Your feedback ensures we stay focused on the facts that matter to you most—take our survey.
West Virginia Treasurer election, 2016
2020 →
← 2012
|
 |
May 10, 2015 |
November 8, 2016 |
TBD |
John Perdue (D) |
Governor • Attorney General • Treasurer • Secretary of State Down Ballot Auditor • Agriculture Commissioner |
January 30, 2016 |
May 10, 2016 |
August 1, 2016 |
September 20, 2016 |
November 8, 2016 |
TBD |
January 16, 2017 |
West Virginia held an election for state treasurer on November 8, 2016.
Overview
West Virginia currently has a divided government: Democrats hold the governorship while Republicans control both chambers of the state legislature. The state had been under Democratic trifecta control from 2001 until the 2014.
The treasurer is the chief financial officer of the state and is a member of several major financial decision-making boards throughout the state government. Incumbent John Perdue (D) ran for a sixth term in office and was unopposed for the Demcoratic nomination. Banking executive Ann Urling (R) defeated state Rep. Larry Faircloth in the May 10 primary election. Michael A. Young (Lib.) also filed for the race. Perdue had a significant fundraising lead over his opponents at the time of the primary elections.
Candidates
John Perdue (D)
Incumbent state treasurer since 1997
Ann Urling (R)
Senior vice president, Summit Community Bank
Michael A. Young (Lib.)
Businessman
| Click [show] to view candidates who were defeated in the primary elections. | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
Results
Primary elections
Democratic primary election
Incumbent John Perdue ran unopposed in the Democratic primary for treasurer.
| Democratic primary for Treasurer, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 John Perdue Incumbent (unopposed) |
100.00% | 208,203 |
| Total Votes (1,745 of 1,745 precincts reporting) | 208,203 | |
| Source: MetroNews | ||
Republican primary election
Ann Urling defeated Larry Faircloth in the Republican primary for treasurer.
| Republican primary for Treasurer, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Ann Urling |
54.94% | 88,703 |
| Larry Faircloth | 45.06% | 72,741 |
| Total Votes (1,745 of 1,745 precincts reporting) | 161,444 | |
| Source: MetroNews | ||
Context of the 2016 election
Primary elections
A primary election is an election in which voters select the candidate they believe should represent a political party in a general election. Primaries usually take place several months before a general election. West Virginia utilizes a hybrid primary system. Parties decide who may vote. Both the Democratic and Republican parties allow unaffiliated voters to vote in their primaries.[1]
West Virginia's primary election took place on May 10, 2016.
Incumbent John Perdue (D)
John Perdue was first elected in 1996 and has won re-election four times since. He also ran for governor of West Virginia during a 2011 special election but lost the Democratic nomination to Earl Ray Tomblin, who went on to win the governorship. Perdue has served as president of the National Association of State Treasurers and the Northeast Region of the National Association of State Treasurers. Prior to his tenure as treasurer, Perdue worked as an aide to former Governor Gaston Caperton (D).
Party control in West Virginia
West Virginia had a divided government at the time of the election: Democrats held the governorship, while Republicans controlled both chambers of the state legislature. The state had been under Democratic trifecta control from 2001 until the 2014 elections, when Republicans gained control of the House of Delegates and state Senate for the first time since the 1930s.
West Virginia had been represented by Democrats in the U.S. Senate from 1958 until the 2014 election, when Shelley Moore Capito (R) won the open seat. The state's electoral votes had gone to both Democrats and Republicans over the 30 years preceding 2016, though the Republican presidential candidate had won the state every four years since 2000.[2]
No Republican has won election to the office of treasurer in West Virginia since W.S. Johnson in 1928. The only Republican to serve as treasurer since Johnson was Ronald G. Pearson (R). Pearson was appointed in 1975 to fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of John H. Kelly (D), who was convicted on charges of bribery and mail fraud.[3][4] Pearson held the office until 1976 when he lost his re-election bid to Democrat Larrie Bailey.[5]
Though Republicans have been gaining traction in recent statewide elections, the long tradition of Democrats in the treasurer's office coupled with Perdue's significant incumbency advantage and fundraising lead indicated an uphill battle for the Republican challenger.
