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West Virginia's 2nd Congressional District election, 2020
- Election date: Nov. 3
- Registration deadline(s): Oct. 15
- Online registration: Yes
- Same-day registration: No
- Recount laws
- Early voting starts: Oct. 21
- Absentee/mail voting deadline(s): Nov. 3 (postmarked); Nov. 9 (received)
- Processing, counting, and challenging absentee/mail-in ballots
- Voter ID: Non-photo ID
- Poll times: 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
2022 →
← 2018
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| West Virginia's 2nd Congressional District |
|---|
 |
| Democratic primary Republican primary General election |
| Election details |
| Filing deadline: January 25, 2020 |
| Primary: June 9, 2020 General: November 3, 2020 Pre-election incumbent: Alexander Mooney (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 |
All U.S. congressional districts, including the 2nd Congressional District of West Virginia, held elections in 2020.
Incumbent Alexander Mooney won election in the general election for U.S. House West Virginia District 2.
| Candidate filing deadline | Primary election | General election |
|---|---|---|
Heading into the election the incumbent was Republican Alexander Mooney, who was first elected in 2014.
As of the 2010 redistricting cycle, West Virginia's 2nd Congressional District was located in the central portion of the state and included Berkely, Braxton, Calhoun, Clay, Hampshire, Hardy, Jackson, Jefferson, Kanawha, Lewis, Morgan, Pendleton, Putnam, Randolph, Roane, Upshur, and Wirt counties.[1]
Post-election analysis
The table below compares the vote totals in the 2020 presidential election and 2020 U.S. House election for this district. The presidential election data was compiled by Daily Kos.
| Presidential and congressional election results, West Virginia's 2nd Congressional District, 2020 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Race | Presidential | U.S. House |
Democratic candidate  |
32.8 | 36.9 |
Republican candidate  |
65.4 | 63.1 |
| Difference | 32.6 | 26.2 |
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 absentee/mail-in voting procedures for the November 3, 2020, general election as follows:
- Absentee/mail-in voting: All voters "concerned about their health and safety because of COVID-19" were eligible to vote absentee in the general election. An online absentee ballot request portal was created.
For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.
Candidates and election results
General election
General election for U.S. House West Virginia District 2
Incumbent Alexander Mooney defeated Cathy Kunkel in the general election for U.S. House West Virginia District 2 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Alexander Mooney (R) | 63.1 | 172,195 |
 | Cathy Kunkel (D)  | 36.9 | 100,799 | |
| Total votes: 272,994 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House West Virginia District 2
Cathy Kunkel advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House West Virginia District 2 on June 9, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Cathy Kunkel | 100.0 | 52,896 |
| Total votes: 52,896 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Watch the Candidate Conversation for this race!
