Environment, Identity, School Issues Pushing Some Eastern Panhandle Voters Left

This story is an extended version of West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s Election Day coverage. To access our full slate of stories, visit our 2024 general election live blog at this link.

This year, several closely watched races in West Virginia’s general election come from the fastest growing region of the state, its Eastern Panhandle.

The area has a significant Republican majority. But some residents on the left hope a growing influx of newcomers to the state could help swing local elections in the Democratic Party’s favor.

Sen. Patricia Rucker, the Republican incumbent from Jefferson County, faces a challenge from Democrat John Doyle, a former state lawmaker who spent 16 years total representing the county in the West Virginia House of Delegates.

Meanwhile, some House seats have also fallen into partisan contention. This includes House District 100 in Jefferson County, where incumbent Del. Bill Ridenour faces a challenge from Democratic opponent Maria Russo.

It also includes the currently vacant House District 97 in Berkeley and Jefferson counties. The seat is sought after by Jefferson County native Lucia Valentine, a Democrat, and Marylander-turned-Mountain State resident Chris Anders, a Republican.

The Berkeley County race is what brought Shepherdstown resident Than Hitt to the curb of Asbury United Methodist Church on Tuesday. The church served as a polling location for Shepherdstown residents, and Hitt waved to drivers while sporting a shirt and sign that read “Vote Valentine.”

Hitt said he thinks Valentine is a better fit for the area. He specifically likes her goals of reducing chemical contamination in local waterways, and securing locality pay for Eastern Panhandle teachers.

Locality pay weights an educator’s salary against the local cost of living, which Hitt said could help teachers in higher-cost areas like the Eastern Panhandle.

“She graduated from Shepherd University. She’s from here,” Hitt said. “She’s lived it, so that’s why she understands what’s at stake.”

This year, Shepherdstown resident Stewart Acuff voted “all Democratic everywhere.” Like Hitt, he said local candidates on the left better addressed key issues on his mind, like protecting the environment, supporting women’s rights and addressing racism.

“It’s the Republicans on the county council who now want to cover this green landscape with tracked housing and industrial solar,” Acuff said. “It was the Republicans in Jefferson County who jammed Rockwool down our throats.”

Acuff said his politics are influenced by his values as a Christian. He said that is why he voted for John Doyle to represent his Senate district and Maria Russo to represent his House district. Acuff also said he supports Valentine’s candidacy for nearby House District 97.

“As long as people like Jim Justice and Patrick Morrisey try to run the state like a coal operator — like they make all the decisions and they get all the money — then West Virginia is going to be stuck in poverty,” Acuff said.

Shepherdstown resident Karene Motivans said she was excited to vote for “youthful, energetic new candidates” for local office.

But Motivans said she also wanted to cast a vote against ideas expressed by candidates on the right, like anti-LGBTQ and anti-immigrant sentiment.

“I come from parents that are immigrants. It makes me emotional,” she said. “They add so much to our country.”

Motivans believes population growth in the state’s Eastern Panhandle, particularly from more liberal urban areas, could fuel a Democratic flip in places like Jefferson County.

“A lot of people are coming into the state from other places, seeing this as a great bedroom community for their jobs in D.C., and coming with their liberal outlook,” Motivans said. “I think we should have more people like that.”

Kirsten Pollard is a Shepherd University student who commutes to campus from Pennsylvania. She could not vote in West Virginia’s general election, but said the college campus brings more political engagement to the area.

“I can tell in my classes that people are very outspoken about who they feel they want to win, and I really support that,” Pollard said.

No Republican voters agreed to speak to West Virginia Public Broadcasting in Shepherdstown on Election Day.

But some residents supporting a Republican ticket spoke with the newsroom last week during early voting. They said they want candidates who can minimize government spending, reduce property costs, decrease the local cost of living and protect freedom of speech.

For them, local Republican candidates like Rucker, Ridenour and Anders better fit that bill.