreme Court seats on the ballot, Haley Bunn is seeking re-election and state Sen. Charles Trump is seeking to have the seat vacated by retiring Justice John Hutchison.
On behalf of the impartial intermediate appellate court, Charleston attorneys Mychal S. Schulz and S. Ryan White filed a motion to fill the seat vacated by retiring ICA Judge Thomas Scarr.
In the U.S. presidential race, incumbent Joe Biden filed for re-election in West Virginia along with fellow Democrat Armando Perez-Serrato of Orange, California. The Republican Party’s nominees include former President Donald Trump, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and Rachel Hannah MoHawk Swift of Maryland filed in West Virginia.
