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Republican Party primaries in West Virginia, 2026

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2024

Republican Party primaries, 2026

West Virginia Republican Party.jpg

Primary Date
May 12, 2026

Federal elections
Republican primaries for U.S. House

State party
Republican Party of West Virginia
State political party revenue

This page focuses on the Republican primaries that will take place in West Virginia on May 12, 2026.

A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. West Virginia state law permits parties to determine for themselves whether to allow previously unaffiliated voters to participate in their primaries along with registered members. As of October 2025, the Democratic Party held a semi-closed primary where unaffiliated voters could participate, and the Republican Party held a closed primary in which only voters registered with the party could participate.[1]

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

Federal elections

U.S. Senate

See also: United States Senate election in West Virginia, 2026 (May 12 Republican primary)

A Republican Party primary takes place on May 12, 2026, in West Virginia to determine which Republican candidate will run in the state's general election on November 3, 2026.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. Senate West Virginia

The following candidates are running in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate West Virginia on May 12, 2026.


Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

U.S. House

See also: United States House elections in West Virginia, 2026 (May 12 Republican primaries)
The U.S. House of Representatives elections in West Virginia are scheduled on November 3, 2026. Voters will elect two candidates to serve in the U.S. House from each of the state's two U.S. House districts. The primary is May 12, 2026. The filing deadline was January 31, 2026. To see a full list of candidates in the primary in each district, click "Show more" below.
Show more

District 1

Republican Party Republican primary candidates


Did not make the ballot:

District 2

Republican Party Republican primary candidates

State elections

State Senate

See also: West Virginia State Senate elections, 2026
Elections for the West Virginia State Senate will take place in 2026. The general election is on November 3, 2026. The primary is May 12, 2026. The filing deadline was January 31, 2026. To see a full list of state Senate candidates in the Republican primaries, click "Show more" below.
Show more

West Virginia State Senate elections, 2026

  • Incumbents are marked with an (i) after their name.
  • Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
  • Please contact Ballotpedia about candidate additions, withdrawals, or disqualifications.
Office Democratic Party Democratic Republican Party Republican Other
District 1

Shawn Fluharty

Laura Wakim Chapman (i)
Joseph Eddy

District 2

Christopher Claypole  Candidate Connection

Bob Dobkin
Toby Heaney

District 3

Caci Petrehn

Mike Azinger (i)
Bob Fehrenbacher

Did not make the ballot:
William Cox 

District 4

Zachary Abbott

Eric Tarr (i)
Phillip Surface
Travis Willard

Did not make the ballot:
Kenneth Darryl Matthews Jr. 

District 5

Duron Jackson
Josh Keck
Paul Ross

Chris Miller

District 6

Joshua Hamby
Wyatt Lilly

Mark R. Maynard (i)
Jeff Disibbio
Eric Porterfield
Edwin Ray Vanover

District 7

Cindy Brake  Candidate Connection
Michael Karr

Zack Maynard (i)

District 8

Kim Hundley

T. Kevan Bartlett (i)
Steven Eshenaur
Lance V. Wheeler

District 9

Christy Cardwell

Rollan Roberts (i)
Michael Antolini
Adam Vance

District 10

Kent Gilkerson

Vince Deeds (i)
Jonathan Comer
Robert Love

District 11

Kevin Leon Carpenter

William Hamilton (i)
Robert Karnes
Jack Reger

District 12

Lynette Murray

Ben Queen (i)
Joseph Earley

District 13

John Williams

Mike Oliverio (i)

District 14

Jason Armentrout

Jay Taylor (i)
Marc Harman
Mike Manypenny

District 15

Elizabeth Ferris

Darren Thorne (i)
Ken Reed
Robert Wolford

District 16

The Democratic primary was canceled.


Jason Barrett (i)
Chantele Mack  Candidate Connection

District 17

Wes Holden

Tom Takubo (i)
Chris Pritt

Did not make the ballot:
Douglas Skaff, Jr. 


