Republicans romped in West Virginia again, continuing an electoral trend with more gains.
West Virginia’s electoral votes went to Donald Trump, Jim Justice’s election to the U.S. Senate helped tip the majority, Patrick Morrisey takes over as the state’s chief executive, other statewide Republican officeholders were elected by dominant margins, and Republicans somehow grew majorities that were already dominant in the state Senate and House of Delegates.
This trend became more pronounced in a state that was once dominated by the Democratic Party.
Over the past 25 years or so, “something happened in West Virginia that took it from a deep blue state to a deep red state, and last night — now — every major statewide office and even most of the downballot stuff are controlled by the Republicans,” said veteran pollster Mark Blankenship on MetroNews’ “Talkline.”
“They won and they won huge.”
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Justice joins Senator Shelley Moore Capito in establishing two Republicans representing West Virginia in the Senate. Justice had pitched to voters that he could be the guy to flip the Senate, where Democrats have had a functional 51-49 majority.
Joe Manchin, formerly a Democrat and now an independent, decided not to run for reelection in increasingly Republican-leaning West Virginia this year. So the seat is open and most national pundits have said for months that the seat would be likely to swing to a Republican. Manchin is leaving the Senate seat after first being elected in 2010. In recent years, the centrist Manchin has been a key swing vote.
“I want to shake up the world,” Justice said in his election night remarks.
Capito, R-W.Va., who will be Justice’s counterpart, issued a statement congratulating him.
“I welcome my new partner in Washington, D.C., Senator-elect Jim Justice, and look forward to working with him for our fellow citizens.”
All of West Virginia’s statewide elected offices were already in Republican hands, but the GOP won those seats again by dominant margins.
Morrisey, a three-term attorney general defeated the Democratic nominee, former Democratic Mayor Steve Williams, 62% to 31%. Republican J.B. McCuskey gained 70% of the vote for attorney general, Kris Warner got 71% of the vote for secretary of state, Mark Hunt earned 69% of the vote for auditor and incumbent Kent Leonhardt got 69% of the vote for agriculture secretary. Larry Pack, also a Republican, was unopposed in the race for treasurer.
Republicans already had such dominant supermajorities in the state Legislature that there was hardly room to grow — but somehow they did.
Most recently, the Senate had just three Democrats and 31 Republicans.
On Election Night, Republicans added one seat in the Senate. That’s because Republican Scott Fuller defeated Democrat Ric Griffith, who had been a delegate, in a Cabell and Wayne counties district that had been held by Senator Robert Plymale, a Democrat who retired from the Legislature.
So now Democrats in the Senate include Minority Leader Mike Woelfel, D-Cabell, who wasn’t up this cycle, and newly-elected Joey Garcia, D-Marion.
The Senate supermajority over the next few months will gather to select a new leader after current President Craig Blair, R-Berkeley, was defeated in a competitive primary.
The House of Delegates, which is composed of 100 members from 100 delegate districts throughout the state, most recently had 11 Democrats and 89 Republicans.
Democrats took a dip on Election Night, losing two of those seats.
Every Republican seeking reelection to the House won and the GOP picked up two seats formerly held by Democrats, one in Wayne County and the other in eastern Kanawha County.
“Republicans just continue to pick up seats,” said Republican consultant Greg Thomas on “Talkline.”
He said downballot races were shaped largely by Trump at the top. Trump is at the top of the political figures that West Virginians view most favorably, according to the most recent MetroNews West Virginia Poll. Sixty percent view him favorably and 37% view him unfavorably, according to the most recent version of the poll released in August.
“It was definitely more of a national election, right? I mean, not only is it a presidential but it’s a Trump presidential. And of course, you know, Trump gets a higher percentage of votes in West Virginia than any other state and country. So this is not as home base, but may as well have been,” Thomas said.
“And Republicans picked up a couple seats in the House of Delegates. They picked up a state Senate seat, one down in Cabell-Wayne. I think the thing is, the messages that Trump talks about, and the reason that West Virginians like him so much is the stuff he’s fighting now is the same stuff we were fighting back as we took over the state and as we’ve continued to kind of work to get the state back on track.”