Campaigns
Campaign finance
| Click [show] to view full campaign finance details for this race. | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
Endorsements
| Key endorsements, Democratic primary candidates | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Perdue | |||||||||
| West Virginia Education Association PAC | |||||||||
| West Virginia AFL-CIO | |||||||||
| What is a key endorsement? | |||||||||
Campaign media
Note: If a candidate is not listed below, Ballotpedia staff were unable to locate any campaign media for that candidate. Do you know of any? Tell us!
Democrats
|
Republicans
|
Third-party candidates
| Michael A. Young (Lib.) |  
|
About the office
The West Virginia treasurer is an elected, state executive position in the West Virginia state government. The treasurer is the chief financial officer of the state and is a member of several major financial decision-making boards throughout the state government. As the chief financial officer, the duties of the treasurer center around cash management for the state government. [6]
Current officeholder
The current officeholder is Democrat John Perdue. He was first elected in 1996.
Authority
The treasurer's installation is established by Article VII of the West Virginia Constitution.
Article VII, Section 1:
| The executive department shall consist of a governor, secretary of state, auditor, treasurer, commissioner of agriculture and attorney general... |
Qualifications
Article IV, Section 4 of the West Virginia Constitution establishes the qualifications of office as such:
|
No person, except citizens entitled to vote, shall be elected or appointed to any state, county or municipal office; but the governor and judges must have attained the age of thirty, and the attorney general and senators the age of twenty-five years, at the beginning of their respective terms of service; and must have been citizens of the state for five years next preceding their election or appointment, or be citizens at the time this constitution goes into operation. |
- a citizen entitled to vote
- a resident of West Virginia for at least the preceding five years
Past elections
2012
Incumbent John Perdue defeated Mike Hall (West Virginia) (R) in the November 6, 2012 general election.
| West Virginia Treasurer General Election, 2012 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | John Perdue Incumbent |
55.3% | 295,996 | |
| Republican | Mike Hall | 44.7% | 238,850 | |
| Total Votes | 534,846 | |||
| Election results West Virginia Secretary of State Election Results Center | ||||
2008
On November 4, 2008, John D. Perdue won re-election to the office of West Virginia Treasurer. He ran unopposed in the general election.
| West Virginia Treasurer, 2008 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | John D. Perdue Incumbent |
100% | 520,406 | |
| Total Votes | 520,406 | |||
| Election results via West Virginia Secretary of State. | ||||
2004
On November 2, 2004, John Perdue won re-election to the office of West Virginia Treasurer. He defeated Bob Adams (R) in the general election.
| West Virginia Treasurer, 2004 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | John Perdue Incumbent |
62.9% | 433,229 | |
| Republican | Bob Adams | 37.1% | 255,046 | |
| Total Votes | 688,275 | |||
| Election results via West Virginia Secretary of State. | ||||
2000
On November 7, 2000, John D. Perdue won re-election to the office of West Virginia Treasurer. He ran unopposed in the general election.
| West Virginia Treasurer, 2000 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | John D. Perdue Incumbent |
100% | 468,870 | |
| Total Votes | 468,870 | |||
| Election results via West Virginia Secretary of State. | ||||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms West Virginia treasurer election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
State profile
| Demographic data for West Virginia | ||
|---|---|---|
| West Virginia | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 1,841,053 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 24,038 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 93.6% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 3.3% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 0.7% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 0.2% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 2% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 1.4% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 85% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 19.2% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $41,751 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 22.2% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in West Virginia. **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. | ||
Presidential voting pattern
West Virginia voted Republican in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.
More West Virginia coverage on Ballotpedia
- Elections in West Virginia
- United States congressional delegations from West Virginia
- Public policy in West Virginia
- Endorsers in West Virginia
- West Virginia fact checks
- More...
See also
|
West Virginia government: |
Previous elections: |
Ballotpedia exclusives: |
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Fair Vote, "Congressional and Presidential Primaries: Open, Closed, Semi-Closed, and 'Top Two,'" accessed January 6, 2014
- ↑ National Archives and Records Administration, "Historical Election Results," accessed September 24, 2016
- ↑ Southern West Virginia and the Struggle for Modernity, p126., accessed April 15, 2016
- ↑ West Virginia History & Archives, "State Treasurer of West Virginia, accessed April 15, 2016
- ↑ The Political Graveyard, "West Virginia: State Treasurers," accessed April 15, 2016
- ↑ West Virginia Treasury, "Office history," accessed June 20, 2011
| |||||||||||||||||
