If you read my weekend story about the spending by five independent expenditure groups and political action committees, then I assume you’re as shellshocked as I am.

Quite frankly, I have never seen this amount of money spent in midterm statehouse races in my life. We’re talking more than $1.6 million in the span of roughly 30-40 days. This isn’t even including the direct spending by the candidates themselves.

I can’t speak for other parts of the state. But I can tell you here in Charleston where I live, I have mostly received mailers for GOP candidates in the 8th Senatorial District, which includes parts of Kanawha, Putnam, Jackson, Roane and Clay counties.

I received six mailers for state Sen. Kevan Bartlett, R-Kanawha, all from a group called the School Freedom Fund, linked to the national conservative advocacy group Club for Growth, which dropped millions in the state in 2024 to support Gov. Patrick Morrisey’s GOP primary bid for governor. Bartlett, a pastor who briefly served in the House of Delegates, was appointed by Morrisey in 2025 to succeed former Sen. Mark Hunt, now the state auditor.

I received another five mailers on behalf of Republican Kanawha County Commissioner Lance Wheeler, also running in the 8th District GOP primary, from the West Virginia chapter of Americans for Prosperity. Wheeler is a businessman and a former state Senate employee.

On the other hand, I have only received one mailer from Dr. Steven Eshenaur, another GOP candidate who is the director of the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department. And that mailer came from his campaign, not an independent expenditure committee.

It’s not just mailers, of course. There are social media ads, billboards, radio and TV ads and newspaper ads. Some of these ads strain credulity. A mailer attacking Ohio County businessman Joe Eddy – running against state Sen. Laura Wakim Chapman, R-Ohio – pointed out several problematic votes by Eddy in the Legislature. The only problem with that is Eddy has NEVER been in the Legislature before. Who paid for that mailer? School Freedom Fund.

Another mailer I have seen accusing South Charleston businessman Michael Jarrouj of being on the same team as former Democratic President Joe Biden and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, appears to have darkened his complexion. Jarrouj is of Greek heritage, but why darken his skin? That is problematic.

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As has been reported by me, WV MetroNews and Mountain State Spotlight, several of these PACs and independent expenditure groups have varying connections to Gov. Morrisey.

Sugar Maple PAC shares a treasurer with Black Bear PAC (a pro-Morrisey committee funded in part by Club for Growth during the 2024 GOP gubernatorial primary) and West Virginia Prosperity Group, Morrisey’s gubernatorial transition organization. AFP-WV was also a big booster for Morrisey’s primary campaign.

Don’t forget, Black Bear PAC and Morrisey 2024 announced back in February their intent to oppose any incumbent GOP lawmaker that did not back Morrisey’s legislative agenda this year.

“Pro-Morrisey groups enter 2026 with the resources to encourage the Legislature to advance (Morrisey’s) pocketbook agenda of lower income taxes, his 50 for 50 energy plan and key economic development initiatives,” the press release stated.

Morrisey has also made several endorsements over the last few weeks, coinciding with several ceremonial bill signings and other events. Several incumbent Republicans in the House and Senate are facing GOP primary challengers recruited either directly by the governor or on his behalf by groups or individual supporters.

Morrisey has two challenges. One is getting more allies in the House of Delegates, hence why there are several primary challenges to vocal Morrisey critics, such as House Finance Committee Chairman Vernon Criss and Del. Scot Heckert, both Republicans from Wood County.

The second challenge is trying to keep allies in the Senate from being defeated by less fringy Republican candidates. A lot of money is being dumped into Senate primaries by independent expenditure groups to support Bartlett and state Sens. Laura Wakim Chapman, R-Ohio; Anne Charnock, R-Kanawha; Mark Maynard, R-Wayne; Rollan Roberts, R-Raleigh; and Darren Thorne, R-Hampshire.

With that said, there is also a lot of money pouring in to oppose state Sens. Tom Takubo, R-Kanawha; Vince Deeds, R-Greenbrier; and Ben Queen, R-Harrison. These groups are supporting former delegate Chris Pritt (running against Takubo), Jonathan Comer (running against Deeds) and Joe Earley (running against Queen).

Money is also being spent to oppose a slate of like-minded moderate Republican candidates: Eddy (running against Chapman), Ken Reed (running against Thorne) and Jarrouj (running against Charnock).

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It’s early yet, but I’m surprised at how little money is being spent by outside groups in other statehouse races. Morrisey recently endorsed state Sen. Mike Azinger, R-Wood, but only one group I’ve seen so far, Mountaineer Conservative Action, has backed Azinger to the tune of $9,867. The same group spent $11,229 to oppose his primary opponent, Del. Bob Fehrenbacher, R-Wood.

Mountaineer Conservative Action has only spent $9,935 to date supporting Senate President Pro Tempore Jay Taylor, R-Taylor. However, the group spent $56,238 opposing one of his primary opponents, former House member Marc Harman, to the tune of $56,238.