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Party control of West Virginia state government

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Party control
in West Virginia
GovernorRepublican
SenateRepublican
HouseRepublican
Click here for party control in all 50 states

West Virginia has a Republican trifecta and a Republican triplex. The Republican Party controls the offices of governor, secretary of state, attorney general, and both chambers of the state legislature.

As of February 12, 2026, there are 23 Republican trifectas, 16 Democratic trifectas, and 11 divided governments where neither party holds trifecta control.

As of February 12, 2026, there are 24 Republican triplexes, 21 Democratic triplexes, and 5 divided governments where neither party holds triplex control.

A state government trifecta is a term to describe when one political party holds majorities in both chambers of the state legislature and the governor's office. A state government triplex is a term to describe when one political party holds the following three positions in a state's government: governor, attorney general, and secretary of state. To learn more about trifectas and triplexes, click here.

Current leadership of key offices

President of the State Senate

Randy E. Smith (R)

State Speaker of the House

Roger Hanshaw (R)


Historical party control

West Virginia Party Control: 1992-2026
Nineteen years of Democratic trifectas  •  Nine years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

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 23 24 25 26
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[1] R R R R 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 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 R R R R

Legislative party competitiveness score

The below chart shows the state's legislative party competitiveness score from 1880 to 1990. According to Gerald Gamm and Thad Kousser's study on party competition and policy outcomes, "This measure of competitiveness can range from 100% if the two parties are evenly matched to 0% if one party holds every seat in a legislature."[2]

See also

Footnotes