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2020 West Virginia elections

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2020 West Virginia elections

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2022 →

West Virginia held elections on November 3, 2020. The Democratic and Republican party primary elections were held on June 9, 2020.

The 2020 elections marked a turning point in history as West Virginia's rightward shift was further signified: Republicans won all U.S. House seats, statewide executive offices and the U.S. Senate seat up for election (all with more than 56% of the vote) while also expanding their majorities in both state legislative chambers. President Donald Trump won every county in the state and 68.62% of the statewide vote in his re-election bid, for a statewide margin of 38.93%, although losing re-election.

Federal offices

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President

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Incumbent Republican Donald Trump easily carried West Virginia, capturing 68.62% of the vote. Trump captured every county in the state and it was his second-best showing, behind only Wyoming.

Senate

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Incumbent senator Shelley Moore Capito was easily reelected. With a vote share of 70.3%, she was the first Republican senator to win reelection in West Virginia since 1907.

House of Representatives

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All 3 Incumbent Republican U.S. Representatives were easily reelected, all increasing their vote share compared to 2018.

Governor

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Incumbent Republican governor Jim Justice won reelection to a second term over Democrat Ben Salango with 64.8% of the vote. Justice increased his vote margin substantially compared with his first election in 2016, when he was the democratic candidate, receiving just 49.1% of the overall vote. This was the first time a Republican candidate carried every county in the state during a gubernatorial election.

State legislature

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State senate

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17 of the 34 seats in the West Virginia State Senate held elections, including 11 Republican-held seats and 6 Democratic-held seats. Four incumbents chose not to seek re-election due to retirement: Democrats Paul Hardesty, Roman Prezioso, and Corey Palumbo and Republican Kenny Mann. Republicans won 3 seats over Democratic candidates, increasing their majority in the chamber from 20 to 23 seats.[1][2]

House of Delegates

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All 100 seats in the West Virginia House of Delegates will have an election. Nineteen incumbents chose not to seek re-election: 11 Democrats and 8 Republicans. Republicans flipped 18 seats, increasing their majority in the chamber from 58 to 76 seats.[3][4]

Attorney general

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2020 West Virginia Attorney General election

← 2016 November 3, 2020 2024 →
 
Nominee Patrick Morrisey Sam Petsonk
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 487,250 276,798
Percentage 63.77% 36.23%

Morrisey:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Petsonk:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Tie:      50%

Attorney General before election

Darrell McGraw
Democratic

Elected Attorney General

Patrick Morrisey
Republican

Republican incumbent Patrick Morrisey was re-elected with 51.63% of the vote in 2016 and successfully sought re-election.[5]

Republican primary

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Candidates

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Republican primary results
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Patrick Morrisey (incumbent) 175,837 100.0%
Total votes 175,837 100.0%

Democratic primary

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Candidates

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Democratic primary results
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Sam Petsonk 86,849 50.0%
Democratic Isaac Sponaugle 86,704 50.0%
Total votes 173,553 100.0%

Polling

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Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size[a]
Margin
of error
Patrick
Morrisey (R)
Sam
Petsonk (D)
Undecided
Triton Polling and Research/WMOV October 19–21, 2020 544 (LV) ± 4.2% 53% 41% 6%
Triton Polling & Research/WMOV September 29–30, 2020[b] 525 (RV) ± 4.3% 53% 41% 6%

General election

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General election results[9]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Patrick Morrisey (incumbent) 487,250 63.77%
Democratic Sam Petsonk 276,798 36.23%
Total votes 764,048 100.0%

Secretary of state

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Results by county
  Warner
  •   50-60%
  •   60-70%
  •   70-80%
  •   80-90%
  Tennant
  •   50-60%
2020 West Virginia Secretary of State election[9]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Mac Warner (incumbent) 447,537 58.26%
Democratic Natalie Tennant 320,650 41.74%
Total votes 768,187 100.0%

Treasurer

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Democratic incumbent John Perdue was re-elected with 50.33% of the vote in 2016, but lost re-election to Republican candidate Riley Moore.[10]

