While Republicans are leading the races for governor and the U.S. Senate, some state legislative races are even bigger question marks because of the rising number of independent voters in West Virginia and the potential for split voting.
In the Eastern Panhandle, changing population demographics — it’s one of the few parts of the state that’s growing — could cause the area to turn from heavily red to purple. And in Mingo County, another election snafu could lead to a legal challenge.
There are 17 Senate seats up for election across West Virginia, and all House seats are up for election this year.
14 of the 134 members of the Legislature are Democrats. The red wave in the House And senate followed almost 80 years of democratic control.
Tony Hodge, co-chair of the West Virginia Republican Party, said he expects Republicans will only gain seats in the House of Representatives, which would augment their supermajority.
“We expect our majority to continue to grow,” Hodge said. “Local races have a huge impact on our lives… They impact the amount of money that goes into our schools and local infrastructure projects. We have to keep people voting until the end of the ballot.”
Democratic Party Chairman Mike Pushkin said that while Democratic registrations are down, the state’s registrations are down growing number of independent voters should lend a hand expand the number of 11 Democrats in the House of Representatives.
“Independents are the fastest growing voting bloc in the state. Many of them are youthful, first-time voters. They’re less likely to be moved by divisive culture war issues, and that’s all Republicans seem to be running on,” he said.
Pushkin pointed to high-profile bills that took up much of the 2024 legislative session, including a “Women’s Bill of Rights” that would have restricted the definition of gender in state law but ultimately failed.
Here’s a closer look at the elections and issues to watch across West Virginia on Election Day.
Democrats are trying to reverse degenerating legislative numbers
Despite the state’s Republican stronghold, Democrats seeking seats in the House and Senate could win on Tuesday, according to state legislative analyst Chaz Nuttycombe. He initiates race prediction page, cnalysis.comwhich relies on past election data and government experts.
“Many West Virginians are happy to share their Democratic candidates. Compared to other parts of the country, it is the most Democratic-leaning state in the election,” Nuttycombe said. “Voters are increasingly leaning Republican in state elections, but still want to vote for Democrats in their local areas.”
Nuttycombes analysis predicts that Democrats and House Democrats Dels. Joey Garcia, D-Marion, and Ric Griffith, D-Wayne, are likely to win their Senate races and retain those seats as Democrats.
Compared to other parts of the country, it is the state that is most favorable to Democrats in the election.
– Chaz Nuttycombe, state race analyst
Pushkin is also a member of the House of Representatives in the 54th district. He said a gigantic problem with a Republican supermajority is that members can negotiate the details of the bill in caucus meetings shielded from the public and reporters.
“Too many decisions are made in closed-door meetings,” he said.
Linda Bodie is a Democrat running against the incumbent for the 55th District Del. JB AkersR-Kanawha.
“We need more balance so we can make things better and not focus on issues that don’t really matter because that’s what one party wants to focus on instead of making things better for everyone,” she said.
As Republicans strongly support school choice in the state, including the Charter school expansions and the state Education savings programhave done by many Democratic candidates Supporting struggling public schools a central campaign point. The majority of children in West Virginia attend public schools.
“Education is the foundation of everything. Public education no longer has the resources it once had and money is being pumped out,” said Bodie, 55. “Getting our public education system back on track with funding is a top priority.”
Forty Republicans running for House seats are unopposed, and Hodge said he expects they will pick up more House seats. Two Democrats are running unopposed in Monongalia County.
Eastern Panhandle potentially “purple”
The Eastern Panhandle state’s changing demographics and growing number of independent voters could cause the area to turn more purple than red after this election.
Currently, the region’s eight counties (Berkeley, Grant, Hampshire, Hardy, Jefferson, Mineral, Morgan and Pendleton) are represented by Republicans in the House and Senate.
“The Eastern Panhandle is very important to us. We have a lot of Republican registration there,” Hodge said.
Republican Chris Anders and Democrat Lucia Valentine are on the ballot to represent the 97th District, which includes Berkeley and Jefferson counties. Current Del. John Hardy, R-Berkeley, not searched Re-election. The area has seen stable early voter turnoutThey are overwhelmingly Republican, according to the secretary of state’s office.
“People live here and have lived here because of the West Virginia way of life, and they fear that will change,” said Anders, 53, who said he has knocked on 5,000 doors this campaign.
Both candidates have targeted independent voters. In Jefferson County, 15,386 voters are registered as “unaffiliated,” compared to 16,661 Republicans and 12,255 Democrats.
“I really wanted to talk to the people in the middle, hoping my message would resonate with them,” said Valentine, 28, whose platform includes responsible growth that considers environmental impacts and assesses the region’s water availability.
“This is such a purple district now… Even though they are more right-leaning, we want to show that we are the party of common sense,” she said. Valentine surpassed Anders Fundraisingwith more than $81,000 in contributions compared to his U.S. dollars38,336, according to the latest report from the Secretary of State’s website.
She and Anders said they kept hearing during the campaign about the region’s growth, which has led to overcrowded schools, problems accessing health care and infrastructure problems.
While West Virginia’s overall population is degenerating, three of its counties – Berkeley, Jefferson and Morgan – have seen the largest population increases of any region in the state in recent decades. Job growth and the fact that more people are choosing to live in the area to commute to Washington, D.C. have fueled the population augment. A says a report from West Virginia University The region’s population is younger and has a higher proportion of college-educated residents than the state as a whole.
Differently said his campaign has focused on protecting the Second Amendment and reducing government. He wants to lend a hand residents afford to stay in the area.
“I believe we need to abolish income tax immediately Rain Tax in Berkeley County“he said. “People need their money back so they can take care of themselves.”
Valentine said one of the region’s most pressing needs is helping farmers protect and care for their land amid residential development.
“Many farmers sell because they feel like they are no longer making a profit,” she said. “I want to support them financially so they feel like their only option is not to sell.”
Additional Eastern Panhandle House seats are on the local ballot, as are three Senate seats representing parts of the area, including District 3, where Senate President Craig Blair, R-Berkeley, lost his primary to Tom Willis. He was one of four state senators who lost their primary races to incumbents.
Sen. Patricia Rucker, R-Jefferson, narrowly won her Republican primary and now faces former House member, Democrat John Doyle, in the 16th district.
Sen. Randy Smith, R-Tucker, whose 14th District includes some Eastern Panhandle counties, is running unopposed.
The multiple voting error in Mingo County
Mingo County has had several issues this election season, including a challenger to a candidate the election results and most recently, a Democratic candidate for state Senate opted out of early voting.
Jeff Disibbio, a Democrat running for the 6th District, was mistakenly absent from hundreds of early ballots in Mingo County. Early voting began on October 23rd and 673 people had already voted on the flawed ballot. The ballot papers have since been corrected. The Secretary of State’s Office is investigating but has no plans to correct the ballots that have already been submitted.
This was announced by the state Democratic Party that it would “exhaust all legal options to ensure that the integrity of our democratic process is maintained.”
Disibbio is running against Craig Hart, a Republican who defeated incumbent Sen. Chandler Swope by 463 votes in the May primary.
Swope, R-Mercer, the election results were challenged in court, Among other things, he said that the Democrats were allowed to vote in the Republican primaries and that there were further irregularities at the polling stations.
About 200 Democrats were found to have voted incorrectly in that race. Swipe withdrew the challenge in August.
Election day is Tuesday, November 5th. Polling stations open at 6:30 a.m. and close at 7:30 p.m. West Virginia Watch will post election results live on our website.
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