West Virginia State Senate District 11

West Virginia State Senate District 11 is represented by William Hamilton (R) and Robbie Morris (R).

As of the 2020 Census, West Virginia state senators represented an average of 52,795 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented 54,700 residents.

About the office

Members of the West Virginia State Senate serve four-year terms and are not subject to term limits. West Virginia legislators assume office the first day of December following the election.

Qualifications

See also: State legislature candidate requirements by state

Section 12 of Article 6 of the West Virginia Constitution states, "No person shall be a senator or delegate who has not for one year next preceding his election, been a resident within the district or county from which he is elected; and if a senator or delegate remove from the district or county for which he was elected, his seat shall be thereby vacated."^[1]

Section 4 of Article IV states senators must be at least 25 years old.^[2]

Section 13 of Article 6 of the West Virginia Constitution states, "No person holding any other lucrative office or employment under this state, the United States, or any foreign government; no member of Congress; and no person who is sheriff, constable, or clerk of any court of record, shall be eligible to a seat in the Legislature."^[3]

The West Virginia Secretary of State states that all candidates must be individuals entitled to vote and must be citizens of West Virginia for at least five years prior to seeking election.^[4]

Salaries

See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries

State legislative salaries, 2024^[5]
Salary	Per diem
$20,000/year	$75/day for members who commute daily. $175/day for members who do not commute daily.

Vacancies

See also: How vacancies are filled in state legislatures

If there is a vacancy in the West Virginia State Legislature, the governor must select a replacement to fill the vacant seat.^[6]^[7]

The executive committee of the political party that held the seat before the vacancy can submit a list of three candidates to the governor. The list must be submitted to the governor within 15 days of the vacancy. The governor must make a selection within five days of receiving the list. If the committee does not submit a list within 15 days, the governor must appoint someone of the same political party as the person who left office. The person that is selected to fill the vacancy serves the remainder of the unfilled term.^[7]

See sources: West Virginia Const. Art. 4, Sec. 7 and West Virginia Code Ann. §3-10-5

District map

Redistricting

2020 redistricting cycle

See also: Redistricting in West Virginia after the 2020 census

West Virginia enacted district maps for the Senate and House of Delegates on October 22, 2021.^[8] On September 30, 2021, the House Redistricting Committees released a single-member district map proposal for the West Virginia House of Delegates.^[9] The proposal passed the House on October 13, 2021, in a 79-20 vote and passed the Senate on October 18, 2021, in a 28-5 vote.^[10] On October 5, 2021, the Senate Redistricting Committee released five map proposals for West Virginia's State Senate districts.^[11] On October 11, 2021, the Senate Redistricting Committee voted to recommend Sen. Charles S. Trump IV's (R) 8th proposed senate map to the full Senate.^[12] The Senate approved a map that combined aspects of previous proposals in a 31-2 vote on October 19, 2021. The map, named after Sens. Trump, Tom Takubo (R), Eric Tarr (R) Patricia Rucker (R), and Robert Karnes (R) was approved by the House in a 72-19 vote. Both the House and Senate maps were signed into law by Gov. Jim Justice (R) on October 20, 2021.^[13] These maps took effect for West Virginia's 2022 legislative elections.

On the Senate map, Sen. Trump said, “This amendment I believe reconciles and harmonizes some of the issues that were points of contention. This is the product of conversations and compromises over a long period of time by a great number of people.”^[14]

“There is a faction within the Republican Party that is worried about their reelection when they shouldn’t be. They should worry about how the state works and how to make it work," said Sen. Mike Romano (D).^[15]

How does redistricting in West Virginia work? In West Virginia, congressional and state legislative district boundaries are set by the West Virginia State Legislature. These lines are subject to veto by the governor.^[16]

The West Virginia Constitution requires that state Senate districts be "compact, contiguous, and bounded by county lines where doing so is not otherwise unlawful." There are no such requirements in place for congressional or state House districts.^[16]

West Virginia State Senate District 11
until November 30, 2022

Click a district to compare boundaries.

West Virginia State Senate District 11
starting December 1, 2022

Click a district to compare boundaries.

Elections

2024

General election

General election for West Virginia State Senate District 11

Robbie Morris defeated Mandy Smith Weirich in the general election for West Virginia State Senate District 11 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Robbie Morris (R)	75.9	31,279
	Submit photo	Mandy Smith Weirich (D)	24.1	9,913

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 41,192
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for West Virginia State Senate District 11

Mandy Smith Weirich advanced from the Democratic primary for West Virginia State Senate District 11 on May 14, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Mandy Smith Weirich	100.0	5,093

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 5,093
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for West Virginia State Senate District 11

Robbie Morris defeated incumbent Robert Karnes in the Republican primary for West Virginia State Senate District 11 on May 14, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Robbie Morris	65.9	9,199
	Robert Karnes	34.1	4,765

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 13,964
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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