Senate President Mitch Carmichael has been defeated in the Republican primary.
With all precincts in, Amy Nichole Grady received 6,402 votes to Carmichael’s 5,726 votes.
A third Republican in the race, former Delegate Jim Butler, got 4,265 votes.
Grady is a teacher from Leon, Mason County.
Carmichael was defeated handily in Mason County, which is one of four counties in the district.
And the Senate president has been at odds with West Virginia teachers over the past couple of years.
Teachers went on strike two years in a row, once over pay raises when the Senate came around late to a full 5-percent raise and then over an omnibus education bill that included a charter schools provision.
“It’s not a bad evening. I want to congratulate Amy Nichole,” said Carmichael, R-Jackson. “We have elections and we move forward. I feel like I’ve made my mark on the state of West Virginia.
“Obviously I wanted to continue that service, but the voters chose differently.”
Grady attributed her win to “good, old-fashioned hard work.”
“I like to say you never tell a determined lady she can’t do something,” Grady said during MetroNews’ Primary Election night coverage.
She said she concentrated during January and February on generating support in the district when Carmichael and Butler were occupied with the Legislature.
The district crosses Putnam, Mason, Jackson and Roane counties.
Grady was particularly dominant in Mason County, her home, where she gained 1,699 votes to Carmichael’s 418. Butler, who also lives in Mason County, got 1,612 votes there.
But Grady also won in Jackson County, where Carmichael is from. She got 1,997 votes there to Carmichael’s 1,901.
Congratulations to my opponent, Amy Nichole Grady, on winning the 2020 GOP nomination for State Senate in WV’s 4th District. I look forward to supporting your campaign this fall to ensure our district continues to have a leader who will always fight for conservative values.
— Mitch Carmichael (@SenCarmichaelWV) June 10, 2020
In another state Senate race, incumbent Senator Sue Cline, R-Wyoming, was losing by a large margin to challenger David Bugs Stover.
Another incumbent, John Pitsenbarger, R-Nicholas, who was appointed last year, was losing to former Senator Robert Karnes.