State Auditor JB McCuskey won the Republican nomination for attorney general Tuesday night over his opponent, Sen. Mike Stuart, R-Kanawha.
In November, McCuskey will face Democrat Teresa Toriseva, a Wheeling attorney who won the Democratic primary against Richie Robb, the former mayor of South Charleston. As of overdue Tuesday night, with results from 51 of 55 precincts, Toriseva had 53% of the vote, compared to 47% for Robb.
McCuskey, who arrived Tuesday evening, attributed his victory to the positive energy focused on improving the lives of everyday West Virginians.
“I think the campaign we ran was great,” McCuskey said. “I always made sure that I was doing something that would make my children proud of me.”
He added that he was grateful to the people who supported him in “every corner of West Virginia” and was proud of his campaign team.
McCuskey, a Charleston attorney, was first elected state auditor in 2016 and was re-elected in 2020. Before becoming an auditor, McCuskey served two terms in the state House of Representatives.
McCuskey said current Attorney General Patrick Morrisey has done a “fantastic job defending the will of our legislature and the will of our people.”
“I intend to continue to attract world-class talent who are capable of going to the Supreme Court and the Fourth Circuit and winning cases that defend not only what our Legislature does, but what the people do.” in West Virginia,” McCuskey said. He added that he would “defend West Virginia values and West Virginia’s economy to the ends of the earth.”
Campaign finance reports show McCuskey has raised nearly $1.2 million in donations and spent about $820,000 on the race. Stuart, the former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia, raised the second-highest amount, about $113,000, and spent about $102,000.
In a post on social media platform X on Tuesday evening, Stuart congratulated McCuskey on “a great win”.
“I am proud to lead my Senate district, but JB has done well nationally,” Stuart wrote. “He has my full support and will be a great Attorney General!”
In the Democratic race, Toriseva raised more than $19,000 and spent about $14,000 on the race. Robb raised about $2,300 and spent $1,600.
The winner of this year’s general election will fill the seat vacated by current Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, who is running for governor.
Foreign Minister
Kris Warner, head of the state’s economic development agency and brother of current Secretary of State Mac Warner, is the Republican nominee for secretary of state.
Kris Warner won Tuesday night’s Republican primary with more than 46% of the vote, according to unofficial results from 51 of the state’s 55 counties, beating former Del. Doug Skaff, Putnam County Officers Brian Wood and Ken Reed.
Skaff, who is the second-highest voter at nearly 21%, spent about five times as much on his campaign as Warner, according to campaign finance reports. Skaff is president of HD Media, a newspaper chain that includes the Charleston Gazette-Mail and the Huntington Herald-Dispatch. A Democrat, Skaff was minority leader in the state House of Representatives until last year resigned and changed parties run for office.
Campaign finance reports show Skaff raised about $123,000 for the race and spent more than $444,000. In addition, he borrowed a total of $350,000 for the campaign.
According to campaign finance reports, Kris Warner raised more than $110,000 in donations and spent more than $87,000 on his primary campaign.
Reached by phone Tuesday evening, Kris Warner attributed his victory, although “greatly overblown,” to 35 years of experience in the Republican Party, including five years as party chairman.
“It was about reconnecting with old friends and having local support across the state that helped us spread the message,” he said.
Should he win the general election, Kris Warner said he would want to build on the foundation laid by his brother Mac Warner. Working with county officials across the state, Mac Warner has purged 440,000 people from the state’s “inflated” voter rolls, but the office can’t rest on its laurels, Kris Warner said.
“We’re going to continue to have people dying, leaving the state, being convicted of crimes, and we need to be able to build on that foundation and keep the voter rolls accurate,” Kris Warner said. “Voters who are not eligible to vote must be removed from our voter rolls.”
He added that he wants to establish an “Office of Entrepreneurship” to facilitate entrepreneurs expand businesses and optimize government services.
Kris Warner worked in residential and commercial real estate for 30 years and was appointed State Director of USDA Rural Development in West Virginia by the Trump Administration in 2018.
In the general election, Kris Warner faces Democrat Thornton Cooper, a South Charleston attorney and former state employee. Thornton was the only Democrat to run in the primary.
State auditor
State Senator Mark Hunt narrowly won the Republican nomination for state auditor House Majority Leader Eric Householder, R-Berkeley, former state delegate Caleb Hanna and former Jefferson County Commissioner Tricia Jackson.
Jackson was one of two Jefferson County Commissioners are removed from office Earlier this month for “conspiring” to prevent the appointment of another county commissioner by refusing to attend meetings and withholding quorum for a two-month period.
According to unofficial results from 51 of 55 precincts overdue Tuesday, Hunt received more than 38% of the vote, compared to Householder’s 26%, Jackson’s 20% and Hanna’s 16%.
Hunt faces Democrat Mary Claytor in the general election for state auditor.
According to campaign finance reports, Householder, a business owner from Martinsburg, brought in more than $201,000 in campaign contributions and spent nearly $108,000.
Hanna, who resigned from the House of Representatives in January to focus on the auditor race, had the second-highest fundraising total, at about $117,000. Hunt raised about $30,000 and spent about $10,000.
Claytor, who formerly worked as an auditor in the state auditor’s office, was the only Democrat in the primary for the office. In a statement, a representative from Claytor’s campaign said they were “thrilled to share our message of true transparency and proactive action with the people of West Virginia.”
“I am confident that when voters compare us to any of the Republican candidates, they will recognize the vast differences in qualifications and experience,” campaign manager Seth Strum wrote in an email. “My commitment to revolutionize government auditing with unparalleled integrity, efficiency and accountability is unparalleled.”
State Treasurer
Republican Larry Pack, the state’s incumbent treasurer, was the only candidate in the race for state treasurer.