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House West Virginia District 2
Incumbent Alexander Mooney defeated Matthew Hahn in the Republican primary for U.S. House West Virginia District 2 on June 9, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Alexander Mooney | 71.7 | 50,727 |
| Matthew Hahn | 28.3 | 19,989 | ||
| Total votes: 70,716 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
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.[2][3]
| 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. |
| 2016 presidential results by state House district | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District | Obama | Romney | 2012 Margin | Clinton | Trump | 2016 Margin | |
| 1 | 38.66% | 59.24% | R+20.6 | 25.73% | 70.07% | R+44.3 | |
| 2 | 43.53% | 53.67% | R+10.1 | 26.82% | 68.57% | R+41.8 | |
| 3 | 38.13% | 59.95% | R+21.8 | 31.23% | 61.44% | R+30.2 | |
| 4 | 34.84% | 62.82% | R+28 | 22.30% | 72.79% | R+50.5 | |
| 5 | 37.10% | 59.96% | R+22.9 | 21.34% | 72.50% | R+51.2 | |
| 6 | 24.34% | 73.40% | R+49.1 | 13.41% | 82.40% | R+69 | |
| 7 | 25.92% | 71.64% | R+45.7 | 15.48% | 79.75% | R+64.3 | |
| 8 | 31.00% | 67.36% | R+36.4 | 22.69% | 72.65% | R+50 | |
| 9 | 28.50% | 69.28% | R+40.8 | 16.29% | 79.48% | R+63.2 | |
| 10 | 35.08% | 63.29% | R+28.2 | 25.67% | 68.91% | R+43.2 | |
| 11 | 35.37% | 62.24% | R+26.9 | 21.70% | 73.73% | R+52 | |
| 12 | 32.85% | 64.70% | R+31.8 | 20.88% | 74.86% | R+54 | |
| 13 | 37.29% | 60.44% | R+23.2 | 22.25% | 73.24% | R+51 | |
| 14 | 36.92% | 60.40% | R+23.5 | 21.70% | 74.02% | R+52.3 | |
| 15 | 27.42% | 71.38% | R+44 | 24.68% | 70.30% | R+45.6 | |
| 16 | 45.42% | 52.58% | R+7.2 | 36.10% | 58.50% | R+22.4 | |
| 17 | 41.90% | 56.20% | R+14.3 | 36.22% | 57.71% | R+21.5 | |
| 18 | 33.21% | 65.14% | R+31.9 | 25.32% | 70.41% | R+45.1 | |
| 19 | 34.79% | 62.73% | R+27.9 | 20.73% | 75.06% | R+54.3 | |
| 20 | 28.25% | 69.59% | R+41.3 | 15.85% | 81.80% | R+66 | |
| 21 | 23.29% | 74.37% | R+51.1 | 11.15% | 86.60% | R+75.4 | |
| 22 | 30.74% | 66.68% | R+35.9 | 20.35% | 75.36% | R+55 | |
| 23 | 34.16% | 63.17% | R+29 | 21.99% | 73.31% | R+51.3 | |
| 24 | 28.83% | 68.78% | R+40 | 17.02% | 79.79% | R+62.8 | |
| 25 | 21.56% | 76.17% | R+54.6 | 14.28% | 82.66% | R+68.4 | |
| 26 | 35.91% | 62.18% | R+26.3 | 26.16% | 71.47% | R+45.3 | |
| 27 | 25.92% | 72.27% | R+46.4 | 21.03% | 75.08% | R+54.1 | |
| 28 | 26.07% | 71.78% | R+45.7 | 19.24% | 76.85% | R+57.6 | |
| 29 | 25.31% | 72.92% | R+47.6 | 18.95% | 77.36% | R+58.4 | |
| 30 | 39.04% | 59.30% | R+20.3 | 35.16% | 60.01% | R+24.9 | |
| 31 | 21.85% | 76.00% | R+54.1 | 15.19% | 81.82% | R+66.6 | |
| 32 | 36.36% | 61.52% | R+25.2 | 26.42% | 69.21% | R+42.8 | |
| 33 | 33.20% | 63.50% | R+30.3 | 18.96% | 76.87% | R+57.9 | |
| 34 | 41.41% | 56.61% | R+15.2 | 25.67% | 69.81% | R+44.1 | |
| 35 | 44.95% | 53.41% | R+8.5 | 41.19% | 53.74% | R+12.6 | |
| 36 | 43.56% | 54.69% | R+11.1 | 36.13% | 59.51% | R+23.4 | |
| 37 | 71.16% | 27.03% | D+44.1 | 64.48% | 30.08% | D+34.4 | |
| 38 | 33.64% | 64.92% | R+31.3 | 28.33% | 66.88% | R+38.6 | |
| 39 | 29.70% | 68.75% | R+39 | 23.71% | 72.37% | R+48.7 | |
| 40 | 28.91% | 69.53% | R+40.6 | 21.21% | 74.29% | R+53.1 | |
| 41 | 28.54% | 69.10% | R+40.6 | 18.43% | 77.35% | R+58.9 | |
