State Primary Election Results Officially Certified

A month after polls closed, election officials have certified all but two of West Virginia’s primary elections.  

The last of West Virginia’s 55 counties certified the results of the 2026 Primary Election Wednesday, according to a release from the Secretary of State’s office.  

Just over 21% of all registered voters participated in the election. And while overall turnout remained similarly low as previous midterm primary elections, the early voting period saw an 8% increase over the 2022 midterm primary.  

In two counties, Harrison and Fayette, election challenges have been filed by unsuccessful candidates alleging unpermitted participation by unaffiliated voters.   

The West Virginia Republican State Executive Committee chose to close this year’s party primary to unaffiliated voters, making this the first state election in nearly three decades with a closed primary. 

Lawyer Tim McNeely beat Del. Laura Kimble, R-Harrison, by six votes. She called for a recount in May and last week filed a formal election contest. 

“The odds are very slim that contesting the election will change the outcome of my own race,” Kimble said in a Facebook post. “I am also contesting this election because I hope that information gained from my contest will help protect the integrity of future Republican primaries for every West Virginian and will ensure that this specific and very substantial weakness in the process will be remedied.” 

In its press release, the Secretary of State’s office acknowledged that “after reviewing post-election field reports and preliminary voter participation data from some counties, there appear to be precincts where unaffiliated voters were permitted to participate in the closed Republican Party primary.” 

The Secretary of State’s Office will publish a full Primary Election Report later this summer after all voter participation history is submitted, which is due from counties by no later than July 31, 2026. The report will encompass election preparations; examine voter registration, participation numbers, and trends; discuss voting methods; provide absentee and provisional ballot information; summarize reports from the field on Election Day; and make recommendations to address certain challenges in future elections. 

“In a time when more people than ever are paying close attention to election integrity, it’s critical that election officials are as transparent as possible,” Secretary of State Kris Warner said. “As WV Secretary of State, I intend to do just that with the 2026 Primary Election Report, which is slated for release after all voter participation data is finalized, submitted by the July 31 deadline, and analyzed by my team.”