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AP Decision Notes: What to expect in West Virginia’s primaries

Republican Gov. Jim Justice, who’s running for Senate, is just one of a handful of high flyers in West Virginia who decided it was time for a change of pace.

A former billionaire who owns the Greenbrier Resort, Justice is ineligible to run for reelection in West Virginia due to term limits. So, Justice set his sights on Washington, where Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin was facing his toughest race yet in a state that former President Donald Trump last won by about 40 points.

Justice, a former Democrat, switched to the Republican Party in 2017, making the announcement at a Trump rally in Huntington, West Virginia.

Instead of attempting to run for another term, Manchin decided to pass, adding another open seat to the map in which the Republican nominee will be the heavy favorite in the fall.

In the race for the GOP nomination for Senate, Justice is the front-runner. His top competitor is Rep. Alex Mooney, though five other Republicans are running as well.

Don Blankenship, who was convicted of violating safety standards after 29 people died in a 2010 coal mine explosion, is running for the Senate as a Democrat, even though he ran as a Republican in the 2018 Senate race. Blankenship faces Wheeling Mayor Glenn Elliott, who has Manchin’s endorsement, and Marine Corps veteran Zach Shrewsbury, who has support from the Progressive Democrats of America.

Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, the Republican nominee in the 2018 Senate race against Manchin, is running for governor, as are the sons of two members of West Virginia’s congressional delegation: car dealer Chris Miller, whose mother is Rep. Carol Miller, and former state Rep. Moore Capito, whose mother is Sen. Shelley Moore Capito and whose grandfather is the late Gov. Arch A. Moore Jr..

West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warner is running for governor, as well. Two lesser-known candidates — Kevin Christian and Mitch Roberts — will also appear on the GOP ballot. On the Democratic side, Huntington Mayor Steve Williams is unopposed.

Mooney’s pursuit of the open Senate seat means he’s leaving a Republican-leaning district open, prompting a competitive primary for his U.S. House seat. State Treasurer Riley Moore won early endorsements from then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and from Mooney himself. Speaker Mike Johnson has also endorsed Moore. Moore is one of five Republicans running to replace Mooney, though retired Air Force Brigadier General Chris “Mookie” Walker is the only one who has come close to keeping pace with Moore on fundraising.

In the 1st District, Derrick Evans, a former member of the House of Delegates who served a three-month sentence after livestreaming himself participating in the Jan. 6, 2021, storming of the U.S. Capitol, is running against incumbent Carol Miller.

The least competitive races of the bunch might be the presidential primaries, which Trump and President Joe Biden are expected to win easily.

Here’s a look at what to expect on Tuesday.

Primary Day

West Virginia’s primary election will be held Tuesday. Polls close at 7:30 p.m. ET.

What’s On The Ballot

The Associated Press will provide coverage for 61 races, including the presidential primary. Four candidates, including former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, join Trump on the Republican presidential ballot. On the Democratic ballot, Biden’s name appears along with four others. There is no “uncommitted” or write-in option on the presidential ballot.

In addition to the open seats for governor, U.S. Senate race, and the 2nd Congressional District, West Virginia is holding primaries for multiple statewide offices, including secretary of state, state auditor, state treasurer, commissioner of agriculture, and attorney general.

Who Gets To Vote

Registered Democrats may only vote in the Democratic primary, and registered Republicans may only vote in the Republican primary. Independent or unaffiliated voters may participate in either primary. Voters who registered with a party that is not officially recognized by the state may also vote in either primary.

Delegate Allocation Rules

West Virginia’s 20 pledged Democratic delegates are allocated according to the national party’s standard rules. Four at-large delegates are allocated in proportion to the statewide vote, as are three PLEO delegates, or “party leaders and elected officials.” The state’s two congressional districts have a combined 13 delegates at stake, which are allocated in proportion to the vote results in each district. Candidates must receive at least 15% of the statewide vote to qualify for any statewide delegates, and 15% of the vote in a congressional district to qualify for delegates in that district.

There are 32 delegates at stake in the Republican presidential primary, all of which will go to the winner.

Decision Notes

Justice, a popular governor who was endorsed by Manchin in 2016 before Justice’s party switch led to a falling out between the pair, is favored to win the Republican nomination for the Senate. To have a shot at beating him, Mooney would probably have to rack up high numbers in his own 2nd congressional district.