| 42 | 36.07% | 61.44% | R+25.4 | 26.74% | 67.94% | R+41.2 | |
| 43 | 35.02% | 62.41% | R+27.4 | 25.26% | 69.66% | R+44.4 | |
| 44 | 32.49% | 64.18% | R+31.7 | 18.98% | 77.03% | R+58.1 | |
| 45 | 27.22% | 70.71% | R+43.5 | 20.32% | 74.67% | R+54.4 | |
| 46 | 27.10% | 70.21% | R+43.1 | 19.26% | 76.24% | R+57 | |
| 47 | 29.72% | 67.43% | R+37.7 | 19.50% | 75.68% | R+56.2 | |
| 48 | 37.03% | 60.90% | R+23.9 | 27.38% | 67.16% | R+39.8 | |
| 49 | 33.62% | 64.28% | R+30.7 | 23.59% | 71.48% | R+47.9 | |
| 50 | 41.91% | 55.61% | R+13.7 | 30.56% | 63.37% | R+32.8 | |
| 51 | 44.28% | 53.14% | R+8.9 | 41.29% | 50.56% | R+9.3 | |
| 52 | 28.11% | 69.35% | R+41.2 | 21.26% | 73.45% | R+52.2 | |
| 53 | 25.80% | 70.92% | R+45.1 | 19.48% | 75.52% | R+56 | |
| 54 | 17.22% | 80.84% | R+63.6 | 11.20% | 86.53% | R+75.3 | |
| 55 | 31.26% | 66.11% | R+34.8 | 22.04% | 74.29% | R+52.3 | |
| 56 | 28.78% | 68.67% | R+39.9 | 19.74% | 76.02% | R+56.3 | |
| 57 | 28.38% | 69.28% | R+40.9 | 18.00% | 78.03% | R+60 | |
| 58 | 31.07% | 66.90% | R+35.8 | 19.51% | 76.36% | R+56.9 | |
| 59 | 33.93% | 64.29% | R+30.4 | 23.17% | 72.02% | R+48.8 | |
| 60 | 31.11% | 66.98% | R+35.9 | 22.28% | 72.32% | R+50 | |
| 61 | 51.56% | 46.41% | D+5.2 | 42.57% | 51.91% | R+9.3 | |
| 62 | 35.57% | 62.29% | R+26.7 | 26.07% | 68.69% | R+42.6 | |
| 63 | 43.32% | 54.43% | R+11.1 | 34.17% | 60.32% | R+26.1 | |
| 64 | 34.54% | 63.40% | R+28.9 | 24.45% | 70.26% | R+45.8 | |
| 65 | 49.54% | 48.66% | D+0.9 | 40.64% | 52.92% | R+12.3 | |
| 66 | 39.60% | 58.18% | R+18.6 | 31.14% | 63.51% | R+32.4 | |
| 67 | 51.50% | 46.02% | D+5.5 | 45.92% | 48.19% | R+2.3 | |
| Total | 35.54% | 62.30% | R+26.8 | 26.48% | 68.63% | R+42.2 | |
| Source: Daily Kos | |||||||
District analysis
- See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index
- See also: FiveThirtyEight's elasticity scores
The 2017 Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+17, meaning that in the previous two presidential elections, this district's results were 17 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made West Virginia's 2nd Congressional District the 68th most Republican nationally.[4]
FiveThirtyEight's September 2018 elasticity score for states and congressional districts measured "how sensitive it is to changes in the national political environment." This district's elasticity score was 1.04. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 1.04 points toward that party.[5]
Campaign finance
The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.
| Name | Party | Receipts* | Disbursements** | Cash on hand | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alexander Mooney | Republican Party | $2,155,978 | $859,927 | $2,318,118 | As of December 31, 2020 |
| Cathy Kunkel | Democratic Party | $649,360 | $649,360 | $0 | As of December 4, 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." |
|||||
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: West Virginia's 2nd Congressional District election, 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. | |||||||||
Candidate ballot access
The table below details filing requirements for 2nd Congressional District candidates in West Virginia in the 2020 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in West Virginia, click here.