House of Delegates

See also: West Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2026
Elections for the West Virginia House of Delegates will take place in 2026. The general election is on November 3, 2026. The primary is May 12, 2026. The filing deadline was January 31, 2026. To see a full list of state House candidates in the Republican primaries, click "Show more" below.
Show more

West Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2026

  • Incumbents are marked with an (i) after their name.
  • Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
  • Please contact Ballotpedia about candidate additions, withdrawals, or disqualifications.
Office Democratic Party Democratic Republican Party Republican Other
District 1

Quincy Wilson

Pat McGeehan (i)

District 2

Daniel Day

Did not make the ballot:
Olivia Dowler 

Mark Zatezalo (i)
Tony Viola

District 3

Mike Robinson  Candidate Connection

Jimmy Willis (i)

District 4

Joe Jividen

Derek Ennis
Dolph Santorine

District 5

Karen Shuler Stakem

Did not make the ballot:
Elizabeth Russell 

Beth Hinebaugh
Riley Watkins

Did not make the ballot:
Elgine McArdle 

District 6

Cody Cumpston

Jeffrey Stephens (i)
Don Dewitt  Candidate Connection

District 7

Sarah Reggi

Charles Sheedy (i)

Did not make the ballot:
Devon Tennant 

District 8

The Democratic primary was canceled.


Bill Bell (i)
Steven Smith

Did not make the ballot:
Dave Shelton 
Timothy Bassett 

District 9

The Democratic primary was canceled.


Betsy Kelly (i)
Dan Boley
Mark Kimball  Candidate Connection
Scott McGraw
Kerry Murphy
Steve Thomas

District 10

Christopher Jones

Everette Anderson (i)
Justin Beanard

District 11

Daniel Miller

Andrew Borkowski
Jeffrey Sandy

District 12

Dennis Rempel

Vernon Criss (i)
Charles Hartzog  Candidate Connection

District 13

Marley Umensetter

Scot Heckert (i)
Melissa McCrady  Candidate Connection

District 14

Crystal Butcher
Jim Marion
Jonathan White  Candidate Connection

Dave Foggin (i)
Angie Adams
Andy Daniel  Candidate Connection

District 15

The Democratic primary was canceled.


Did not make the ballot:
Brandi Hall 

Erica Moore (i)

District 16

Jason Barr

Joe Parsons (i)

District 17

The Democratic primary was canceled.


Jonathan Pinson (i)
Scott Cadle
Kathryn Weiland

District 18

Jonathan Hersman

Jim Butler (i)

District 19

Nolan Rose  Candidate Connection

Kathie Hess Crouse (i)

District 20

Tonya Shuler

Sarah Drennan (i)

District 21

Michael Mosteller II

C. D. Caldwell
Michael Kidd  Candidate Connection

District 22

The Democratic primary was canceled.


Daniel Linville (i)
Aaron Holley

District 23

Amanda Beach-Burge

Evan Worrell (i)

District 24

Steve Williams

Patrick Lucas (i)

District 25

Sean Hornbuckle (i)

The Republican primary was canceled.


District 26

The Democratic primary was canceled.


Did not make the ballot:
Bryan Adams 

Matthew Rohrbach (i)
Andrew Lowry

District 27

Ric Griffith

Tyler Bowen
William Caudill  Candidate Connection

Did not make the ballot:
Gordon Ramey II 

District 28

Brooke Smith

Ryan Browning (i)
Mark Caserta

District 29

Wendy Coleman

Henry Dillon (i)

District 30

Ryan Elkins  Candidate Connection

Jeff Eldridge (i)
David Adkins

District 31

George Barker
Derrick Pearson

Margitta Mazzocchi (i)

District 32

Jennifer Allyn Bias Bryant

Josh Holstein (i)

District 33

Michael Browning
Brittany Feury

Jordan Bridges (i)
Chris Tipton  Candidate Connection

District 34

Tara Sexton

Braydan Goff  Candidate Connection
James Harless
Barry Marcum
John White

District 35

Rachael Hawkins-Church  Candidate Connection

Gregory Bishop
John Morgan

District 36

Katelynn Jordan

S. David Green (i)
S.P. McKinney

District 37

Treyvon Simmons

Marty Gearheart (i)

District 38

Randa Faulkner

Joe Ellington (i)

District 39

Brianna Pearcy
Neal Vestal

Thurman Dickerson
Samuel Lusk

District 40

Jennifer Gilkerson  Candidate Connection

Roy G. Cooper (i)
Jon Fain
Travis Waldron  Candidate Connection

District 41

Curtis Shaver

Jordan Maynor (i)
Adrian Carag

District 42

Courtney Vandall

John Jordan (i)
Richard Jones

District 43

The Democratic primary was canceled.


