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Three candidates named to fill unexpired House term in Kanawha

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Three candidates have been named as possibilities to fill an unexpired term in the House of Delegates after the death of legislator Sharon Malcolm, but an announced candidate for the seat expressed surprise that he was not among the three.

“I was one of the only two that intended to run in the spring, and you’re going to tell me that at least two people are going to be on that list that didn’t even,” said Dana Ferrell, a candidate who didn’t make the cut for the unexpired term.

A panel selected three names to submit to Gov. Jim Justice: Ryan Lemmon, Kevan Bartlett and Vaughn Sizemore.

The names were announced on Tuesday evening to Kanawha County Republicans. Justice now will decide who should fill the seat that opened when Malcolm died late last month.

“The committee fulfilled the obligation of the stringent timeline of the three nominations for the delegate selection of the 39th district and will await the decision of Governor Justice,” stated Tresa Howell, chairwoman of the Kanawha GOP Executive Committee.

Malcolm, 72, represented House District 39, northern Kanawha County, which spans the Sissonville, Mink Shoals and Cross Lanes areas.

Malcolm was first named to fill the unexpired term of longtime Delegate Ron Walters after he resigned. Lawmakers who are named to fill  open seats often experience an edge in name recognition over challengers in subsequent elections.

Ferrell ran against Malcolm as an independent in 2018. She won with 2,436 votes, Democrat David Holmes got 2,022 and Ferrell got 1,315. Ferrell has filed precandidacy papers to run for the seat now as a Republican.

Lemmon has also filed to run for the seat. He is a member of the Kanawha County GOP executive committee and has been critical of Justice.

“A lot of people have brought that up. I understand that,” Lemmon said today on “580 Live.”

Lemmon said he differed sharply with Justice over aspects of an omnibus education bill that was considered by the Legislature this year.

“At the time there was a lot of things going on  around education debate in the Legislature. I voted on that based on the fact that I am a product of the public education system in West Virginia, and I didn’t have a good experience.”

Sizemore, a lawyer who works for the state Attorney General’s office, ran for the House of Delegates in 2014. He was one of three candidates emerging from the Republican Primary in the multi-seat District 36. But he came in sixth in the three-seat General Election race.

Kevan Bartlett is the senior pastor at Maranatha Baptist Church, where Malcolm was active.

Justice has five days from the receipt of the names to make the appointment.

Ferrell said he intends to make a vigorous run for the seat, even though he was not selected as a candidate for the unexpired term. He is a former teacher and businessman in the Sissonville area.

Ferrell said he was asked about education issues during the interview process for the open seat. The Republican majorities in West Virginia’s Legislature considered contentious issues such as charter schools and education savings accounts this past session.

On “580 Live,” Ferrell said Republicans should promote policies that teachers could buy into.

“There are thousands of teachers across the state who who want to be good Republicans,” Ferrell said. “It just amazes me that you would alienate that block of voters simply because they’re teachers.”

Lemmon, the other preregistered candidate for the Primary Election, said he was surprised Ferrell wasn’t submitted as a candidate for the unexpired term.

“I was surprised Dana’s name wasn’t on the list,” Lemmon said. “He and I have actually worked pretty closely together during the last few months. I’m looking forward to whatever may happen. Whether I’m chosen or not, I think Dana and I are going to have a pretty heated battle.”





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