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United States Senate election in West Virginia, 2020 (June 9 Democratic primary)
- Primary date: June 9
- Primary type: Semi-closed
- Registration deadline(s): May 19
- Online registration: Yes
- Same-day registration: No
- Early voting starts: Pending
- Absentee/mail voting deadline(s): June 9 (postmarked)
- Voter ID: Non-photo ID
- Poll times: 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
2026 →
← 2014
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| U.S. Senate, West Virginia |
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 |
| Democratic primary Republican primary General election |
| Election details |
| Filing deadline: January 25, 2020 |
| Primary: June 9, 2020 General: November 3, 2020 Pre-election incumbent: Shelley Moore Capito (Republican) |
| How to vote |
| Poll times: 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Voting in West Virginia |
| Race ratings |
Inside Elections: Solid Republican Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Republican |
| Ballotpedia analysis |
| U.S. Senate battlegrounds U.S. House battlegrounds Federal and state primary competitiveness Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2020 |
| See also |
U.S. Senate • 1st • 2nd • 3rd West Virginia elections, 2020 U.S. Congress elections, 2020 U.S. Senate elections, 2020 U.S. House elections, 2020 |
A Democratic Party primary took place on June 9, 2020, in West Virginia to determine which Democratic candidate would run in the state's general election on November 3, 2020.
Paula Jean Swearengin advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate West Virginia.
| Candidate filing deadline | Primary election | General election |
|---|---|---|
Heading into the election, the incumbent was Shelley Moore Capito (Republican), who was first elected in 2014.
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 utilizes a semi-closed primary system where parties may decide if unaffiliated voters can vote in their primaries.[1][2]
For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.
This page focuses on West Virginia's United States Senate Democratic primary. For more in-depth information on the state's Republican primary and the general election, see the following pages:
- United States Senate election in West Virginia, 2020 (June 9 Republican primary)
- United States Senate election in West Virginia, 2020
Election procedure changes in 2020
Ballotpedia provided comprehensive coverage of how election dates and procedures changed in 2020. While the majority of changes occurred as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some changes occurred for other reasons.
West Virginia modified its primary election process as follows:
- Election postponements: The primary election was postponed from May 12 to June 9.
- Voting procedures: Absentee ballot application mailed to every registered voter for the primary election.
For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.
Candidates and election results
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. Senate West Virginia
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Paula Jean Swearengin  | 38.3 | 71,725 |
 | Richard Ojeda | 32.9 | 61,712 | |
 | Richie Robb | 28.8 | 53,944 | |
| Total votes: 187,381 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Candidate profiles
This section includes candidate profiles created in one of two ways. Either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey or Ballotpedia staff created a profile after identifying the candidate as noteworthy.[3] Ballotpedia staff compiled profiles based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements.
Campaign finance
This section contains campaign finance figures from the Federal Election Commission covering all candidate fundraising and spending in this election.[4] It does not include information on fundraising before the current campaign cycle or on spending by satellite groups. The numbers in this section are updated as candidates file new campaign finance reports. Candidates for Congress are required to file financial reports on a quarterly basis, as well as two weeks before any primary, runoff, or general election in which they will be on the ballot and upon the termination of any campaign committees.[5] The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.
| Name | Party | Receipts* | Disbursements** | Cash on hand | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richard Ojeda | Democratic Party | $36,771 | $36,771 | $0 | As of September 30, 2020 |
| Richie Robb | Democratic Party | $25,833 | $22,139 | $2,449 | As of June 10, 2020 |
| Paula Jean Swearengin | Democratic Party | $2,064,982 | $1,998,997 | $65,985 | As of December 31, 2020 |
|
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2020. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." |
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General election race ratings
- See also: Race rating definitions and methods
Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:
- Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
- Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
- Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.[6]
- Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.
Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.[7][8][9]
| Race ratings: U.S. Senate election in West Virginia, 2020 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race tracker | Race ratings | ||||||||
| November 3, 2020 | October 27, 2020 | October 20, 2020 | October 13, 2020 | ||||||
| The Cook Political Report | Solid Republican | Solid Republican | Solid Republican | Solid Republican | |||||
| Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales | Solid Republican | Solid Republican | Solid Republican | Solid Republican | |||||
| Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball | Safe Republican | Safe Republican | Safe Republican | Safe Republican | |||||
| Note: Ballotpedia updates external race ratings every week throughout the election season. | |||||||||
See also
- United States Senate election in West Virginia, 2020 (June 9 Republican primary)
- United States Senate election in West Virginia, 2020
- United States Senate Democratic Party primaries, 2020
- United States Senate Republican Party primaries, 2020
- United States Senate elections, 2020
- U.S. Senate battlegrounds, 2020
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ West Virginia State Legislature, "WV Code § 3-4A-20," accessed June 30, 2025
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "State Primary Election Types," accessed June 30, 2025
- ↑ Candidate Connection surveys completed before September 26, 2019, were not used to generate candidate profiles. In battleground primaries, Ballotpedia based its selection of noteworthy candidates on polling, fundraising, and noteworthy endorsements. In battleground general elections, all major party candidates and any other candidates with the potential to impact the outcome of the race were included.
- ↑ Fundraising by primary candidates can be found on the race's respective primary election page. Fundraising by general election candidates can be found on the race's general election page.
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "2022 Quarterly Reports," accessed March 2, 2022
- ↑ Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
