Ogden newspaper political reporter Steven Allen Adams, during an appearance on MetroNews Talkline before the election, suggested that the expected “blue wave” nationally could splash over into West Virginia.
Adams and the rest of our state got that answer Tuesday night.
The wave that swept Democrats into majorities in the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives stopped short of our state’s boundaries, but there was significant spillover. Consider the following:
Democrats gained 12 Seats in the 100 member House of Delegates, expanding their number to 21. Democrats picked up two more seats in the state Senate. That doubled their numbers, but still only gives them four of the 34 seats.
Granted, Republicans still hold super majorities in both chambers, but the Democrats have, for the moment at least, staunched the bleeding and given themselves a given themselves a reason for optimism.
Democrats will now have more committee seats in the House, and they have a better story to tell as they recruit candidates for 2028. Party chair Mike Pushkin said that effort started the day after the election.
Republican incumbents prevailed in the U.S. Senate race and the two Congressional contests, but there were cracks in the red wall.
Senator Shelley Moore Capito won 58 percent of the vote, but that is 12 percentage points below her margin six years ago. First District Representative Carol Miller received 66 percent of the vote in 2024. She finished nine percentage points below that Tuesday. Second District Representative Riley Moore won Tuesday with 59 percent. Two years ago, he got 71 percent.
West Virginia is still a deep red state. Republicans continue to gain the registration advantage. Forty-four percent of all registered voters are Republican, while only 27 percent are Democrats (25 percent are Independent). From a hard number perspective, it remains much better to be a Republican than a Democrat.
However, this election demonstrated that the Democratic Party still has a pulse, while the state Republican Party has been rocked.
“This is the pendulum swinging back in the other direction,” said veteran West Virginia Republican consultant Greg Thomas. “We deserved to get beat last night.”
He said Republicans in the state have to get back to the issues and kind of candidates that built success ten to fifteen years ago. One suggestion would be for the GOP to reopen the primary to Independent voters. Closing the primary alienated Independents.
Meanwhile, West Virginia Republicans have to think long and hard about who they want to be. They have benefited over the last decade by hitching their wagon to the Trump/MAGA movement. Now that it’s run off the road, will they abandon the wreckage?