CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Elliott Pritt has resigned his seat in the House of Delegates.
The now-former Fayette County Delegate did so in a one sentence letter to House Speaker Roger Hanshaw Monday afternoon.
“Mr. Speaker, I resign from the West Virginia House of Delegates, effective immediately.”
Pritt was in federal court in Charleston Monday afternoon after being charged last week with allegedly seducing a 15-year-old girl.
Wearing an orange jumpsuit, he appeared with his hands and feet cuffed. He scanned the courtroom several times and said little before U.S. Magistrate Judge Dwane Tinsley. He consulted several times with his attorney Christopher Maidona prior to Tinsley’s arrival.
Pritt waived both a detention hearing and preliminary hearing.
U.S. Attorney for Southern West Virginia Moore Capito said that essentially means Pritt will remain in custody as the case continues through the federal court system. Capito’s office will present an indictment to a Grand Jury over the allegations in the near future.
House of Delegates Speaker Roger Hanshaw issued a statement after receiving the resignation:
“As many of us had requested as soon as these heinous accusations were brought to light, Elliott Pritt resigned from public service today. Our thoughts remain with these families and these victims.”
The resignation came while Pritt was at the federal courthouse.
Del. J.B. Akers, R-Kanawha, attended the short court hearing. He said Pritt’s resignation was necessary.
“It was the right thing to do,” Akers said. “That’s what we hoped he would do, and it’s what he should have done. He obviously has other things he’s got to be focusing on right now, but it’s best for the people of West Virginia, best for his district, by far, that they have someone who actually can do the job and represent them.”
Capito held a post-hearing briefing at the courthouse. He highlighted that his office deals with many crimes-against-children cases.
“This is something that we deal with day in and day out in this office, and this particular case is one that has become forefront in the minds of many West Virginians,” Capito said. “I think it’s critical, at times like this, that we keep in mind that there are many children in our communities in the southern district of West Virginia that are struggling.”
Pritt also served as a teacher at Oak Hill High School. His teaching license was suspended last week after the allegations surfaced.
Pritt allegedly began the relationship with the victim when she was in the eighth grade. According to the criminal complaint that led to his arrest, Pritt initiated contact with the girl through the video game Roblox and transitioned to Snapchat. He reportedly enticed the girl to send explicit content through the app, in addition to bringing the girl to his Oak Hill classroom and allegedly engaging in sex acts.
Capito said that many children are scared to come forward, as they are scared of the repercussions of being a victim in such crimes.
“I can tell you that folks that are out there that seek to do harm to our children, will use every technological advantage that they can, and every maneuver that they know, to groom these children as slowly as that takes, to ultimately come to what we all consider to be a really horrible, horrible ending,” Capito said.
He called it an “inflection point” where everyone should applaud the bravery of this victim, as well as all victims who step up.
“The bravery that it takes to come forward and talk to a federal officer about a wrong that was committed to you, and regardless of what happens in this case, what we know is that there is a child in West Virginia that has had irreparable harm committed upon them,” Capito said.
Akers said it was important that Pritt was held accountable for his actions.
“It’s primarily best for the victim that she knows, at least someone who had a position of power before, no longer has that,” Akers said. “Because that position, and we hope that gives her and her family at least a little comfort. I’m sure that they obviously have a lot of things in their minds still as well.”
The girl’s family reported Pritt to the police on July 9. Less than two weeks later, the allegations surfaced and Pritt was brought into custody.
Akers commended the quick work of law enforcement in response to that information coming to light.
“As terrible as this is, and I wish it hadn’t happened, one silver lining is, there was swift action to arrest him,” Akers said. “He was arrested and charged via criminal complaint. They didn’t even wait to go through the indictment process, so I’d give the federal government credit in that regard. They moved as quickly as possible once they got the evidence they needed to charge and arrest him and get him off the streets.”
Gov. Patrick Morrisey blasted Pritt in an X post Monday afternoon.
Good riddance to the terrible former WV Delegate Elliot Pritt. He just resigned.
Pritt was not only accused of terrible crimes against a child— but he was a former socialist, who was making his way up the GOP leadership pathway.
The GOP must always stand for integrity,…
— Patrick Morrisey (@MorriseyWV) July 27, 2026
Meanwhile, the West Virginia Republican Party is making plans to remove Pritt from being a member.
“This one kind of blew me away,” West Virginia GOP Secretary Tony Hodge said during an appearance on “580 Live” with Dave Allen. “Just the reprehensible and the abhorrent allegations that we’ve all heard about is something that we’re not going to tolerate at the West Virginia Republican Party, and no one should.”
Hodge said he’s sent a letter to the state Republican Party Chairman Josh Holstein calling for a vote to disavow Pritt. The party will take a vote during their summer meeting Saturday in Charleston.
“This will be the first time in our party’s history that we’re going to take a vote to disavow one of our nominees,” Hodge explained.
Hodge said the disavowal process requires 35 signatures. He reported over 80 members signed “without hesitation.” The disavowal of Pritt would remove him from being their nominee and candidate for the November General Election.
“These types of allegations are something that we’re not going to tolerate,” Hodge said. “We’re not going to put our name behind it and we’re also not going to be silent about it. We’re sending a strong message that these types of things by our public officials aren’t going to be tolerated in our party.”
While he has resigned from his current seat, Pritt has not been disqualified from the ballot yet. According to Secretary of State Kris Warner, West Virginia law outlines that those awaiting trial, who haven’t been convicted of an offense that would disqualify them from office, remain eligible. A felony conviction is one disqualifying factor that prohibits people from seeking election.
Pritt was unopposed in this spring’s primary election. The Democratic challenger in the race is Matthew Anderson, a special education teacher at Divide Elementary School in Fayette County.
Additionally, if Pritt were to “voluntarily withdraw” from the ballot, the Republican Party could not fill that vacancy. Warner said that falls under House Bill 4350, which went into effect January 1, 2025.
“In that circumstance, the candidate’s political party would not have a nominee for that office on the general election ballot,” Warner explained.
However, if Pritt were to be disqualified before August 11 — the 84th day prior to the General Election — the Republican Party could appoint a replacement nominee.