ANSTED, W.Va. — Gov. Patrick Morrisey will choose from three nominees to fill the vacancy left by Elliott Pritt in the House of Delegates’ 50th district.
The Fayette County Executive Committee named William Jennings Vest, Brent Alan Hudnall, and Eric Walton as candidates at a meeting Monday that will be submitted to serve the remainder of Pritt’s term. Pritt remains in jail after being charged in federal court for allegedly having a sexual relationship with a minor.
“We wanted to make sure that they shared our values in Fayette County so some of things were what was their opinion on data centers and what was their opinion on mandatory vaccines. They had to answer a lot of questions,” Fayette County GOP chair Greg Ingram said.
Vest, Hudnall, and Walton were selected from a pool of six eligible candidates and Morrisey will choose one of the three to hold the House seat within five days. The term for that seat is up this year.
Despite the short term that the appointed delegate would serve, Ingram believes it is important to make sure the district has a representative.
“It’s our duty to do that. How important is it? There’s going to be interims. There’s going to be other things that happen between now and January,” he said.
West Virginia Secretary of State Kris Warner announced that Pritt voluntarily withdrew from the ballot Tuesday.
The state Republican Executive Committee disavowed Pritt at its meeting on Saturday, but state election law prevents the GOP from replacing him on the ballot since he withdrew.
The State Election Commission was scheduled to meet this Friday to consider whether or not Pritt should be disqualified from the general election. They will no longer take up that topic, given Pritt’s withdrawal.