Republican Decision To Hold Closed Primary Draws Criticism From Democrats

West Virginia’s primary elections are almost a year away, but state Democrats are already raising some general concerns. 

In a press release Tuesday, West Virginia Democratic Party Chair Mike Pushkin condemned the West Virginia Republican Party’s decision to close its 2026 primary elections. He said the decision to only allow registered Republican voters to participate in that party’s primary shuts out nearly 300,000 independent voters in the state.

“We want more folks participating in the democratic process,” Pushkin said. “Democracy works better when more people are voting, so we’re not going to shut independents out of our primary. That’s ridiculous, and I think it’s a big mistake for the West Virginia Republicans to choose to close their primary.”

The West Virginia Republican Party executive committee voted to hold a closed primary in January, but Pushkin said there was hope of a reversal at the party’s summer meeting over the weekend.

“I believe back in during the winter meetings, there was some talk going into their summer meeting that there would possibly be an attempt to reverse that,” he said. “They did not do that, so they are doubling down on it. They’re going to continue to keep their primary closed. So when independent voters show up to vote at the May primary, they’re going to be told they cannot vote in the Republican primary.” 

Pushkin said voters have been drifting away from part affiliation for years, and Republicans are undervaluing their contribution to their success.

“For years, (the) Republican Party relied upon independent voters. Independent voters are the fastest growing voting block, not just in West Virginia, but nationwide,” he said. “I think it’s incredibly arrogant for them to say they don’t need these voters anymore.” 

Pushkin expressed skepticism that the decision would drive independent voters to register as Republicans.

“I think they’re way off base. What’s more than likely to happen is they’re going to shut voters out of their primary,” he said. “So we welcome these voters with open arms. You’re more than welcome to vote in the Democratic primary.”

Josh Holstein, the newly elected chairman of the West Virginia Republican Party, said the party wants everyone who believes in their values and platform to join them by becoming a Republican.

“The overwhelming majority of West Virginians believe in our values and believe in our platform, and that’s borne out in the results of every election,” Holstein said. “We just want folks that are willing to, or that believe in our values and believe in our platform, to join us by changing to Republican.”

Republicans currently hold a supermajority in the state capitol, controlling the House of Delegates, the Senate and the governor’s office and have done so for close to a decade. 

Holstein said nobody is being shut out, but rather being invited to join the party. He said the party believes they can grow their numbers, and that registration has been growing by the thousands each month. 

“And have been for years, while Democrats are losing hundreds and sometimes thousands each month as well,” he said. “So we’re on the right track, and we just want to keep moving in that direction and accelerate it some.”

With the election of a new chair, Holstein said the party had less time for other business at their meeting and did not discuss the decision to hold a closed primary. He said he did not anticipate Republican leadership would go back on the choice, but did not rule out revisiting the issue in the future. 

“We plan on having a very intense public outreach campaign to let independents – particularly those independents who have consistently been with us in primary elections – that we made this change, and invite them to join the party,” Holstein said. “We are going to let folks know we’ve got time to do so. It is our responsibility to let the folks know that we have made this change, and we want them to join our party should they believe in our values and our platform.”

The 2026 primary elections will be held May 12, and the deadline for voters to register is April 21.