2026 West Virginia legislative session

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2026 West Virginia legislative session
General information
Scheduled session start:    Jan. 14, 2026 Scheduled session end:    March 14, 2026
Leadership
Senate President Randy E. Smith (R) House Speaker Roger Hanshaw (R) Majority Leader Senate: Patrick Martin (R) House: Pat McGeehan (R) Minority Leader Senate: Mike Woelfel (D) House: Sean Hornbuckle (D)
Elections
Next Election:    November 3, 2026 Last Election:    November 5, 2024
Previous legislative sessions
2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018
Other 2026 legislative sessions
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In 2026, the West Virginia State Legislature is scheduled to convene on January 14, 2026, and adjourn on March 14, 2026.

The legislators serving in this session took office following the 2024 elections. Republicans won a 32-2 majority in the Senate and a 91-9 majority in the House. The party also controlled the governorship, creating a Republican state government trifecta. At the start of the 2026 session, West Virginia was one of 19 state legislatures where Republicans had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers.

At the beginning of the 2026 legislative session:

Republicans held a majority in the West Virginia state House and state Senate.

West Virginia was one of 23 Republican state government trifectas.

West Virginia's governor was Republican Patrick Morrisey.

Leadership in 2026

See also: Leadership positions in state legislatures

West Virginia State Senate

• Senate president: Randy E. Smith (R)
• Majority leader: Patrick Martin (R)
• Minority leader: Mike Woelfel (D)

West Virginia House of Delegates

• Speaker of the House: Roger Hanshaw (R)
• Majority leader: Pat McGeehan (R)
• Minority leader: Sean Hornbuckle (D)

Partisan control in 2026

See also: State government trifectas

West Virginia was one of 23 Republican state government trifectas at the start of 2026 legislative sessions. A state government trifecta occurs when one political party holds the governor's office, a majority in the state Senate, and a majority in the state House. For more information about state government trifectas, click here.

West Virginia was also one of 19 state legislatures where Republicans had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers. Veto overrides occur when a legislature votes to reverse a veto issued by an executive such as a governor or the president. If one party has a majority in a state legislature that is large enough to override a gubernatorial veto without any votes from members of the minority party, it is called a veto-proof majority or, sometimes, a supermajority. To read more about veto-proof supermajorities in state legislatures, click here.

The following tables show the partisan breakdown of the West Virginia State Legislature in the 2026 legislative session.

West Virginia State Senate

Partisan composition, West Virginia State Senate

As of February 2026
Party	Members
Democratic	2
Republican	31
Other	0
Vacancies	1
Total	34

West Virginia House of Delegates

Partisan composition, West Virginia House of Delegates

As of February 2026
Party	Members
Democratic	9
Republican	90
Other	0
Vacancies	1
Total	100

Regular session

The list below shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2026 legislative session that most recently passed both chambers of the legislature, were signed by the governor, or were approved by the legislature in a veto override. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation has met these criteria yet in 2026. This information is provided by BillTrack50.

Standing legislative committees

See also: Standing committee and List of committees in West Virginia state government

A standing committee of a state legislature is a committee that exists on a more-or-less permanent basis, from legislative session to session, that considers and refines legislative bills that fall under the committee's subject matter.

At the beginning of the 2026 legislative session, there were 68 standing committees in West Virginia's state government, including 27 joint legislative committees, 17 state Senate committees, and 24 state House committees.

Joint legislative committees

• Council of Finance and Administration
• Economic Development Committee
• Education Accountability Committee
• Education Committee
• Employee Suggestion Award Board Committee
• Equal Pay Commission
• Finance Committee
• Forest Management Review Commission
• Government Operations Committee
• Government Organization Committee
• Government and Finance Committee
• Health Committee
• Health and Human Resources Accountability Committee
• Infrastructure Committee
• Intern Committee
• Interstate Cooperation Committee
• Law Institute Committee
• Minority Issues Committee
• PEIA, Seniors and Long Term Care Committee
• Pensions and Retirement Committee
• Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority Committee
• Rule-Making Review Committee
• Special Investigations Committee
• Technology Committee
• Veterans' Affairs Committee
• Water Resources Committee
• Workforce Investment for Economic Development Committee

Senate committees

• Confirmations Committee
• Energy, Industry and Mining Committee
• Military Committee
• Natural Resources Committee
• Pensions Committee
• Senate Banking and Insurance Committee
• Senate Economic Development Committee
• Senate Education Committee
• Senate Enrolled Bills Committee
• Senate Finance Committee
• Senate Government Organization Committee
• Senate Health and Human Resources Committee
• Senate Interstate Cooperation Committee
• Senate Judiciary Committee
• Senate Rules Committee
• Transportation and Infrastructure Committee
• Workforce Committee

