West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey has won the Republican nomination in the Mountain State’s gubernatorial race, according to a Decision Desk HQ forecast.
Morrisey emerged victorious from a crowded GOP primary field of conservatives, including businessman Chris Miller and Moore Capito, a former West Virginia state lawmaker.
A Emerson College Polling/The Hill Poll Released a week before the primary, Morrisey was in the lead but only had a three-point lead over Capito, a narrow margin that was within the poll’s margin of error.
Morrisey’s support also fell by five points between March and May, while Capito’s support grew by 11 points.
The attorney general is now expected to sail to the governor’s mansion in the race to succeed current Gov. Jim Justice (R), who is running for Senate. In the fall, he will first have to compete against Huntington Mayor Steve Williams (D).
Morrisey was elected West Virginia’s chief justice in 2012 and is leaving his bid for governor to win.
Transgender issues had become a major focus in the gubernatorial primary as conservatives struggled to differentiate themselves. Black Bear PAC, a pro-Morrisey PAC that received gigantic donations from the Club for Growth Action, accused Miller in one ad of “protecting them, not us” — and argued in another that Capito was working on it , “to protect woke advisors.”
The emphasis on the issue surprised some strategists in the state, which has already banned gender-affirming health care for minors and passed a law banning transgender student-athletes from competing on sports teams that match their identities.
The Emerson poll found that 54 percent of Republicans in West Virginia were “very concerned” about transgender issues – but that number was dwarfed by about eight in 10 who said the same about the cost of living and security at the border .
