CHARLESTON, W.Va. –The deadline to file as a candidate for the 2026 election is Saturday at midnight.
Ahead of the deadline Friday there was some action at the Secretary of State’s office at the state capitol.
Longtime House of Delegates member, Shawn Fluharty, of Ohio County has filed to run for state senate in the northern panhandle.
Fluharty said he’s ready to get to work.
“Let’s get to work and work on real issues for real people, I’m just tired of seeing these run off of their fringe agendas, and people, you talk to them, they talk about real issues and all in the middle, there not on this fringe, so quit governing from this fringe, so I look forward to the senate race,” he said.
A win by Fluharty in the primary could match him against incumbent GOP senator Lora Wakim Chapman who has filed for reelection, but Chapman also has a primary opponent.
MetroNews Statewide Correspondent Brad McElhinny said that a former athlete filed for candidacy Friday.
“WVU legend Quincy Wilson has filed for a House seat, filed as a democratic, and that is one currently held by the House Majority leader Pat McGeehan,” he said.
McElhinny also talked about former democratic state senator and senate president Jeff Kessler being in town. Kessler filed to run for the U.S. Senate seat that is currently held by Senator Shelley Moore Capito. Capito officially announced her bid for reelection back in December.
Secretary of State Kris Warner said they may be people who wait until the last minute to file.
“There are some that like to do it for dramatics, others will watch to see if anyone else is going to file and if they don’t they intend to file, and so that causes some last-minute excitement and activity in each one of those offices,” Warner said.
The Secretary of State’s office at the state capitol, along with the satellite offices in Clarksburg and Martinsburg, will remain open in person to allow people enough time to file.
Warner said it’s important to file to run if you believe you can help make a difference in the state.
“When you look out and realize that you can do a better job than the person that’s either in office or running for office, you have an obligation to step forward and run for office and represent your community, I did that in the last election and I encourage others to do the same,” he said.
The primary election will be held on May 12.