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United States Senate election in West Virginia, 2024 (May 14 Democratic primary)

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U.S. Senate, West Virginia
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Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: January 27, 2024
Primary: May 14, 2024
General: November 5, 2024
Pre-election incumbent:
Joe Manchin III (ind.)
How to vote
Poll times: 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Voting in West Virginia
Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Solid Republican
DDHQ and The Hill: Safe Republican
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, 2024
See also
U.S. Senate, West Virginia
U.S. Senate • 1st • 2nd
West Virginia elections, 2024
U.S. Congress elections, 2024
U.S. Senate elections, 2024
U.S. House elections, 2024

A Democratic Party primary took place on May 14, 2024, in West Virginia to determine which Democratic candidate would run in the state's general election on November 5, 2024.

Glenn Elliott advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate West Virginia.


Thirty-four of 100 seats in the U.S. Senate were up for election in 2024, including one special election. At the time of the election, Democrats had a 51-49 majority.[1] Of the seats up for election in 2024, Democrats held 19, Republicans held 11, and independents held four. As of May 2024, eight members of the U.S. Senate had announced they were not running for re-election.

Candidate filing deadline Primary election General election
January 27, 2024
May 14, 2024
November 5, 2024


Heading into the election, the incumbent was Joe Manchin III (ind.), who was first elected in 2010.

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.[2][3]

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:

Candidates and election results

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. Senate West Virginia

Glenn Elliott defeated Zachary Shrewsbury and Don Blankenship in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate West Virginia on May 14, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Glenn Elliott
Glenn Elliott Candidate Connection
 
45.4
 
46,176
Image of Zachary Shrewsbury
Zachary Shrewsbury Candidate Connection
 
36.1
 
36,754
Image of Don Blankenship
Don Blankenship
 
18.5
 
18,778

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 101,708
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.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Candidate profiles

This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.

Glenn Elliott

Image of Glenn Elliott

WebsiteFacebookTwitterYouTube

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Submitted Biography:  "My name is Glenn Elliott, and I am a candidate for the Democratic nomination for United States Senate in the 2024 election. I am a seventh Generation West Virginian currently serving in my second term as Mayor of my hometown of Wheeling. My journey to public service followed a roundabout path. After high school, I attended the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. I majored in finance, but it was my political science minor that led me to my first job as a legislative assistant for then-Senator Robert Byrd. This experience was a formative one, allowing me to witness firsthand the successes attainable through strategic compromise, along with the reward of public service. Inspired, I enrolled at Georgetown University Law Center. By 2008, after working as an attorney, I was—candidly—burnt out and seeking something more meaningful. At age 38, I returned home to Wheeling in search of a more impactful career. Before long, I purchased a vacant historic bank in the heart of downtown and made improving my city a personal quest. Today, that building houses two law firms along with me, my wife Cassandra, and our son Harrison. I ran for Mayor in 2016 because I felt Wheeling had all the essential ingredients of a great city but was lacking in strategic vision. Now, nearly eight years later, I look back with pride knowing that we have changed the conversation about what is possible in Wheeling."

Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

Restoring women's reproductive rights is a top priority of my campaign. After the Dobbs Decision, women across the country lost their right to make choices about their own body. If elected to the United States Senate, I will vote to codify Roe.

Strengthening the middle class is another priority of this campaign. For decades, we have seen the middle class shrink to where it once was. Investing in child care and workforce development, creating a fairer tax structure, and keeping costs low will create an environment for the middle class in this country to grow. We must relearn the lesson that when the middle class does well, our society does well.

I believe that health care is a right, not a privilege. How many of us know someone who has turned to the internet for help for healthcare costs? It's 2024, we live in the richest country in the world, but getting severely ill for some us means entering the Go Fund Me society. If elected to the United States Senate, I will prioritize fixing our healthcare system and make Go Fund Me pleas a thing of the past.

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. Senate West Virginia in 2024.

Zachary Shrewsbury

Image of Zachary Shrewsbury

WebsiteFacebookTwitterYouTube

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Submitted Biography:  "My name is Zachary Shrewsbury. I am a native West Virginian, a Marine Corps veteran, a father, the grandson of a coal miner, a community organizer and activist and a member of the working class."

Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

Labor Protections

Universal Healthcare

Battling the Addiction Crisis

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. Senate West Virginia in 2024.

Voting information

See also: Voting in West Virginia

Election information in West Virginia: May 14, 2024, election.

What was the voter registration deadline?

  • In-person: April 23, 2024
  • By mail: Postmarked by April 23, 2024
  • Online: April 23, 2024

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

No

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

  • In-person: May 8, 2024
  • By mail: Received by May 8, 2024
  • Online: May 8, 2024

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

  • In-person: May 13, 2024
  • By mail: Postmarked by May 14, 2024

Was early voting available to all voters?

N/A

What were the early voting start and end dates?

May 1, 2024 to May 11, 2024

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

N/A

When were polls open on Election Day?

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


Campaign finance

Name Party Receipts* Disbursements** Cash on hand Date
Don Blankenship Democratic Party $175,303 $175,389 $0 As of July 14, 2024
Glenn Elliott Democratic Party $855,051 $845,942 $9,110 As of November 25, 2024
Zachary Shrewsbury Democratic Party $403,194 $403,194 $0 As of December 31, 2024

Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2024. 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."
** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election.

Ballot access

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. Senate candidates in West Virginia in the 2024 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in West Virginia, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. Senate candidates, 2024
State Office Party Signatures required Signature formula Filing fee Filing fee formula Filing deadline Source
West Virginia U.S. Senate Ballot-qualified party N/A N/A $1,740.00 1% of annual salary 1/27/2024 Source
West Virginia U.S. Senate Unaffiliated 4,537 1% of votes cast for this office in the last election, but no fewer than 25 $1,740.00 1% of annual salary 8/1/2024 Source

Election analysis

Click the tabs below to view information about demographics, past elections, and partisan control of the state.

  • Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the state.
  • Statewide elections - Information about recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections in the state.
  • State partisanship - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.
  • Demographics - Information about the state's demographics and how they compare to the country as a whole.


See also: Presidential voting trends in West Virginia and The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

Cook PVI by congressional district

Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index for West Virginia, 2024
District Incumbent Party PVI
West Virginia's 1st Carol Miller Ends.png Republican R+23
West Virginia's 2nd Alexander Mooney Ends.png Republican R+22


2020 presidential results by 2024 congressional district lines

2020 presidential results in congressional districts based on 2024 district lines, West Virginia[4]
District Joe Biden Democratic Party Donald Trump Republican Party
West Virginia's 1st 28.8% 69.7%
West Virginia's 2nd 30.6% 67.6%


2012-2020

How a state's counties vote in a presidential election and the size of those counties can provide additional insights into election outcomes at other levels of government including statewide and congressional races. Below, four categories are used to describe each county's voting pattern over the 2012, 2016, and 2020 presidential elections: Solid, Trending, Battleground, and New. Click [show] on the table below for examples:


Following the 2020 presidential election, 100.0% of West Virginians lived in one of the state's 55 Solid Republican counties, which voted for the Republican presidential candidate in every election from 2012 to 2020. Overall, West Virginia was Solid Republican, having voted for Mitt Romney (R) in 2012, Donald Trump (R) in 2016, and Donald Trump (R) in 2020. Use the table below to view the total number of each type of county in West Virginia following the 2020 election as well as the overall percentage of the state population located in each county type.

Historical voting trends

West Virginia presidential election results (1900-2020)

  • 15 Democratic wins
  • 16 Republican wins
Year 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020
Winning Party R R R D R R R R D D D D D D R D D D R D D R D D D R R R R R R

This section details the results of the five most recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections held in the state.

U.S. Senate elections

See also: List of United States Senators from West Virginia

The table below details the vote in the five most recent U.S. Senate races in West Virginia.

U.S. Senate election results in West Virginia
Race Winner Runner up
2020 70.3%Republican Party 27.0%Democratic Party
2018 49.6%Democratic Party 46.3%Republican Party
2014 62.1%Republican Party 34.5%Democratic Party
2012 60.8%Democratic Party 36.5%Republican Party
2010 53.5%Democratic Party 43.4%Republican Party
Average 59.3 37.5

Gubernatorial elections

See also: Governor of West Virginia

The table below details the vote in the five most recent gubernatorial elections in West Virginia.

Gubernatorial election results in West Virginia
Race Winner Runner up
2020 63.5%Republican Party 30.2%Democratic Party
2016 49.1%Democratic Party 42.3%Republican Party
2012 50.5%Republican Party 45.7%Democratic Party
2011 49.6%Democratic Party 47.1%Republican Party
2008 69.8%Republican Party 25.7%Democratic Party
Average 56.5 38.2
See also: Party control of West Virginia state government

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of West Virginia's congressional delegation as of May 2024.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from West Virginia
Party U.S. Senate U.S. House Total
Democratic 0 0 0
Republican 2 2 4
Independent 0 0 0
Vacancies 0 0 0
Total 2 2 4

State executive

The table below displays the officeholders in West Virginia's top three state executive offices as of May 2024.

State executive officials in West Virginia, May 2024
Office Officeholder
Governor Republican Party Jim Justice
Secretary of State Republican Party Mac Warner
Attorney General Republican Party Patrick Morrisey

State legislature

West Virginia State Senate

Party As of February 2024
     Democratic Party 3
     Republican Party 31
     Other 0
     Vacancies 0
Total 34

West Virginia House of Delegates

Party As of February 2024
     Democratic Party 11
     Republican Party 89
     Independent 0
     Other 0
     Vacancies 0
Total 100

Trifecta control

The table below shows the state's trifecta status from 1992 until the 2024 election.

West Virginia Party Control: 1992-2024
Nineteen years of Democratic trifectas  •  Seven years of Republican trifectas

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
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[5] 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
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

The table below details demographic data in West Virginia and compares it to the broader United States as of 2022.

Demographic Data for West Virginia
West Virginia United States
Population 1,793,716 331,449,281
Land area (sq mi) 24,041 3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White 91.4% 65.9%
Black/African American 3.4% 12.5%
Asian 0.8% 5.8%
Native American 0.1% 0.8%
Pacific Islander 0% 0.2%
Other (single race) 0.5% 6%
Multiple 3.7% 8.8%
Hispanic/Latino 1.8% 18.7%
Education
High school graduation rate 88.4% 89.1%
College graduation rate 22.7% 34.3%
Income
Median household income $55,217 $75,149
Persons below poverty level 11.9% 8.8%
Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2017-2022).
**Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Two Independents caucused with the Democratic Party. Another independent, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, counted toward the Democratic majority for committee purposes.
  2. ↑ West Virginia State Legislature, "WV Code § 3-4A-20," accessed June 30, 2025
  3. ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "State Primary Election Types," accessed June 30, 2025
  4. ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' presidential results by congressional district for 2020, 2016, and 2012," accessed December 15, 2023
  5. ↑ Gov. Jim Justice switched his registration to Republican on August 4, 2017.


West Virginia's current delegation to the United States Congress
Senators
Shelley Capito (R)
Jim Justice (R)
Representatives
District 1
District 2
Republican Party (4)


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