| Filing requirements, 2020 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Office | Party | Signatures required | Signature formula | Filing fee | Filing fee formula | Filing deadline | Source |
| West Virginia | 2nd Congressional District | Recognized party | 0 | N/A | $1,740.00 | 1% of annual salary | 1/25/2020 | Source |
| West Virginia | 2nd Congressional District | Unaffiliated | 2,048 | 1% of all votes cast in the last election for the office being sought | $1,740.00 | 1% of annual salary | 8/3/2020 | Source |
District election history
2018
General election
General election for U.S. House West Virginia District 2
Incumbent Alexander Mooney defeated Talley Sergent and Daniel Lutz Jr. in the general election for U.S. House West Virginia District 2 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Alexander Mooney (R) | 54.0 | 110,504 |
 | Talley Sergent (D) | 43.0 | 88,011 | |
 | Daniel Lutz Jr. (Mountain Party) | 3.1 | 6,277 | |
| Total votes: 204,792 (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. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House West Virginia District 2
Talley Sergent defeated Aaron Scheinberg in the Democratic primary for U.S. House West Virginia District 2 on May 8, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Talley Sergent | 62.6 | 29,457 |
| Aaron Scheinberg | 37.4 | 17,620 | ||
| Total votes: 47,077 | |||
| = 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. House West Virginia District 2
Incumbent Alexander Mooney advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House West Virginia District 2 on May 8, 2018.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Alexander Mooney |
| ||||
| = 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. | ||||
2016
Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Republican. Incumbent Alex Mooney (R) won election to his second term, defeating Mark Hunt (D) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Mooney defeated Marc Savitt in the Republican primary, while Hunt defeated Tom Payne, Harvey Peyton, Cory Simpson, and Robert Wilson Jr. to win the Democratic nomination. The primary elections took place on May 10, 2016.[10][11]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican |  Alexander Mooney Incumbent |
58.2% | 140,807 | |
| Democratic | Mark Hunt | 41.8% | 101,207 | |
| Total Votes | 242,014 | |||
| Source: West Virginia Secretary of State | ||||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Alexander Mooney Incumbent |
73.1% | 45,839 | ||
| Marc Savitt | 26.9% | 16,849 | ||
| Total Votes | 62,688 | |||
| Source: West Virginia Secretary of State |
||||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Mark Hunt |
29.1% | 21,296 | ||
| Cory Simpson | 26.2% | 19,180 | ||
| Tom Payne | 20.8% | 15,250 | ||
| Harvey Peyton | 15.2% | 11,143 | ||
| Robert Wilson | 8.7% | 6,344 | ||
| Total Votes | 73,213 | |||
| Source: West Virginia Secretary of State |
||||
2014
The 2nd Congressional District of West Virginia held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. Alex Mooney (R) defeated Nick Casey (D), Davy Jones (L) and Ed Rabel (I) in the general election.
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Alex Mooney |
47.1% | 72,042 | |
| Democratic | Nick Casey | 43.9% | 67,210 | |
| Libertarian | Davy Jones | 5% | 7,614 | |
| Independent | Ed Rabel | 4.1% | 6,226 | |
| Total Votes | 153,092 | |||
| Source: West Virginia Secretary of State | ||||
See also
- United States House of Representatives elections in West Virginia, 2020
- United States House of Representatives elections, 2020
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ West Virginia Redistricting Map "Map" accessed July 24, 2012
- ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' statewide election results by congressional and legislative districts," July 9, 2013
- ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' 2016 presidential results for congressional and legislative districts," February 6, 2017
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "Introducing the 2017 Cook Political Report Partisan Voter Index," April 7, 2017
- ↑ FiveThirtyEight, "Election Update: The Most (And Least) Elastic States And Districts," September 6, 2018
- ↑ 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
- ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "Candidate Listing By Office," accessed February 2, 2016
- ↑ The New York Times, "West Virginia Primary Results," May 10, 2016