House committees

• Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee
• Energy Committee
• Energy and Manufacturing Committee
• Fire Departments and Emergency Medical Services Committee
• House Banking and Insurance Committee
• House Education Committee
• House Enrolled Bills Committee
• House Finance Committee
• House Government Organization Committee
• House Health and Human Resources Committee
• House Interstate Cooperation Committee
• House Judiciary Committee
• House Pensions and Retirement Committee
• House Rules Committee
• Industry and Labor Committee
• Jails and Prisons
• Political Subdivisions Committee
• Prevention and Treatment of Substance Abuse Committee
• Senior Citizen Issues Committee
• Senior, Children, and Family Issues Committee
• Small Business, Entrepreneurship, and Economic Development Committee
• Technology & Infrastructure Committee
• Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security Committee
• Workforce Development Committee

Legislatively referred constitutional amendments

In every state but Delaware, voter approval is required to enact a constitutional amendment. In each state, the legislature has a process for referring constitutional amendments before voters. In 18 states, initiated constitutional amendments can be put on the ballot through a signature petition drive. There are also many other types of statewide measures.

The methods by which the West Virginia Constitution can be amended:

See also: Article XIV of the West Virginia Constitution and Laws governing ballot measures in West Virginia

The West Virginia Constitution can be modified through constitutional conventions and legislatively referred constitutional amendments. West Virginia does not feature the power of initiative for either initiated constitutional amendments or initiated state statutes.

Legislature

See also: Legislatively referred constitutional amendment

A two-thirds vote is required during one legislative session for the West Virginia State Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 67 votes in the West Virginia House of Representatives and 23 votes in the West Virginia State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.

Convention

See also: Convention-referred constitutional amendment

According to Section 1 of Article XIV of the West Virginia Constitution, the state Legislature can vote to refer a constitutional convention question to voters. A simple majority vote is required in the Legislature.

Historical partisan control

The table below depicts the historical trifecta status of West Virginia.

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	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

Historical Senate control

Republicans won control of the West Virginia State Senate in 2014. In 2024, they won a 32-2 majority.

The table below shows the partisan history of the West Virginia Senate following every general election from 1992 to 2024. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

West Virginia State Senate election results: 1992-2024

Year	'92	'94	'96	'98	'00	'02	'04	'06	'08	'10	'12	'14	'16	'18	'20	'22	'24
Democrats	32	26	25	29	28	24	21	23	28	27	24	16	12	14	11	4	2
Republicans	2	8	9	5	6	10	13	11	6	7	10	18	22	20	23	30	32

Historical House control

Republicans won control of the West Virginia House of Delegates in 2014. In 2024, they won an 91-9 majority.

The table below shows the partisan history of the West Virginia House following every general election from 1992 to 2024. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

West Virginia House of Delegates election results: 1992-2024

Year	'92	'94	'96	'98	'00	'02	'04	'06	'08	'10	'12	'14	'16	'18	'20	'22	'24
Democrats	79	69	74	75	75	68	68	72	79	65	54	36	37	41	24	12	9
Republicans	21	31	26	25	25	32	32	28	21	35	46	64	63	59	76	88	91

Analysis

Adopted legislation, 2011-2024

See also: The State Legislative Decade - West Virginia

In 2024, Ballotpedia released analysis of bills enacted in each state in the preceding decade. The charts and table below detail legislation passed each year by party sponsorship.

See also

Elections	West Virginia State Government	State Legislatures	State Politics
West Virginia State Senate elections, 2026 West Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2026	West Virginia State Legislature West Virginia House of Delegates West Virginia State Senate Governor of West Virginia West Virginia Supreme Court	State legislative elections, 2026 State legislative special elections, 2026 State legislative elections, 2024 State legislative elections, 2022	State government trifectas State government triplexes Veto overrides in state legislatures State executives State courts Ballot measures

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• West Virginia State Legislature homepage

Footnotes

State legislatures

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2026

State legislative elections (2026) • State legislative special elections (2026) • Primary dates and filing requirements • 2026 Session Dates

2025

State legislative elections (2025) • State legislative special elections (2025) • Primary dates and filing requirements • 2025 Session Dates

Historical elections

2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011 • 2010 • 2009 • 2008 • 2007 • 2006 • 2005 • 2004 • 2003 • 2002 • 2001 • 2000

Features of state legislatures

How vacancies are filled in state legislatures • States with a full-time legislature • State legislatures with term limits • Comparison of state legislative salaries • When state legislators assume office after a general election • Population represented by state legislators • State constitutional articles governing state legislatures • State legislative sessions • Resign-to-run law • State legislature candidate requirements by state • Official names of state legislatures • State legislative chambers that use multi-member districts • Factors Affecting Competitiveness in State Legislative Elections

State senates

Length of terms of state senators • State senators • Partisan composition of state senates • State senators sorted by year first elected

State houses

Length of terms of state representatives • State representatives • Partisan composition of state houses • State representatives sorted by year first elected

Leadership positions

President of the Senate • President Pro Tempore • Senate Majority Leader • Senate Minority Leader • House Majority Leader • House Minority Leader • State Speaker of the House

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