Christopher Toney (i)

District 44

Christina Baisden
Tristin Kinningham  Candidate Connection

Did not make the ballot:
Gabriel Covington 

Carl Roop (i)

Did not make the ballot:
Bobbie Jo Hylton 

District 45

Joseph Golden

Did not make the ballot:
Glen Langston 

Eric Brooks (i)

District 46

Sarah Umberger

Jeff Campbell (i)
Mark Robinson

District 47

Sarah Morris  Candidate Connection
Mark Phipps Jr.  Candidate Connection

Denny Canterbury Jr. (i)
Mary Catherine Tuckwiller  Candidate Connection

District 48

Jourdan Deitz  Candidate Connection

Gregory Watt (i)
Mackenzie Holdren

District 49

Byron Tucker Jr.

Stanley Adkins (i)
Newt McCutcheon

District 50

Matthew Anderson

David Pritt (i)

Did not make the ballot:
Christopher Ratliff 

District 51

Colby Lopez  Candidate Connection

Marshall Clay (i)
Dan Hill
Cy Persinger

District 52

Seth Adkins
Joyce Brown
Michelle Harper

Tresa Howell (i)

District 53

Howard Mize
Keena Mullins

Tristan Leavitt (i)
Terry Burns

District 54

Mike Pushkin (i)

The Republican primary was canceled.


Did not make the ballot:
Julien Aklei 

District 55

Aaron Crank
Anthony Dasaro

JB Akers (i)

District 56

Kayla Young (i)

The Republican primary was canceled.


District 57

Hollis Lewis (i)

The Republican primary was canceled.


District 58

Marisa Jackson
Alaina Schwechler

Walter Hall (i)

District 59

Howard Claytor III

Andy Shamblin (i)

District 60

Lynette Shaw

Dana Ferrell (i)

Did not make the ballot:
Christina Knapp 

District 61

Sue Crawford
Shane Woodrum

Did not make the ballot:
Dorothy Burcham 

Dean Jeffries (i)
Lewis Taylor

District 62

Samantha Tanner-Lester  Candidate Connection

Roger Hanshaw (i)

District 63

Kevin Carpenter
Betsy Coulter

Lori Cowger Dittman (i)
Wesley Self  Candidate Connection

District 64

The Democratic primary was canceled.


Adam Burkhammer (i)

District 65

Mira Tanner-Hughes

Carl Martin (i)

District 66

Danielle Dougherty

Jonathan Kyle (i)

District 67

Mandy Smith Weirich

Les Mallow

District 68

The Democratic primary was canceled.


Chris Phillips (i)
David Critchfield  Candidate Connection
Tyler Williams

District 69

Lou Assaro
Jocelyn Blackwell

Keith Marple (i)
Danny Hamrick
Andrew Yost

District 70

Jackson Howe
Shannon Welsh

Did not make the ballot:
Joseph Romano 

Salvatore Bombardiere
Paul Howe

Did not make the ballot:
Mickey Petitto (i)

District 71

Robert Garcia

Laura Kimble (i)
Tim McNeely

District 72

The Democratic primary was canceled.


Clay Riley (i)
Megan Krajewski  Candidate Connection

District 73

Kathleen Ford

Rob Gallo
Frank Sturm

District 74

Frankie Delapas

Guy Ward (i)
Scott Crouch
Jonathan Woertz

Did not make the ballot:
Matthew Offutt 

District 75

Linda Longstreth

Did not make the ballot:
Josh Roark 
Daynon Foster 

Phil Mallow (i)

District 76

Rick Garcia (i)

Jon Dodds

District 77

Patricia Bunner

Joe Statler (i)

District 78

Michael Wendell

Eugene Chiarelli (i)
Sawyer Dennison  Candidate Connection
Cohen Terneus  Candidate Connection

District 79

Evan Hansen (i)

The Republican primary was canceled.


District 80

Olivia Miller
Kirsten Nelson

The Republican primary was canceled.


District 81

Anitra Hamilton (i)

The Republican primary was canceled.


District 82

Thomas Ramsey
Eddie Wagoner  Candidate Connection

David McCormick (i)

District 83

The Democratic primary was canceled.


