The Big Gets Bigger
GOP Maintains Supermajority In West Virginia Legislature
CHARLESTON — Republicans first took the majorities in the West Virginia Senate and House of Delegates 10 years ago after being in the political minority since the Great Depression. But flash forward to Tuesday night and Republicans increased their supermajorities.
According to a review of unofficial election results posted by the West Virginia Secretary of State’s Office, the 100-member House of Delegates went from 89 Republicans to 91 Republicans, shrinking the Democratic House caucus from 11 to nine members.
Only 57 out of 100 seats were contested during Tuesday’s general election, with 43 seats uncontested. Out of the 57 contested seats, 41 incumbents — six Democratic House members and 35 Republican House members — won their elections.
In the 34-member state Senate where half of the body is up for election every two years, Republicans increased their supermajority from 31 to 32, with the Democratic Senate caucus dropping from three seats to two.
Senate Minority Whip Bob Plymale, D-Wayne, decided to retire rather than seek re-election.
Del. Ric Griffith, D-Wayne, sought the 5th Senatorial District seat, which includes part of Cabell and Wayne counties. But Griffith, a pharmacist and former mayor of Kenova, lost his race Tuesday to Republican Scott Fuller, a military veteran and retired law enforcement officer.
“We’re picking up a great new member in Scott Fuller,” said Senate Majority Whip Ryan Weld, R-Brooke, chairman of the Senate Military Committee. “To have another fellow veteran come to the Senate to be able to serve and work on veterans’ issues with the rest of us that are veterans is a welcome opportunity.”
The Senate Democratic caucus is down to two: Senate Minority Leader Mike Woelfel, D-Cabell, and Del. Joey Garcia, D-Marion. Garcia is a former staff member in the administration of governor Earl Ray Tomblin.
“I think we worked really hard, and we tried to give the people a message that I think really resonated,” Garcia said.
“Anytime you win an election – this is the third one that I’ve won it — it’s very humbling to have the trust of people that send you down to represent them. It’s really important to me that I earn that trust.”
“A lot of us that were in the Senate or were in the House previously knew Joey from his time working in the Tomblin administration and know him to be a sharp lawyer and a good representative of his constituents,” Weld said.
Garcia is leaving the House and succeeding state Sen. Mike Caputo, D-Marion, who decided to retire at the end of his four-year term at the end of the year. Garcia was succeeded by his uncle Rick Garcia, the Democratic candidate for the 76th House District seat, defeating Republican Jon Dodds. Garcia said he was honored to be following in the footsteps of Caputo, who once served as the House Majority Whip.
“I just have so much admiration for (Caputo), and I’ve learned from him. He’s been a mentor to me over the years,” Garcia said. “I want to be the type of representative he’s been. He answers calls from people. He does great constituent service work, but he stands up for people.”
The House Democratic caucus lost two seats they previously held. Republican Tresa Howell defeated Thomas Jones in the 52nd House District representing parts of southern Kanawha County. The seat was held by Del. Larry Rowe, R-Kanawha, who chose to retire rather than seek re-election. Griffith’s 27th District House seat was won by Republican Michael Amos, defeating Democratic opponent Gina Milum and Libertarian Party candidate Craig Carpenter.
Del. David Kelly, R-Tyler, was watching the election results Tuesday night in Charleston with House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay. Kelly – who was unopposed in the general election – said Tuesday night’s election results, the number of uncontested races, and the two Republican pick-ups in the House were votes of confidence in the Republican supermajority.
“What we’re dealing with is how can we best serve the people of our districts and more importantly, the people of the State of West Virginia, and I think the people in West Virginia take a look at our platform and say that’s what we like,” Kelly said.
“The example is that we didn’t lose any incumbents. We actually gained two more Republican seats,” Kelly continued. “That’s a big responsibility for Republicans, but I do think we will rise to the occasion and continue to govern and legislate important issues that people in our state are hoping we do something with.”
On the Senate side, Weld said picking up the additional seat for the Republican caucus would not create a big change politically. But adding a new member’s experiences to the entire body would provide a much-needed perspective when crafting legislation.
“Looking at it from a strategic viewpoint, it doesn’t really change much,” Weld said. “Looking at it on the tactical level, it changes in terms of the experience and the knowledge that Scott brings and the talents that he brings to our caucus.”
During his time in the Tomblin administration, Garcia was a liaison between the executive branch and the Democratic-controlled Legislature prior to the Republicans taking the majority after the 2014 elections. Garcia has watched Democratic seats decrease over the last decade.
“It’s a little sad in my opinion that we didn’t do better statewide,” Garcia said. “It was a tough election for Democrats everywhere – not just in West Virginia, but all across the country. But that being said … I don’t think that nine and two is going to be much different at all to tell you the truth.”
Garcia said it will be important for Democratic lawmakers to stand up for their constituents and for their party’s beliefs. But the key to being a good legislator – regardless of party – was to build relationships with Republicans on the other side of the aisle.
“When it comes to the way that I think about how I’m a legislator, it really is about issue-by-issue,” Garcia said. “The reason why I am a Democrat is we normally come to the same conclusions on bills. And, but I think it’s incumbent on us – and certainly in the Senate with Senator Woelfel and I – to just work on those relationships. I know he does that, and I’ve done that for a long time too. And I think that’ll help us get things accomplished for the people that live in our districts.”
Both Weld and Kelly agreed. While Republicans will continue to have the procedural votes to quickly push through legislation, Weld and Kelly said relationships with Democratic lawmakers across the aisle remain important.
“From my standpoint, it’s never really mattered where a good idea comes from,” Weld said. “If it’s something that a majority of the Senate thinks is a good idea, who cares if it came from somebody who was on the minority side or the majority side? If it’s an idea that we can get behind and we think is good for the people of West Virginia, then let’s do it. And I think the Senate really is kind of always operated that way.”
“If you look at Speaker Hanshaw, and if you just look at his past record as our speaker, he’s always been willing to work with our Democratic counterparts when that’s possible,” Kelly said. “Personally, I’m willing to do the same thing and have worked with them on legislation that we can both agree that we can all agree on.”
“We’re all there as senators or delegates, so you just can’t ignore somebody because by doing that, you’re ignoring their constituents,” Weld continued. “We’re there to do the work of everybody, not just the people that voted for us or have the same party affiliation.”