The 2022 Primary Election in West Virginia is just two months away—May 10. This is an off-year election, so there are no presidential or statewide races. However, there are races for Congress, the State Senate, House of Delegates and local contests.
Voters may need some additional time to review their ballots, since redistricting has changed boundaries for congressional and legislative races.
The candidate filing period has passed, so here is how some of these races are shaping up:
The new 2nd Congressional District, which covers the northern and eastern sections of the state, has primary contests in both parties. Current Republican Congressmen David McKinley and Alex Mooney are battling for nomination, but there are also three other Republican candidates, which means the nominee could win with less than 50 percent of the vote. Two Democrats are vying for their party’s nomination.
The new 1st District, the southern half of the state, has incumbent Republican Carol Miller being challenged by four other candidates. Lacy Watson is unchallenged on the Democratic ticket.
There is one seat up in each of the state’s 17 Senatorial Districts. The Republican ticket has nine contested races. Among those, only three Republican incumbents have opposition.
The Democratic ballot for state Senate has only one contested primary, the new 13th district that includes parts of Monongalia and Marion Counties, where current House of Delegates member Barbara Fleischauer and Rich Adams are running. None of the four incumbent Democratic Senators up for re-election has a primary challenge.
West Virginia has completed the move to single-member districts in the House of Delegates. That has expanded the number of districts from 67 to 100. On the Republican side, 43 of the 100 districts have primary races. Just 16 of the House districts on the Democratic ticket have contested races.
Three incumbent House Democrats have primary contests, while 22 current House Republicans will try to survive the May nomination.
Democrats have a lot of blank spaces on the ballot. Twenty-five of the House districts have no Democratic candidates, while only one Republican House Primary is without a candidate. Democrats have left six contests vacant in the state Senate races, compared with none for Republicans.
Meanwhile, for voters who may be confused or uncertain about their House, Senate and even Congressional district following redistricting, the Secretary of State’s Office has created a valuable tool. The helpful link can be found at GoVoteWV.com.