Results by county
  Moore
  •   50-60%
  •   60-70%
  •   70-80%
  •   80-90%
  Perdue
  •   50-60%
  •   60-70%
2020 West Virginia State Treasurer election[11]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Riley Moore 425,745 56.31%
Democratic John Perdue (incumbent) 330,316 43.69%
Total votes 756,061 100.0%
Republican gain from Democratic

Auditor

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2020 West Virginia State Auditor election

← 2016 November 3, 2020 2024 →
 
Nominee JB McCuskey Mary Ann Claytor
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 496,845 244,427
Percentage 67.03% 32.97%

McCuskey:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Claytor:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Tie:      50%

State Auditor before election

JB McCuskey
Republican

Elected State Auditor

JB McCuskey
Republican

Republican incumbent JB McCuskey was elected with 58.48% of the vote in 2016 and successfully sought re-election.[12]

Republican primary

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Candidates

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Republican primary results
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican JB McCuskey (incumbent) 169,577 100.0%
Total votes 169,577 100.0%

Democratic primary

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Candidates

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Democratic primary results
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Mary Ann Claytor 156,089 100.0%
Total votes 156,089 100.0%


General election

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General election results[9]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican JB McCuskey (incumbent) 496,845 67.03%
Democratic Mary Ann Claytor 244,427 32.97%
Total votes 741,272 100.0%

Commissioner of Agriculture

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2020 West Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture election

← 2016 November 3, 2020 2024 →
 
Nominee Kent Leonhardt Bob Beach
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 480,386 258,912
Percentage 64.98% 35.02%

Leonhardt:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Beach:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Tie:      50%

Secretary of State before election

Kent Leonhardt
Republican

Elected Secretary of State

Kent Leonhardt
Republican

Republican incumbent Kent Leonhardt was elected with 48.41% of the vote in 2016 and successfully sought re-election.[14]

Republican primary

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Candidates

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Republican primary results
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Kent Leonhardt (incumbent) 113,586 63.5%
Republican Roy Ramey 65,336 36.5%
Total votes 178,922 100.0%

Democratic primary

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Candidates

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Withdrawn
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  • Patricia Bunner, attorney[20]
Democratic primary results
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Bob Beach 81,074 48.0%
Democratic William Keplinger 44,084 26.1%
Democratic Dave Miller 43,916 26.0%
Total votes 169,074 100.0%

General election

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General election results[9]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Kent Leonhardt (incumbent) 480,386 64.98%
Democratic Bob Beach 258,912 35.02%
Total votes 739,298 100.0%

Supreme Court of Appeals

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Division 1

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The incumbent was Tim Armstead, who was appointed to the court to replace Justice Menis Ketchum, who resigned from the court shortly before being convicted on a felony fraud charge. Armstead then won a 2018 special election to serve the remainder of Ketchum's term with 26.1% of the vote. He successfully won re-election to a full term.[21][22]

Candidates

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Results by county
  Armstead
  •   30-40%
  •   40-50%
  •   50-60%
  •   60-70%
  Neely
  •   30-40%
  •   40-50%
  •   50-60%
  Hummel
  •   40-50%
  •   50-60%
  •   70-80%
  •   80-90%
General election results
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Tim Armstead (incumbent) 151,755 41.0%
Nonpartisan Richard Neely 132,069 35.7%
Nonpartisan David Hummel Jr. 86,112 23.3%
Total votes 369,936 100.0%

Division 2

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The incumbent Margaret Workman, did not seek re-election after controversies and the threat of possible impeachment. Bill Wooton, a former state senator, was elected with 31.0% of the vote.[21][25]

Candidates

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Results by county
  Wooton
  •   20-30%
  •   30-40%
  •   40-50%
  •   50-60%
  •   60-70%
  •   70-80%
  Tabit
  •   20-30%
  •   30-40%
  •   40-50%
  •   60-70%
  Raynes
  •   30-40%
  •   50-60%
  Douglas
  •   30-40%
  •   40-50%
General election results
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan William R. Wooton 115,668 31.0%
Nonpartisan Joanna Tabit 108,952 29.2%
Nonpartisan Kris Raynes 74,334 19.9%
Nonpartisan Jim Douglas 73,843 19.8%
Total votes 372,797 100.0%

