Republican West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey isn't on the primary ballot Tuesday but is staking his political capital to reshape his party’s massive supermajorities in the state Legislature more to his liking. Morrisey is even targeting some Republican incumbents for defeat.
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Now their gas tax goes before voters as prices soarWembanyama gets ejected early in Spurs-Wolves Game 4 for elbowing Reid and drawing a Flagrant 2 foul'The Devil Wears Prada 2' bests ‘Mortal Kombat II’ at the box officeAP Entertainment WireViral phenomenon in Argentina has young people identifying themselves as animalsHow 2 men claimed an absurd record by driving an old 3-wheel car the length of AfricaOne Tech Tip: Why digital devices and online accounts need spring cleaningA photo captures President Trump and first lady awaiting British royals from rare White House angleThe World in PicturesTrump is lifting restrictions on hunting in national parks, refuges and wilderness areasFDA announces its first OK of fruit-flavored e-cigarettes for adults in major shift under TrumpHealth advice is all over social media.
Here's how to vet claimsThe barista is human but an AI agent runs this experimental Swedish cafeRejecting church and state separation is on the wish list for Trump's religious liberty commissionStarmer bajo presión tras desastre electoral para el laborismo y el auge de Reform UKWest Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey, center, gives his first State of the State in the House of Delegates chamber at the Capitol in Charleston, W.Va. , Feb. 12, 2025.
he viewed as disloyal, the governor of West Virginia is also trying his hand at retribution politics in a state primary on Tuesday. Republican Gov. Patrick Morrisey is not on the ballot, but he’s staking his political capital to reshape his party’s massive supermajorities in the state legislature more to his liking, including targeting several Republican incumbents for defeat. West Virginia voters also will nominate candidates for the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House.
Meanwhile, Charleston’s Democratic mayor faces a primary opponent, and two state Supreme Court justices and a state Court of Appeals judge face opposition as they look to continue on the bench. Some of Morrisey’s state legislative endorsements put him at odds with another prominent West Virginia Republican, U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, who is seeking a third term. This isn’t the first election in which Capito and Morrisey find themselves rooting for opposing sides of a West Virginia primary campaign.
In 2024, MorriseyIn the U.S. Senate primary, Capito faces five challengers, including state Sen. Tom Willis, whose candidacy has prompted some Senate Republicans to pick sides. Willis touts endorsements from six of his fellow GOP state senators, including Senate President Randy Smith. Capito has endorsements from 15 state senators.
She also has a key endorsement from Trump, which may neutralize some of Willis’ attacks on her record. In Charleston, Democratic Mayor Amy Goodwin seeks a third term but first must clear another primary challenge from Martec Washington, a community advocate who placed a distant second behind Goodwin in the 2022 mayoral primary. Republican Brian Hunt is unopposed for the Republican nomination.
State Supreme Court Justices Tom Ewing and Gerald Titus face challengers in their special elections to continue serving on the high court. Both were appointed in 2025 to fill vacancies. Intermediate Court of Appeals Chief Judge Dan Greear faces a challenge from Jim Douglas in his bid for a 10-year term.
The AP will provide vote results and declare winners in contested primaries for the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House, the state Senate and House and mayor of Charleston, as well as general elections for the state Supreme Court and the state Court of Appeals. There are also three state Senate special elections. West Virginia voters registered with a political party may vote only in their own party’s primary.
In other words, Democrats can’t vote in the Republican primary or vice versa. Independent or unaffiliated voters may vote in the Democratic or Mountain Party primaries but not the Republican primary. Voter ID is required. As of April 23, West Virginia had about 1.2 million registered voters, including about 520,000 Republicans, 327,000 Democrats and 302,000 voters unaffiliated with any party.
In 2024, the GOP primaries for president, governor and U.S. Senate each had about 225,000 total voters, which was about 19% of registered voters at the time. Turnout for the Democratic primaries ranged from about 90,000 for governor to about 102,000 for U.S. Senate. About 30% of the vote in the 2024 primaries was cast before Election Day.
As of May 5, about 36,000 ballots had already been cast in Tuesday’s election, more than 17,000 from Republicans, about 13,600 from Democrats and about 3,600 from voters unaffiliated with any party. Roughly 60% of West Virginia’s 55 counties tend to report all or nearly all of their early and absentee vote results in the first vote report of the night.
In the 2024 Republican U.S. Senate primary, The Associated Press first reported results at 7:41 p.m. ET, or 11 minutes after polls closed. The vote count surpassed the 90% mark at about 10:06 p.m. ET, with the final vote update of the night at 12:40 a.m. ET, with more than 99% of total votes counted.
The AP does not make projections and will declare a winner only when it’s determined there is no scenario that would allow a trailing candidate to close the gap. If a race has not been called, the AP will continue to cover any newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory. In doing so, the AP will make clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why.
There are no automatic recounts in West Virginia, but a candidate may request and pay for one regardless of the margin of victory. The cost is refunded if the recount changes the outcome. The AP may declare a winner in a race that is subject to a recount if it can determine the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.
Yoon is an elections and democracy reporter for The Associated Press, with a focus on analyzing vote and demographic data and explaining the intricacies of the electoral process. He is now covering his seventh presidential campaign cycle.
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