Photo Courtesy/WV Legislative Photography U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito is introduced on the floor of the House of Delegates on Jan. 20. The senior senator endorsed several GOP lawmakers in their primaries and donated to an in-state political action committee supporting several candidates.

CHARLESTON – Efforts by Gov. Patrick Morrisey and groups affiliated with his vision for the state secured several victories in West Virginia legislative contests, but spending in opposition to other delegates and senators failed.

All 100 House of Delegates seats were on the ballot for Tuesday’s primaries, with 17 out of 34 state Senate seats up, plus two special elections to fill unexpired Senate terms. While there were several contested Democratic contests, all eyes were on the GOP primary.

Of the 48 contested House GOP primaries, 35 included House incumbents, while 15 of the 16 contested Senate races included incumbents.

Fourteen Senate incumbents were able to secure Republican nominations for the November general election. Sen. Kevan Bartlett, R-Kanawha, came in second to Kanawha County Commissioner Lance Wheeler in the 8th Senatorial District primary.

In House GOP contested primaries, 21 incumbents were able to secure their nominations, but 11 incumbents lost: Del. Mark Zatezalo, R-Hancock; Del. Jeff Stephens, R-Marshall; Del. Bill Bell, R-Wetzel; Del. Betsy Kelly, R-Tyler; Del. Vernon Criss, R-Wood; Del. Scot Heckert, R-Wood; Del. Jordan Bridges, R-Logan; Del. Greg Watt, R-Webster; Del. Stanley Adkins, R-Nicholas; Del. Marshall Clay, R-Fayette; and Del. Keith Marple, R-Harrison.

Election results submitted to the Secretary of State’s Office by county clerks remain unofficial until they are canvassed and certified.

Three House Republican primaries remain too close to call. In the 10th House District, Justin Beanard leads Del. Bill Anderson, R-Wood, by five votes, 827-822. According to the Secretary of State’s Office, there are 13 provisional ballots that the Wood County Commission will need to count when they meet for the canvass the vote that could change the outcome of the race.

In the 22nd House District, Aaron Holley leads Del. Daniel Linville, R-Cabell, by two votes, 648-646. In the 71st House District, Tim McNeely leads Del. Laura Kimble, R-Harrison, by four votes, 686-682.

Morrisey vs. Capito

Both Morrisey and U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., were active during this primary election cycle, endorsing a slate of Republican candidates in the House and Senate with mixed results.

“West Virginia Republicans spoke with one voice Tuesday: We’re done with the status quo,” Morrisey said in a statement on election night. “Voters refuse to settle for second best. We are ready to fight for our state’s future, nominating Republicans who share that vision.”

Morrisey publicly supported Charles Hartzog, a Walmart employee who bested Criss, the chairman of the House Finance Committee by 24 percentage points, with Hartzog receiving 688 votes to Criss’ 422 votes. Morrisey also endorsed nine incumbent state senators, with only Bartlett – appointed by the governor in 2025 to fill the remaining term of former Sen. Mark Hunt, who resigned to become state auditor – losing.

“The candidates who prevailed campaigned to unleash economic opportunity, cut taxes and advance educational freedom,” Morrisey said. “Voters rejected the good-ole-boy system in favor of voices that fight for our values.”

Capito, who easily secured the support of Republican voters to seek her third six-year term, made several endorsements of GOP statehouse candidates.

Her two House endorsements – Del. Gary Howell, R-Mineral; and Samuel Lusk, seeking the seat being vacated by the retiring Del. Doug Smith, R-Mercer – won their primaries. Of her five state Senate endorsements, only state Sen. Tom Takubo, R-Kanawha, and state Sen. Vince Deeds, R-Greenbrier, secured their nominations.

“Senator Capito looks forward to leading the Republican ticket this November and working with candidates to focus on issues important to West Virginia families — like affordability, growing our economy, creating jobs, improving our infrastructure, and investing in our energy resources,” said Brent Scott, a spokesperson for the Capito campaign.

PAC vs. PAC

More than $5 million was spent between March and last week by 10 different political action committees and independent expenditure groups affiliated either with Morrisey’s slate in GOP legislative races or Capito’s endorsements.

Sugar Maple PAC, a political action committee affiliated with Morrisey, and two Morrisey-friendly independent expenditure committees – School Freedom Fund, connected to the national conservative advocacy organization Club for Growth, and Americans for Prosperity, a national conservative advocacy organization with a chapter in West Virginia – spent more than $2.4 million during the primary period.