The governor’s race, meanwhile, has become a messy messaging war as the candidates vie for the state’s conservative base, with Morrisey having spent most on the race as of the latest filing deadline, followed by Capito and Miller. All four of the top candidates have some sort of statewide appeal, since two currently hold statewide office and the others have famous last names.

Capito had represented Kanawha County for about seven years when he resigned in December to focus on his campaign for governor, and may be able to count on a small pocket of votes in the Charleston-based county.

On the Democratic side, Elliott’s endorsement from Manchin, a longtime fixture in West Virginia politics, could help boost him in the primary. Blankenship, meanwhile, has spent more than $100,000 on broadcast campaign ads, including a slate of ads in which he speaks directly to the camera, arguing that independents should vote for him. And Shrewsbury, who is running as the most progressive candidate with a working-class focus, has been the top spender in the race.

The AP does not make projections and will declare a winner only when it’s determined there is no scenario that would allow the trailing candidates to close the gap. If a race has not been called, the AP will continue to cover any newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory. In doing so, the AP will make clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why.

What Do Turnout And Advance Vote Look Like?

As of March 31, there were 1,172,783 registered voters in West Virginia. Of those, 31% were Democrats and 40% were Republicans.

In the 2020 primaries, turnout was 15% of registered voters in the Democratic primary and 17% on the Republican side.

As of May 9, a total of 55,358 ballots had been cast before Election Day.

How Long Does Vote Counting Usually Take?

In the 2022 election, the AP first reported results at about 7:40 p.m. ET, or 10 minutes after polls closed. The election night tabulation ended at about 11:20 p.m. ET with about 87% of total votes counted.

Attorney General Sues EPA Over New Power Plant Rules

West Virginia and Indiana are leading a lawsuit, along with 25 other states, against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to stop new rules on existing coal and new natural gas-fired power plants.

The suit was filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

The EPA’s final rules were released at the end of April. Coal plants will have to ultimately cut their carbon dioxide emissions by 90 percent or shut down. New gas plants will have to also capture 90 percent of their CO2.

The EPA is working on a separate rule to cut carbon emissions from existing gas plants. About 40 percent of U.S. electricity comes from gas.

The new rules include updated limits on mercury and other toxic pollutants from plants that burn coal. They also include changes to how power plants dispose of the wastewater that results from treating coal emissions to remove toxic pollutants.

Finally, the rules require the cleanup of coal ash disposal sites that were closed prior to 2015.

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said the rule ignored the ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in West Virginia v. EPA, which said the EPA could not use the Clean Air Act to force coal-fired power plants into retirement.

“This rule strips the states of important discretion while using technologies that don’t work in the real world — this administration packaged this rule with several other rules aimed at destroying traditional energy providers,” Morrisey said. “We are confident we will once again prevail in court against this rogue agency.”

When those rules were announced, EPA Administrator Michael Regan said, “By developing these standards in a clear, transparent, inclusive manner, EPA is cutting pollution while ensuring that power companies can make smart investments and continue to deliver reliable electricity for all Americans.”

The power plant rules align with changes that have been happening in the sector in the past decade. Electric utilities have moved sharply away from coal, largely switching to natural gas, and now, renewables and batteries.

“This year, the United States is projected to build more new electric generation capacity than we have in two decades — and 96 percent of that will be clean,” said White House Climate Adviser Ali Zaidi.

A separate statement from the Natural Resources Defense Council was more blunt.

“While polluters and their allies always complain that whatever technology EPA is requiring is not ready for prime time, in this case their argument is even more ridiculous: In addition to the technology being available, it’s also being supported with billions of dollars of tax incentives via the Inflation Reduction Act.

“Instead of fighting a losing legal battle, power plant owners and states should be locking up their lawyers and turning loose their engineers,” said David Doniger, a senior attorney at the organization.

Morrisey said in a statement that he would also file a motion to stay the new rule as soon as possible.

Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Wyoming joined the West Virginia- and Indiana-led lawsuit.

W.Va. League of Women Voters Offers 2024 Legislative Scorecard

The League of Women Voters of West Virginia has released their 2024 Legislative Scorecard. It compiles the votes from all the members of the West Virginia House of Delegates and state Senators on 26 bills that became law during this past legislative session to give an idea where they stand on issues.

