CHARLESTON, W.Va. — One of the most wide open races in West Virginia’s primary election cycle was found among Democrats in the 2nd Congressional District where five candidates are vying for the U.S. House nomination and the numbers remained tight on Tuesday night.
As of late Tuesday night, MetroNews was projecting Mark Hunt, a Charleston attorney, would be the Democratic nominee in the district that stretches from the Ohio River in Jackson County to Jefferson County along the borders with Virginia and Maryland.
Hunt served in the West Virginia Legislature for 14 years.
The other candidates were Harvey Peyton, an attorney from Nitro; Cory Simpson, a U.S. Army veteran, U.S. Army Reserve major and Kanawha County native; Tom Payne, a Martinsburg patent examiner, and Robin Wilson, Jr., a retired teacher from Roane County.
Among Republicans, incumbent 2nd District Congressman Alex Mooney (R-W.Va.) faced a primary challenge from Marc Savitt of Jefferson County, owner of The Mortgage Center located in Martinsburg, who criticized what he saw as Mooney’s lack of visibility in the 2nd District.
Mooney was renominated Tuesday with more than 70 percent of the vote, according to unofficial vote totals.
Mooney first took office in 2015. He replaced former 2nd District Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) who was elected to represent West Virginia in the U.S. Senate.
1st Congressional District
In November, 1st District Congressman David McKinley (R-W.Va.) will face a challenge from Democrat Mike Manypenny of Grafton, founder of Global Impact, an environmental advocacy group, and a former state lawmaker who served in the West Virginia House of Delegates from 2009-2015.
McKinley was initially elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2010 and is seeking a 4th term.
Both McKinley and Manypenny were nominated Tuesday after running unopposed on their respective party ballots.
3rd Congressional District
There was also no opposition in Tuesday’s primaries in the 3rd Congressional District where Congressman Evan Jenkins (R-W.Va.) is seeking a 2nd term in the November general election. He beat longtime former Congressman Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.) in 2014 to win his seat.
The Democratic nominee is Matt Detch from Greenbrier County, a former officer with the U.S. Secret Service and manager at the Irish Pub in Lewisburg.