FAYETTEVILLE, W.Va. — Two of the most astonishing wins in Tuesday’s general election came in southern West Virginia where Democrats have held control for more than 80 years.
Wayne County Republican Party chairman Mark Maynard upended eight-term state Sen. Truman Chafin by 389 votes, 51 to 49 percent, in the 6th Senatorial District.
“I was flying in self-mode, beating the bushes, just going out meeting key people. The people of this district are just my kind of people,” Maynard told MetroNews.
The car salesman by trade said residents in McDowell, Mingo and Mercer counties welcomed him with open arms along with his home county, Wayne County.
“I’m just a guy that represents the area. On average, I don’t think I’m better than anyone else. I think I can give them what they need because I’m one of them,” Maynard said.
Maynard said he ran no negative ads against Chafin.
Republican Tom Fast and Kayla Kessinger became the first Republicans to win a House of Delegates seat in Fayette County since 1928. They claimed two of the three seats in the 32nd Delegate District.
“This is actually history in the making,” Fast, an attorney and Marion County native, told MetroNews. “Every day somebody would drop by my office or catch me out on the street and say ‘hey, I’m working for you in this part of the county.'”
Fast said his victory is mandate for change.
“West Virginia is really in trouble and the people realize that and after 83 years of one party rule with our state being in such dismal categories they realize that ‘hey, we need a change,'” Fast said.
Fast and Maynard were part of a Republican tidal wave. The GOP gained 17 seats in the 100-member House of Delegates to take a 64-46 advantage over Democrats and seven seats in the state Senate to draw to a 17-17 tie with Democrats.