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West Virginia's 1st Congressional District election, 2022 (May 10 Democratic primary)

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West Virginia's 1st Congressional District
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Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: January 29, 2022
Primary: May 10, 2022
General: November 8, 2022
How to vote
Poll times: 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Voting in West Virginia
Race ratings
Cook Partisan Voter Index (2022): R+23
Cook Political Report: Solid 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, 2022
See also
West Virginia's 1st Congressional District
1st • 2nd
West Virginia elections, 2022
U.S. Congress elections, 2022
U.S. Senate elections, 2022
U.S. House elections, 2022

A Democratic Party primary took place on May 10, 2022, in West Virginia's 1st Congressional District to determine which Democratic candidate would run in the district's general election on November 8, 2022.

Lacy Watson advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House West Virginia District 1.

Candidate filing deadline Primary election General election
January 29, 2022
May 10, 2022
November 8, 2022


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 1st Congressional District Democratic primary. For more in-depth information on the district's Republican primary and the general election, see the following pages:

HOTP-Dem-Ad-1-small.png

Candidates and election results

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House West Virginia District 1

Lacy Watson advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House West Virginia District 1 on May 10, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Lacy Watson
Lacy Watson Candidate Connection
 
100.0
 
32,686

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

Total votes: 32,686
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.

Campaign finance

This section contains campaign finance figures from the Federal Election Commission covering all candidate fundraising and spending in this election.[3] 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.[4] Click here to view the reporting schedule for candidates for U.S. Congress in 2022.

U.S. Congress campaign reporting schedule, 2022
Report Close of books Filing deadline
Year-end 2021 12/31/2021 1/31/2022
April quarterly 3/31/2022 4/15/2022
July quarterly 6/30/2022 7/15/2022
October quarterly 9/30/2022 10/15/2022
Pre-general 10/19/2022 10/27/2022
Post-general 11/28/2022 12/08/2022
Year-end 2022 12/31/2022 1/31/2023


Name Party Receipts* Disbursements** Cash on hand Date
Lacy Watson Democratic Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***

Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2022. 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.

Ballot access requirements

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. House candidates in West Virginia in the 2022 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in West Virginia, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2022
State Office Party Signatures required Filing fee Filing deadline Source
West Virginia U.S. House Ballot-qualified party N/A $1,740.00 1/29/2022 Source
West Virginia U.S. House Unaffiliated 1% of all votes cast for the office in the last general election $1,740.00 8/1/2022 Source

District analysis

Click the tabs below to view information about voter composition, past elections, and demographics in both the district and the state.

  • District map - A map of the district before and after redistricting.
  • Effect of redistricting - How districts in the state changed as a result of redistricting following the 2020 census.
  • Competitiveness - Information about the competitiveness of 2022 U.S. House elections in the state.
  • Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the district and the state.
  • Demographics - Information about the state's demographics and how they compare to the country as a whole.
  • State party control - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.

District map

Below was the map in use at the time of the election, enacted as part of the 2020 redistricting cycle, compared to the map in place before the election.

West Virginia District 1
until January 2, 2023

Click a district to compare boundaries.

West Virginia District 1
starting January 3, 2023

Click a district to compare boundaries.


Effect of redistricting

See also: Redistricting in West Virginia after the 2020 census

The table below details the results of the 2020 presidential election in each district at the time of the 2022 election and its political predecessor district.[5] This data was compiled by Daily Kos Elections.[6]

2020 presidential results by Congressional district, West Virginia
District 2022 district Political predecessor district
Joe Biden Democratic Party Donald Trump Republican Party Joe Biden Democratic Party Donald Trump Republican Party
West Virginia's 1st 28.8% 69.7% 25.5% 73.1%
West Virginia's 2nd 30.6% 67.6% 32.8% 65.4%

Competitiveness

See also: Primary election competitiveness in state and federal government, 2022

This section contains data on U.S. House primary election competitiveness in West Virginia.

Post-filing deadline analysis

The following analysis covers all U.S. House districts up for election in West Virginia in 2022. Information below was calculated on Feb. 24, 2022, and may differ from information shown in the table above due to candidate replacements and withdrawals after that time.

