Elgine McArdle

WHEELING – Former West Virginia Republican Party Chair Elgine McArdle has withdrawn her candidacy for the 5th District seat in the House of Delegates in 2026.

McArdle previously filed in the GOP primary for the race, and would have faced a contest against Wheeling businesswoman Beth Hinebaugh and personal trainer Riley Watkins. Karen Shuler Stakem has filed in the race as a Democrat.

The winner of the election will succeed current Delegate Shawn Fluharty, D-Ohio, who has instead filed in the District 1 West Virginia Senate race.

Legislative candidates had until Feb. 17 to withdraw from the primary election ballot, and McArdle’s name is no longer listed among those in the 5th District race on the West Virginia Secretary of State’s Office’s website.

Erin Allietta, election coordinator for Ohio County, confirmed McArdle’s name was not among those on the official list from the SOS office that she will use for ballot purposes. She noted, however, that McArdle was still listed as a candidate for State Republican Executive Committee on the May 12 ballot.

McArdle said Friday she withdrew because she believed there were too many candidates in the race.

“It’s about having a plurality versus having a majority,” she said. “In a three-way race, there is no run-off in West Virginia. You could get 35% of the vote, and 65% of the voters still wouldn’t have voted for you.”

That doesn’t represent “the true vote of constituents,” she continued.

“When Delegate Fluharty announced that he would run for Senate instead of reelection of this seat at the last minute, I filed to ensure that we would have a good Republican candidate to run and capture that seat for the Republican party,” McArdle said. “As the former WVGOP State party chair, I remain committed to that endeavor.

“After meeting with Riley Watkins and talking about the critical issues that face the 5th District specifically, and West Virginia in general, I have decided that he is the best candidate for this office. Riley has my full and complete endorsement and I will support him in his endeavor to replace Delegate Fluharty in both the upcoming primary and the general election.”

McArdle, a Wheeling attorney, has been battling her own legal issues as of late.

She was arrested in December after a court appearance in Marion County with her client Ryan Lane, the alleged president of the Pagans Motorcycle Club. Lane was on trial for the 2022 murder of Henry Silver. That trial ended in a mistrial. Lane later pleaded no contest to one count of being part of an organized criminal enterprise, and could face up to 10 years in prison.

According to reports, McArdle and former Bridgeport City Councilman Lowell Maxey, who was working with McArdle on the case, are accused of convincing two state witnesses that the state was carrying out a personal vendetta against Lane, and both witnesses stopped working with prosecutors.

Both McArdle and Maxey face other charges connected to the case. McArdle in October was charged with 13 misdemeanor counts of violating confidentiality of recorded interviews of a child. Maxey has been charged with one misdemeanor account of working as a private investigator without a license.

On Friday, McArdle termed the charges against her “retaliatory.”

“It was because I was the fifth attorney in a series of five trials, and I got a hung jury,” she said.

McArdle has filed her own court action against Marion County Prosecutor Jeff Freeman, asking that the presiding judge remove him from the case.

“I did nothing wrong,” McArdle continued. “The kid testified in four different trials, and was cross-examined in court. Then I get this mistrial. He later admitted he lied.”