George Street (i)

District 84

Colin Savage  Candidate Connection

D.R. Jennings (i)

District 85

Dean Bonney  Candidate Connection
Deborah Stiles

Alex Bosley
Bruce Kolsun
Jerry Ours

District 86

Betsy Orndoff-Sayers

Steven Schetrom

Did not make the ballot:
Bryan Ward (i)

District 87

Rebecca Holler

Gary G. Howell (i)
Charles Staggs

District 88

Dorothy Kengla

Rick Hillenbrand (i)

District 89

Joanne Hepworth
John Zupan

David Cannon (i)

District 90

Ashley Braner

George Miller (i)
Dan Caldwell
David Jones
Kevin McLaughlin

District 91

David Michaels

Chris Clagett  Candidate Connection

District 92

Brad Noll

Michael Hite (i)

District 93

The Democratic primary was canceled.


Michael Hornby (i)

District 94

Elizabeth Sanchez

Larry D. Kump  (unofficially withdrew)

District 95

Kara Waldeck

Charles Horst Sr. (i)

District 96

Lisa Cathro

Katie Rose

Did not make the ballot:
Lisa White (i)

District 97

Lucia Valentine

S. Chris Anders (i)

District 98

Marta Beck

Joe Funkhouser (i)

District 99

Regina Dyer
Robert Vincent  Candidate Connection

Wayne Clark (i)
Robert Fluharty  Candidate Connection

District 100

Jenny Thacker

William Ridenour (i)


Voting information

See also: Voting in West Virginia

Election information in West Virginia: May 12, 2026, election.

What is the voter registration deadline?

  • In-person: April 21, 2026
  • By mail: Postmarked by April 21, 2026
  • Online: April 21, 2026

Is absentee/mail-in voting available to all voters?

No

What is the absentee/mail-in ballot request deadline?

  • In-person: May 6, 2026
  • By mail: Received by May 6, 2026
  • Online: May 6, 2026

What is the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline?

  • In-person: May 11, 2026
  • By mail: Postmarked by May 12, 2026

Is early voting available to all voters?

Yes

What are the early voting start and end dates?

April 29, 2026 to May 9, 2026

Are all voters required to present ID at the polls? If so, is a photo or non-photo ID required?

N/A

When are polls open on Election Day?

6:30 a.m. - 7:30 p.m. (ET)


Context of the 2026 elections

West Virginia Party Control: 1992-2026
Nineteen years of Democratic trifectas  •  Nine years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
Governor D D D D D R R R R D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D[2] R R R R R R R R R
Senate D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R
House D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R

State party overview

Republican Party of West Virginia

See also: Republican Party of West Virginia

Party control
in West Virginia
GovernorRepublican
SenateRepublican
HouseRepublican
Click here for party control in all 50 states

West Virginia has a Republican trifecta and a Republican triplex. The Republican Party controls the offices of governor, secretary of state, attorney general, and both chambers of the state legislature.



State political party revenue

See also: State political party revenue and State political party revenue per capita

State political parties typically deposit revenue in separate state and federal accounts in order to comply with state and federal campaign finance laws.

The Democratic Party and the Republican Party maintain state affiliates in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and select U.S. territories. The following map displays total state political party revenue per capita for the Republican state party affiliates.


Pivot Counties

See also: Pivot Counties by state

There are no pivot counties in West Virginia. Pivot Counties are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.

In the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump (R) won West Virginia with 68.5 percent of the vote. Hillary Clinton (D) received 26.4 percent. In presidential elections between 1900 and 2016, West Virginia cast votes for the winning presidential candidate 76.7 percent of the time. In that same time frame, West Virginia supported Democratic and Republican candidates for president equally. West Virginia favored Republicans in every presidential election between 2000 and 2016.

Presidential results by legislative district

The following table details results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections by state House districts in West Virginia. Click [show] to expand the table. The "Obama," "Romney," "Clinton," and "Trump" columns describe the percent of the vote each presidential candidate received in the district. The "2012 Margin" and "2016 Margin" columns describe the margin of victory between the two presidential candidates in those years. Data on the results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections broken down by state legislative districts was compiled by Daily Kos.[3][4]

In 2012, Barack Obama (D) won four out of 67 state House districts in West Virginia with an average margin of victory of 13.9 points. In 2016, Hillary Clinton (D) won one out of 67 state House districts in West Virginia with an average margin of victory of 34.4 points.
In 2012, Mitt Romney (R) won 63 out of 67 state House districts in West Virginia with an average margin of victory of 31.9 points. In 2016, Donald Trump (R) won 66 out of 67 state House districts in West Virginia with an average margin of victory of 46.8 points.


See also


External links

Footnotes