Thirteen candidates—three Democrats and 10 Republicans—filed to run for West Virginia's two U.S. House districts in 2022. That's 6.5 candidates per district, more than the 4.7 candidates per district in 2020 and 6.3 in 2018.

This was the first candidate filing deadline to take place under new district lines adopted during West Virginia's decennial redistricting process. West Virginia was apportioned two congressional districts, a decrease from the three apportioned after the 2010 census.

As a result of this lost district, two incumbents—Reps. David McKinley (R) and Alexander Mooney (R)—filed to run against one another in the 2nd District Republican primary. Rep. Carol Miller (R), who represented the 3rd District before redistricting, filed to run in the 1st District.

With three incumbents seeking re-election, none of the districts were left open in 2022. Between 2012 and 2022, there were two election cycles with an open district: 2014 and 2018.

Seven candidates—two Democrats and five Republicans—filed to run in the 2nd District and six—one Democrat and five Republicans—filed to run in the 1st District.

Presidential elections

Partisan Voter Index

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

Heading into the 2022 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+23. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 23 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made West Virginia's 1st the 18th most Republican district nationally.[7]

2020 presidential election results

The table below shows what the vote in the 2020 presidential election would have been in this district. The presidential election data was compiled by Daily Kos.

2020 presidential results in West Virginia's 1st based on 2022 district lines
Joe Biden Democratic Party Donald Trump Republican Party
28.8% 69.7%

Presidential voting history

See also: Presidential election in West Virginia, 2020

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


Demographics

The table below details demographic data in West Virginia and compares it to the broader United States as of 2019.

Demographic Data for West Virginia
West Virginia United States
Population 1,852,994 308,745,538
Land area (sq mi) 24,041 3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White 93.1% 72.5%
Black/African American 3.7% 12.7%
Asian 0.8% 5.5%
Native American 0.2% 0.8%
Pacific Islander 0% 0.2%
Other (single race) 0.4% 4.9%
Multiple 1.8% 3.3%
Hispanic/Latino 1.6% 18%
Education
High school graduation rate 86.9% 88%
College graduation rate 20.6% 32.1%
Income
Median household income $46,711 $62,843
Persons below poverty level 17.6% 13.4%
Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2010). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2014-2019).
**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.


State party control

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of West Virginia's congressional delegation as of November 2022.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from West Virginia, November 2022
Party U.S. Senate U.S. House Total
Democratic 1 0 1
Republican 1 3 4
Independent 0 0 0
Vacancies 0 0 0
Total 2 3 5

State executive

The table below displays the officeholders in West Virginia's top three state executive offices as of November 2022.

State executive officials in West Virginia, November 2022
Office Officeholder
Governor Republican Party Jim Justice
Secretary of State Republican Party Mac Warner
Attorney General Republican Party Patrick Morrisey

State legislature

The tables below highlight the partisan composition of the West Virginia State Legislature as of November 2022.

West Virginia State Senate

Party As of November 2022
     Democratic Party 11
     Republican Party 23
     Vacancies 0
Total 34

West Virginia House of Delegates

Party As of November 2022
     Democratic Party 22
     Republican Party 78
     Independent 0
     Vacancies 0
Total 100

Trifecta control

As of November 2022, West Virginia was a Republican trifecta, with majorities in both chambers of the state legislature and control of the governorship. The table below displays the historical trifecta status of the state.

West Virginia Party Control: 1992-2022
Nineteen years of Democratic trifectas  •  Five 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
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[8] 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
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

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ West Virginia State Legislature, "WV Code § 3-4A-20," accessed June 30, 2025
  2. ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "State Primary Election Types," accessed June 30, 2025
  3. ↑ 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.
  4. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "2022 Quarterly Reports," accessed March 2, 2022
  5. ↑ Political predecessor districts are determined primarily based on incumbents and where each chose to seek re-election.
  6. ↑ Daily Kos Elections, "Daily Kos Elections 2020 presidential results by congressional district (old CDs vs. new CDs)," accessed May 12, 2022
  7. ↑ Cook Political Report, "The 2022 Cook Partisan Voting Index (Cook PVI℠)," accessed February 6, 2023
  8. ↑ 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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