Republicans surged to victories up and down West Virginia ballots on Election Day.
“Everybody is on Cloud 9,” Melody Potter, the West Virginia GOP chairwoman, said during MetroNews’ Election Night coverage.
The wins included another enormous margin by President Trump in West Virginia, along with Republican victories in each and every executive branch office and expanded GOP majorities in the House of Delegates and state Senate.
One of those victories was by Republican Riley Moore, who defeated six-term incumbent Treasurer John Perdue, a Democrat who had served in the office since 1997.
Democrats, long the dominant party in West Virginia, had held the seat almost a century until Moore’s win.
“A Republican hasn’t won this seat in 92 years. It’s the longest drought in terms of the Republican Party in a win in West Virginia state history,” said Moore, a former state Delegate who is the grandson of former Gov. Arch Moore and nephew of Senator Shelley Moore Capito.
That was the kind of Election Night the Republicans had in West Virginia.
Republican incumbents also won for governor, attorney general, auditor, secretary of state and agriculture commissioner — a sweep.
GOP dominance started at the top of the ticket, where President Donald Trump again won the state handily.
Late on Election Night, with 95 percent of precincts reporting, Trump had 68 percent of West Virginia votes to Biden’s 30 percent.
The Republican nominee defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton 67.9 percent to 26.2 percent four years ago.
Republican incumbents won all the Congressional races this year, with victories by Senator Shelley Moore Capito and Representatives David McKinley, Alex Mooney and Carol Miller.
“It was a huge night for Republicans in West Virginia,” said GOP strategist Greg Thomas. “I think this is quite the resounding victory.”
Republicans expanded their majorities in the House and Senate. The GOP first gained those majorities in 2014 after decades of Democratic dominance.
Going into Election Night, the House’s 100 members included 58 Republicans, 41 Democrats and 1 independent.
Unofficial results now reflect a supermajority of more than 70 GOP members.
Election night totals showed a new margin in the House of 76 Republicans and 24 Democrats.
“Tonight was solid affirmation that West Virginians believe the bold, conservative leadership and ideas put forward by Republican members of the House of Delegates and other branches of government are the best path forward for our state,” House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, stated.
A similar wave bolstered the GOP majority in the Senate, which had been 20 Republicans and 14 Democrats going into Election Night.
Unofficial results showed Republicans picking up three seats, establishing a new 23-11 margin.
“We’re now going to have supermajorities in the House of Delegates and the state Senate,” Thomas said.
“We’ll have complete control of the state, and it’s now up to the leadership team to get to work.”
The West Virginia Democratic Party Chairwoman, Belinda Biafore, issued an early-morning statement acknowledging the lopsided results but expressing pride in Democratic candidates.
“We obviously did not see the outcomes we wished for, but the work doesn’t stop here,” Biafore stated.
“Congratulations to those who won tonight and I know that win or lose, Democrats will continue to fight for the people of West Virginia because that’s who we are. Our fight keeps moving forward.”