CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) – The House seat that should have gone to Joseph de Soto is now filled.
West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey appointed Ian Masters to the 91st District seat in Berkeley County. Masters is president of the West Virginia Defense League and a Republican.
In November, de Soto won the seat as a Republican, but he had switched to the Democratic Party just a day before he was arrested for allegedly threatening his future colleagues.
On January 8, 2025, House Resolution 4 was passed to officially vacate de Soto from the 91st District seat. However, the Democratic Party says this was done improperly because the matter was referred to the Berkeley County Republican Executive Committee after de Soto had already changed his party and registered as a Democrat.
The West Virginia Democratic Party says the seat should be filled by a Democrat, and the Berkeley County Democratic Executive Committee has even submitted three names to the governor for consideration.
Legal action over the seat is expected in the coming weeks.
The reason the seat became vacant in the first place is because de Soto allegedly threatened to kill Rep. Bill Ridenour, Speaker of the House Roger Hanshaw, Rep. Pat McGeehan, Rep. Michael Hite and, according to a West Virginia State Police report to kill Rep. Chuck Horst. The complaint said that when de Soto was asked what he meant by his alleged statements, he allegedly said that God had called him to kill her.
A criminal complaint said the 61-year-old doctor was upset before the arrest and felt like he was being attacked and forced out of his job. According to the complaint, de Soto said on the phone that he was going to kill the five delegates.
