West Virginia voters choose their nominees in primaries, leaving key governor posts and U.S. Senate seats open.
Jack Walker/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
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Jack Walker/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
West Virginia voters choose their nominees in primaries, leaving key governor posts and U.S. Senate seats open.
Jack Walker/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey has won the state’s Republican nomination for governor after a campaign focused on the nation’s culture war issues, the Associated Press reported.
In a state that backed Donald Trump heavily in 2016 and 2020, Morrissey will be the front-runner in the November election. He will face the only contender in the Democratic primary, Steve Williams, who is serving his third term as Huntington mayor. Williams ran unopposed in the Democratic primary and was able to wait and focus her efforts on the upcoming general election.
They are seeking to replace Republican Gov. Jim Justice, who has reached the two-term limit for the position.
Justice, meanwhile, won an expected victory in the Republican primary to secure the nomination to succeed retiring Democratic U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, the Associated Press reported. Justice, an owner of numerous businesses and the son of a coal magnate, is a dominant figure in state politics and has been endorsed by Trump. As governor, he helped pass income tax cuts and a near-total ban on abortion. He may have started as the favorite against Wheeling Mayor Glenn Elliott, a Democrat who the Associated Press called the winner of the party’s primary.
Incumbent Carol Miller defeated Derrick Evans in the Republican primary for a U.S. House seat, according to the Associated Press. Evans was charged with disorderly conduct for his role in the storming of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, and served three months in prison.
Morrissey, the new Republican gubernatorial candidate, was elected attorney general in 2012 and used the position to spearhead lawsuits against federal policies of the Obama and Biden administrations. He recently led other state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit to block EPA rules requiring cuts in emissions from coal and natural gas power plants.
For much of the primary campaign, candidates for the Republican nomination battled over who was more conservative and who was Trump’s biggest supporter. They touted support for the state’s coal industry and argued that fossil fuels will remain key to America’s energy supply as the country transitions to renewable energy. But much of the media campaign has focused on their opposition to trans rights.
“Frankly, because our candidates don’t have a lot of policy options they want to talk about, it’s easier to play culture war games and incite fear,” said Marybeth Baylor, associate professor of political science at West Virginia’s Marshall University.
Although Morrissey grew up in New Jersey and moved to West Virginia in 2006, he defeated a contender with closer ties to the state’s political establishment. Moore Capito, a former representative in the West Virginia Legislature, is expected to finish second. He is the son of U.S. Senator Shelley Capito and grandson of the late Governor Archie Moore. He has the support of the Justice Governor.
Another contender is car dealership owner Chris Miller, whose mother is U.S. Rep. Carol Miller. Another candidate is current Secretary of State Mike Warner.
Randy Yohe covers state government news for West Virginia Public Broadcasting.