Of the eight GOP House races where Morrisey-affiliated groups spent money, only four went in their favor: Del. Wayne Clark, R-Jefferson, defeated Robert Fluharty; Hartzog defeated Criss, Melissa McCrady defeated Heckert; and Don Dewitt defeated Stephens. The Kimble/McNeely race remains too close to call.

According to a review of independent expenditure reports, more than $92,000 was spent by Morrisey-affiliated groups opposing Heckert, with nearly $93,000 spent opposing Criss.

In state Senate GOP contests, Morrisey-affiliated groups were successful in protecting eight incumbent senators: Laura Wakim Chapman, R-Ohio; Anne Charnock, R-Kanawha; Mark Maynard, R-Wayne; Mike Azinger, R-Wood; Trenton Barnhart, R-Pleasants; Darren Thorne, R-Hampshire; Rollan Roberts, R-Raleigh; and Jay Taylor, R-Taylor.

These groups were also successful in helping secure the GOP nomination for Toby Heaney over Robert Dobkin in the race to succeed state Sen. Charles Clements, R-Wetzel. In the 8th Senatorial District, the AFP-supported Wheeler defeated the School Freedom Fund-supported Bartlett. More than $159,000 was spent by School Freedom Fund and other groups to support Bartlett.

According to a press release Wednesday, School Freedom Fund spent more than $1 million in the primaries, with 12 statehouse candidates benefiting with election wins: Del, Chris Phillips, R-Barbour; Chapman; Barnhart; Azinger; Maynard; Roberts; Thorne; Charnock; Heaney; Dewitt, Hartzog; and McCrady.

In a statement, School Freedom Fund said their successes are a referendum on any lawmaker who would try to regulate the Hope Scholarship educational voucher program or West Virginia’s public charter school program.

“We congratulate the 12 principled West Virginia conservatives we supported who have been declared winners,” said David McIntosh, president of School Freedom Fund. “These elections are a warning to Republican leaders like Vernon Criss – if you oppose school freedom, expect to be held accountable. We are proud to stand with Governor Morrisey and the voters in West Virginia who want bold conservative leaders rather than RINOs (Republicans in Name Only).”

More than $336,000 was spent by Morrisey-affiliated groups to unseat Takubo, the former Senate majority leader, but Takubo defeated former Del. Chris Pritt by 12 percentage points. More than $270,000 was spent by these groups to unseat Deeds, with the governor and first lady Denise Morrisey actively working in Greenbrier County to rally voters to his opponent, Pastor Jonathan Comer. But Deeds defeated Comer by 34 points.

Mountaineer Freedom Alliance, a political action committee funded in part by Capito and the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce, spent $708,325 to support a slate of legislative candidates and to oppose their competitors. With the $451,272 spent by the state chamber, these two groups spent more than $1.1 million.

These two groups were able to defend six GOP lawmakers from defeat: Takubo; Deeds; state Sen. Ben Queen, R-Harrison; Howell; Del. Ray Canterbury, R-Greenbrier; and Del. Clay Riley, R-Harrison. But four of its House candidates and 10 of its Senate candidates lost.

Mountaineer Freedom Alliance was founded last year by Wheeling businessman David H. McKinley, son of the late former U.S. Rep. David B. McKinley. Speaking by phone Wednesday, McKinley said despite the amount spent by Morrisey-affiliated groups, particularly on state Senate races, the dynamics in the Legislature will likely change very little in favor of these groups.

“We were all really focused on electing these … jobs-focused slate of candidates, and obviously there were out-of-state interests,” McKinley said. “We spent a lot of money. They spent a lot of money. But in the end, there wasn’t a lot of real change … Considering how we tried to emphasize the importance of jobs and the economy, I hope that we’ll turn to that in the upcoming session and in any interims in the meantime.”

McKinley said he hopes the massive amount of spending in this year’s primary doesn’t become the norm going forward in statehouse races. He believes the mudslinging through mailers and social media ads could dissuade future quality individuals from seeking office.

“It’s hard to attract the best and brightest candidates to run for office,” McKinley said. “We need people to put themselves out there … But these vicious personal attacks are going to detract people from running for office. I certainly hope this does not continue.

“I believe that there’s leadership in the state right now that has attracted interest of some of these outside funders and for as long as it’s useful to them, I think these people will be involved,” McKinley continued. “I saw it in my father’s race in 2022. It didn’t start in 2026; this has been around for at least a couple of election cycles. I sure hope for the sake of West Virginia this does not persist, and that West Virginians stop buying what they’re selling.”