Division 3

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The incumbent was John A. Hutchison, who was appointed to the court to replace justice Allen Loughry, who resigned from the court in the midst of his impeachment trial. Hutchison successfully sought re-election to serve the remainder of Loughry's term.[21][30][31]

Candidates

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Results by county
  Hutchison
  •   30-40%
  •   40-50%
  •   60-70%
  •   70-80%
  •   80-90%
  Dyer
  •   30-40%
  •   40-50%
  •   50-60%
  •   60-70%
  •   80-90%
  Schwartz
  •   30-40%
  •   40-50%
General election results
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan John A. Hutchison (incumbent) 137,681 39.2%
Nonpartisan Lora Dyer 124,939 31.0%
Nonpartisan William Schwartz 88,369 25.6%
Total votes 350,989 100.0%

Notes

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  1. ^ Key:
    A – all adults
    RV – registered voters
    LV – likely voters
    V – unclear
  2. ^ Additional data sourced from FiveThirtyEight

References

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  1. ^ "West Virginia State Senate elections, 2020". Ballotpedia.
  2. ^ "West Virginia State Senate". Ballotpedia.
  3. ^ "West Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2020". Ballotpedia.
  4. ^ "West Virginia House of Delegates". Ballotpedia.
  5. ^ "West Virginia Attorney General election, 2020". Ballotpedia.
  6. ^ "Patrick Morrisey". Ballotpedia.
  7. ^ "Sam Petsonk for Attorney General". Sam Petsonk for Attorney General. Archived from the original on May 23, 2020. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  8. ^ "Isaac Sponaugle". Ballotpedia.
  9. ^ a b c d "November 3, 2020 General Election - Official Results". West Virginia State - Clarity Elections. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
  10. ^ "West Virginia Treasurer election, 2020". Ballotpedia.
  11. ^ "November 3, 2020 General Election - Official Results". West Virginia State - Clarity Elections. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
  12. ^ "West Virginia Auditor election, 2020". Ballotpedia.
  13. ^ "Mary Ann Claytor". Ballotpedia.
  14. ^ "West Virginia Agriculture Commissioner election, 2020". Ballotpedia.
  15. ^ "Roy Ramey for WV". www.facebook.com.
  16. ^ "Roy L. Ramey". Ballotpedia.
  17. ^ "Robert Beach (West Virginia)". Ballotpedia.
  18. ^ "W.Va. Commissioner of Agriculture candidate: William "JR" Keplinger (D)". The Herald-Dispatch. March 26, 2020.
  19. ^ "W.Va. Commissioner of Agriculture candidate: Dave Miller (D)". The Herald-Dispatch. March 16, 2020.
  20. ^ "Patricia Bunner - Lawyer in Fairview, WV - Avvo". Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  21. ^ a b c "West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals elections, 2020". Ballotpedia.
  22. ^ a b "Tim Armstead". Ballotpedia.
  23. ^ "David W. Hummel, Jr".
  24. ^ "Richard Neely". Ballotpedia.
  25. ^ "Margaret Workman". Ballotpedia.
  26. ^ "Jim Douglas". Ballotpedia.
  27. ^ "Kris Raynes". Ballotpedia.
  28. ^ "Joanna I. Tabit". Ballotpedia.
  29. ^ "William Wooton". Ballotpedia.
  30. ^ a b https://ballotpedia.org/John_A._Hutchinson [dead link]
  31. ^ "West Virginia judicial elections, 2012". Ballotpedia.
  32. ^ "Lora Dyer". Ballotpedia.
  33. ^ Barger, K. "WV election | Schwartzforwv.com | United States". Wks2020.
[edit]
Official campaign websites for Attorney General
Official campaign websites for Secretary of State
Official campaign websites for Treasurer
Official campaign websites for Auditor
Official campaign websites for Commissioner of Agriculture