Judy Ball, chair of the League’s Legislative Action Workgroup, spoke with Government Reporter Randy Yohe on the scorecard results.

Yohe: What is it that you hope to accomplish by putting out this scorecard?

Ball: West Virginia is one of several states that does not have a voter’s guide that comes out every year to help educate voters. And part of the mission of the League of Women Voters is voter education. So we decided that trying to give voters more information about the people who are representing them and how they’re being represented would be a valuable service. So, last year, we started this scorecard effort and had intended to continue it and this is the second time we’ve done it. And we made sure to get it out in time for this year’s election.

Yohe: The Secretary of State puts out a guide that gives you timetables and when you have to register and the things that you need to do to vote. That’s not the kind of voter’s guide you’re talking about, is it?

Ball: No. Voter’s guides in many states are something that has information about all the candidates that are going to be on the ballot. And oftentimes, a voter’s guide will include substantive information about what those candidates stand for that may be submitted by the candidates. But then it’s all compiled and published and sent out to, or made available to, voters in the state, perhaps online, perhaps it’s sent out in the mail. In the state of Oregon, for example, every voter in the state gets the voter’s guide in their mailbox. There was actually a bill in this year’s legislature to produce such a voter’s guide. There was a bill in last year’s legislature to produce such a voter’s guide. And those bills haven’t gone anywhere.

Yohe: Your scorecard compiles the votes of state Senators and Delegates on 26 bills that are significant to your organization, and they relate to certain policy areas. First of all is strengthening democracy. There are a number of voting and election related bills. What stands out there? I know you have bills you support and oppose.

Ball: What stands out most to me is the bills that didn’t make it through. There were many attempts to try to make voting even harder in West Virginia than it already is. We were opposing, for example, the bill that requires photo IDs to go from the DMV and other agencies to the Secretary of State’s office. The reason we oppose it is we believe that this is an attempt to make photo ID necessary for voting. There were other bills in the legislature that would protect poll workers that didn’t pass. There were other bills to remove barriers to voting that didn’t pass. We supported, however, bills that would do things like update the contested election procedures and to ensure that party affiliation is consistent with a candidate’s voter registration. That’s putting some quality control into the system.

Yohe: Safeguarding equal rights is your next policy area.

Ball: Yes, and one of the ones we oppose is the bill to not permit non-binary on birth certificates. And this is one of those bills that you have to wonder why it happened because non-binary isn’t an option on birth certificates, now. There was a bill to improve some data collection on fatalities and mortalities. Modifying the definition of sexual contact, to eliminate marriage as a defense for sexual assault, we definitely supported that. But there were other bills that didn’t make it through, the Crown Act, for example, died a horrible death in the Senate. And adding sexual orientation and gender identity to human rights law in West Virginia also didn’t make it through.

Yohe: Protecting children and families policy is next. That seems to be a big part of everybody’s agenda.

Ball: Even though this category has the most bills, this category probably has the most bills that never made it through the legislature. One of the principal bills in this category that we oppose is the state budget. Because things that are really critical in the state didn’t get attended to. There is not full funding for Medicaid. There was not full funding to take care of the foster care system or childcare. Additional funding for public education, all those things got left out. We supported the extra coverage for dental care and Medicaid. That’s a good thing, because dental services are really expensive, and people on Medicaid probably can’t afford them. We thought adding to the foster parent information system was a good thing. But that’s sort of nibbling around the edges of the problems in our foster care system.

Yohe: There’s a hue and cry out now that, after this federal education clawback was settled, these budget problems that you mentioned will be fixed in an expected upcoming special session. Are you satisfied with that?

Ball: I’m skeptical that that will actually happen. Let’s just take the evidence that came out of this legislative session. Our legislature spent an enormous amount of their 60 days debating things that were not the most consequential things for the population in West Virginia. I fully expect that the budget discussions will be the same. The legislature will spend a lot of time nibbling around the edges and not addressing the really big issues that are facing this state. I hope I’m wrong.

Yohe: Your final category on policy areas is creating a sustainable future.

Ball: We only ended up with two bills to even highlight in this year’s scorecard. There were more last year. They seem to be addressing local control issues, the legislature keeps trying to take power back from localities. And the things that we didn’t see that would have fallen under this category would have been strengthening environmental protections and bills to expand solar and to provide energy incentives. We didn’t get that from this legislature.

