United States Senate election in West Virginia, 2026

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← 2024
U.S. Senate, West Virginia
Democratic primary Republican primary General election
Election details
Filing deadline: January 31, 2026
Primary: May 12, 2026 General: November 3, 2026
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: Pending 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, 2026
See also
U.S. Senate, West Virginia U.S. Senate • 1st • 2nd West Virginia elections, 2026 U.S. Congress elections, 2026 U.S. Senate elections, 2026 U.S. House elections, 2026 Alabama U.S. Senate raceAlaska U.S. Senate raceArkansas U.S. Senate raceColorado U.S. Senate raceDelaware U.S. Senate raceGeorgia U.S. Senate raceIdaho U.S. Senate raceIllinois U.S. Senate raceIowa U.S. Senate raceKansas U.S. Senate raceKentucky U.S. Senate raceLouisiana U.S. Senate raceMaine U.S. Senate raceMassachusetts U.S. Senate raceMichigan U.S. Senate raceMinnesota U.S. Senate raceMississippi U.S. Senate raceMontana U.S. Senate raceNebraska U.S. Senate raceNew Hampshire U.S. Senate raceNew Jersey U.S. Senate raceNew Mexico U.S. Senate raceNorth Carolina U.S. Senate raceOklahoma U.S. Senate raceOregon U.S. Senate raceRhode Island U.S. Senate raceSouth Carolina U.S. Senate raceSouth Dakota U.S. Senate raceTennessee U.S. Senate raceTexas U.S. Senate raceVirginia U.S. Senate raceWest Virginia U.S. Senate raceWyoming U.S. Senate raceSubmit

Voters in West Virginia will elect one member to the U.S. Senate in the general election on November 3, 2026. The primary is May 12, 2026. The filing deadline is January 31, 2026. The election will fill the Class II Senate seat held by Shelley Moore Capito (R), who first took office in 2015. For more information about the primaries in this election, click on the links below:

• United States Senate election in West Virginia, 2026 (May 12 Democratic primary)
• United States Senate election in West Virginia, 2026 (May 12 Republican primary)

Candidates and election results

Note: The following list includes official candidates only. Ballotpedia defines official candidates as people who:

• Register with a federal or state campaign finance agency before the candidate filing deadline
• Appear on candidate lists released by government election agencies

General election

The primary will occur on May 12, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. Senate West Virginia

Rio Phillips and Zachary Shrewsbury are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate West Virginia on May 12, 2026.

		Candidate
		Rio Phillips
		Zachary Shrewsbury

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	There are no incumbents in this race.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. Senate West Virginia

Incumbent Shelley Moore Capito, Derrick Evans, Alexander Gaaserud, and Tom Willis are running in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate West Virginia on May 12, 2026.

		Candidate
		Shelley Moore Capito
		Derrick Evans
		Alexander Gaaserud
		Tom Willis

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= 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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Candidate profiles

There are currently no candidate profiles created for this race. Candidate profiles will appear here as they are created. Encourage the candidates in this race to complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey so that their profile will appear here.

Voting information

See also: Voting in West Virginia

Ballotpedia will publish the dates and deadlines related to this election as they are made available.

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

No candidate in this race has completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Ballotpedia is seeking 100 percent participation so voters can learn more about all the candidates on their ballots.

Campaign finance

Name	Party	Receipts*	Disbursements**	Cash on hand	Date
Shelley Moore Capito	Republican Party	$3,118,526	$2,170,815	$3,418,241	As of June 30, 2025
Rio Phillips	Democratic Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Zachary Shrewsbury	Democratic Party	$0	$0	$0	As of June 30, 2025
Derrick Evans	Republican Party	$1,062,145	$1,001,214	$60,931	As of December 31, 2024
Alexander Gaaserud	Republican Party	$0	$0	$0	As of June 30, 2025
Tom Willis	Republican Party	$100,000	$0	$100,000	As of June 30, 2025
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2026. 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. *** Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.

