CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A few legislative primary races are still too close to call in West Virginia, with three incumbent members of the House of Delegates and their challengers waiting to see if the vote totals from Tuesday night hold up after canvassing.
Dels. Laura Kimble, R-Harrison; Bill Anderson, R-Wood; and Daniel Linville, R-Cabell, lost to primary challengers by five or fewer votes according to unofficial results tallied on election night. The canvass begins on Monday to confirm vote totals and certify results in every race across the state.
“I’m actually evaluating and waiting on the whole process to just play out. That’s about it. That’s all we can do, isn’t it?” Kimble said.
Tuesday’s results showed Tim McNeely defeating Kimble in the 51st district by four votes, Justin Beanard beating Anderson in the 10th district by five votes, and Aaron Holley winning over Linville in the 22nd district by just two votes. Kimble said she takes a laid-back approach to election night and plans to do the same while waiting for results to be certified.
“I’m just waiting. It’s kind of interesting. I’m not somebody that has a watch party or anxiously looks at the TV or the other news sources to watch as the numbers come in,” she said.
For House races, the respective county commissions constitute the Board of Canvassers for each race and, with assistance from the county clerk, will conduct the canvass process to certify the results of each election. In many cases, canvassing won’t change the results of a race, but with three seats in the legislature still in question, this year’s primary is going beyond just election night for these six candidates.
“The numbers came in and the percentages came in, and then the percentages and numbers all changed, so I’m just waiting. We’re kind of in limbo,” Kimble said.
Once the process is completed by a county’s Board of Canvassers, the results are entered into the official record, and candidates have 48 hours following the announcement of the results to request a recount. If a recount is requested, each ballot will be reviewed by the Board of Canvassers, and candidates will have the opportunity to challenge ballots as they are presented.
The winner between Kimble and McNeely will face Democrat Rob Garcia in the general election, while the winner between Beanard and Anderson will oppose Christopher Jones in November. There is no Democrat running for the 22nd district.