W.Va.’s Legislative Scorecard And A Look At Compassion Fatigue On This West Virginia Morning

On this West Virginia Morning, we speak with Judy Ball, chair of the Legislative Action Workgroup for the League of Women Voters of West Virginia, to break down the state’s 2024 Legislative Scorecard. Also, we hear an excerpt from our Us & Them episode, “Compassion Fatigue.”

On this West Virginia Morning, the League of Women Voters of West Virginia has released their 2024 Legislative Scorecard. It compiles the votes from all delegates and state senators on 26 bills that became law to give an idea where they stand on issues.

Judy Ball, chair of the League’s Legislative Action Workgroup, spoke with Government Reporter Randy Yohe on the scorecard results.

Also, in this show, many communities see people turning away from homeless shelters to temporary encampments. Nonprofit agencies and government programs struggle to support a vulnerable population with complicated needs.

At a recent AP award’s event, the Virginias AP Broadcasters acknowledged an Us & Them episode focused on homelessness with a second place for Best Podcast. In that episode, host Trey Kay talks with Barbara DiPietro, the director of policy for the National Health Care for the Homeless Council. We listen to an excerpt.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University.

Chris Schulz produced this episode.

Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning

Justice Finalizing Special Session Plans

Gov. Jim Justice said he will make a decision early next week when he’ll call a special legislative session. In a Wednesday media briefing, he said he was hopeful the session would happen in May.

Justice has committed to reversing the Medicaid cuts made in a scaled-down budget passed on the last day, in the last hour, of the regular legislative session.

“I don’t know why we did this,” Justice said. “We stripped money out of the budget that was in my budget, that really and truly was there to help, whether it be Medicaid or whatever. There’s so many people that are in need in this state. We’ll put it back for sure.”

The Legislature passed a so-called skinny budget due to fears over a possible $465 million federal “clawback” regarding federal education funding spent during the pandemic. The U.S. Department of Education eventually granted a waiver, dismissing the “clawback.” Justice said he told everybody all along the waiver would come.

“Lo and behold, the sky didn’t fall, did it,” Justice said. “Now all we’ve done is bring a tremendous amount of anxiety and issues to those that are absolutely hurting the most.”

When pressed to name some specific issues he might include in the call, Justice instead listed generalities.

“I want to see that we take care of our kids, we take care of our seniors, we take care of our vets, we’ll absolutely take care of issues like childcare,” Justice said.

The last special session called in August 2023 was in response to a Department of Corrections staffing crisis and concerns over first responder funding. Justice however, included 44 proposed bills in that special session call.

A finalized state budget for fiscal year 2025 must be completed by June 30.

After Death Of Boone County Girl, Gov. Jim Justice Faces Questions On Transparency

After the death of 14-year-old Kyneddi Miller, who was discovered by police in a near skeletal state on the bathroom floor, questions about what could have been done to prevent this are swirling.
State officials, as well as members of the media, have requested information from the state to find out what was done — and what wasn’t — by state agencies charged with protecting the welfare of children in the state. Yet little to no information has been released, despite FOIA requests

After the death of 14-year-old Kyneddi Miller, who was discovered by police in a near skeletal state on the bathroom floor, questions about what could have been done to prevent this are swirling.

State officials, as well as members of the media, have requested information from the state to find out what was done — and what wasn’t — by state agencies charged with protecting the welfare of children in the state. Yet little to no information has been released, despite FOIA requests. Journalists with West Virginia Watch received documents that were nearly entirely redacted.

Now the Justice administration has said it is exploring ways to legally provide better information to the public.

“I’ll absolutely direct them to follow the law. You know, without any question,” Justice said.

Cynthia Persily, cabinet secretary of the Department of Human Services said that the administration is also looking to other states to understand their transparency practices. Persily advised journalists and members of the public to obtain and use the critical accident report that is filed annually.

“That report, of course, has not been reported on in the media,” Persily said. “And we would just encourage everyone who wants to have information about child fatalities in the state to look at that report and the information is contained there.”

However, that report shows limited details on CPS actions, responsibility, and culpability. The current report does not have any information of the death of Kyneddi Miller.