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.
• 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.

Race ratings: U.S. Senate election in West Virginia, 2026
Race tracker	Race ratings
	9/16/2025	9/9/2025	9/2/2025	8/26/2025
The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican
Decision Desk HQ and The Hill	Pending	Pending	Pending	Pending
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 reviews external race ratings every week throughout the election season and posts weekly updates even if the media outlets have not revised their ratings during that week.

Ballot access

This section will contain information on ballot access related to this state's elections when it is available.

Election history

The section below details election results for this state's U.S. Senate elections dating back to 2018.

2024

See also: United States Senate election in West Virginia, 2024

General election

General election for U.S. Senate West Virginia

The following candidates ran in the general election for U.S. Senate West Virginia on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jim Justice (R)	68.8	514,079
		Glenn Elliott (D)	27.8	207,548
		David Moran (L)	3.5	26,075
	Submit photo	Tim Stevenski (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	7
	Submit photo	Lewie Andrews (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	6
	Submit photo	Joshua Standridge (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	2

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2	Total votes: 747,717
= 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

• Christopher Rose (R)
• Michael Sigmon (Independent)

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
✔		Glenn Elliott	45.4	46,176
		Zachary Shrewsbury	36.1	36,754
		Don Blankenship	18.5	18,778

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 101,708
= 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

• Joe Manchin III (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. Senate West Virginia

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate West Virginia on May 14, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jim Justice	61.8	138,307
		Alexander Mooney	26.5	59,348
		Bryan Bird	3.1	7,001
		Bryan McKinney	2.9	6,573
		Zane Lawhorn	2.0	4,517
		Janet McNulty	2.0	4,404
	Submit photo	Don Lindsay	1.6	3,503

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 223,653
= 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.

2020

General election

General election for U.S. Senate West Virginia

Incumbent Shelley Moore Capito defeated Paula Jean Swearengin and David Moran in the general election for U.S. Senate West Virginia on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Shelley Moore Capito (R)	70.3	547,454
		Paula Jean Swearengin (D)	27.0	210,309
		David Moran (L)	2.7	21,155

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 778,918
= 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

• Franklin Riley (Unaffiliated)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. Senate West Virginia

Paula Jean Swearengin defeated Richard Ojeda and Richie Robb in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate West Virginia on June 9, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Paula Jean Swearengin	38.3	71,725
		Richard Ojeda	32.9	61,712
		Richie Robb	28.8	53,944

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	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.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. Senate West Virginia

Incumbent Shelley Moore Capito defeated Allen Whitt and Larry Butcher in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate West Virginia on June 9, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Shelley Moore Capito	83.3	173,331
		Allen Whitt	9.6	19,972
	Submit photo	Larry Butcher	7.1	14,673

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 207,976
= 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.

2018

General election

General election for U.S. Senate West Virginia

Incumbent Joe Manchin III defeated Patrick Morrisey and Rusty Hollen in the general election for U.S. Senate West Virginia on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Joe Manchin III (D)	49.6	290,510
		Patrick Morrisey (R)	46.3	271,113
		Rusty Hollen (L)	4.2	24,411

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 586,034 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= 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.

Election analysis

This section will contain facts and figures related to this state's elections when those are available.

See also

West Virginia	2026 primaries	2026 U.S. Congress elections
West Virginia congressional delegation Voting in West Virginia West Virginia elections: 2026 • 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018	Democratic primary battlegrounds Republican primary battlegrounds U.S. Senate Democratic primaries U.S. Senate Republican primaries U.S. House Democratic primaries U.S. House Republican primaries	U.S. Congress elections U.S. Senate elections U.S. House elections Special elections Ballot access

External links

• Search Google News for this topic

Footnotes

[show]

West Virginia's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Shelley Capito (R)

Jim Justice (R)

Representatives

District 1

Carol Miller (R)

District 2

Riley Moore (R)

Republican Party (4)

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