Primary Election Story Archives - Page 7 of 9 - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

W.Va. Supreme Court Refuses To Hear Ousted Primary Candidate’s Appeal

West Virginia’s Supreme Court refused a last ditch attempt by a candidate ruled ineligible to stay on the primary ballot.Andrea Kiessling, a candidate in the 8th Senate District, took her case to the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals to try and remain on the May 10th Republican primary ballot.Friday afternoon, the high court refused to grant a stay or hear the appeal.

West Virginia’s Supreme Court refused a last ditch attempt by a candidate ruled ineligible to stay on the primary ballot.

Andrea Kiessling, a candidate in the 8th Senate District, took her case to the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals to try and remain on the May 10th Republican primary ballot.

Friday afternoon, the high court refused to grant a stay or hear the appeal.

On Wednesday, Kanawha Circuit Judge Duke Bloom ruled Kiessling did not meet the legal requirement that a candidate live in West Virginia five years prior to the election.

Thursday, Secretary of State Mac Warner ordered all parties involved in 8th Senate District County voting (Clay, Roane and parts of Kanawha, Putnam and Jackson) to disregard all Kiessling’s votes and post signs at all polling places declaring her ineligible for office.

In response to Kiessling’s requests, the original complainant argued the facts of Kiessling’s North Carolina residency clearly showed the eligibility violation.

The response also argued that should a stay be granted – with the majority of votes yet to be cast – any votes for a candidate that would ultimately be disqualified would result in even more voter disenfranchisement.

The residency complaint against Kiessling was first raised on Twitter by 8th Senate District Republican primary candidate and former Delegate Joshua Higginbotham.

The resulting actions set off a firestorm of partisan, polarizing social media posts, some from the state’s highest elected officials, just days before next Tuesday’ primary vote.

Ousted Senate Candidate Asks Supreme Court To Halt Ballot Removal Proceedings

The 8th District Senate candidate, Andrea Kiessling, wants the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals to keep her on the May 10th Republican primary ballot. On Wednesday, Kanawha Circuit Judge Duke Bloom ruled Kiessling did not meet the constitutional requirement that a candidate live in West Virginia five years prior to the election.

She asked for a stay to halt the court orders and filed an appeal to reverse the judges decision.

The original complaint said Kiessling lived in North Carolina for much of those five years and Bloom agreed.

Kiessling’s appeal argues the complaint came down too late, that facts of residency were not proved and that there is a post-election remedy that could be used for investigating possible candidate disqualifications.

Bloom ordered Secretary of State Mac Warner to withdraw Kiessling’s certificate of candidacy, disregard all her votes and post signs at polling places declaring her ineligible for office.

A spokesman from the Secretary of State’s office remained concerned with possible voter disenfranchisement over the more than 800 ballots cast prior to Bloom’s decision and said this was a precedent setting case.

After a Thursday afternoon decision by the West Virginia State Election Commission, Secretary of State Mac Warner said he would immediately have all election parties involved in the five county 8th Senate District (Roane, Clay and parts of Kanawha, Putnam and Jackson) begin carrying out Bloom’s orders.

Justices have asked for a response to Kiessling’s request for a Stay by 1 p.m. Friday.

Endorsements, Affiliations Trump Issues In Second Congressional District Primary Race

Population decline reduced West Virginia’s congressional districts from three to two, pitting incumbent Republicans Alex Mooney and David McKinley against each other in the new Second Congressional District.With one week before the May 10th primary, endorsements and affiliations rather than debating the issues highlight this much-talked-about race.

With one week before the May 10th primary, endorsements and affiliations rather than debating the issues highlight this much-talked-about race.

John Kilwein, Chair of the West Virginia University Department of Political Science said both candidates are working from well established political playbooks.

McKinley went against party lines and voted yes on President Biden’s federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Kilwein said that action comes from the Robert C. Byrd playbook of “bringing home the bacon.”

He said Mooney cast his no vote on the infrastructure bill straight out of the President Trump/MAGA playbook that you never give a Democrat a victory.

Kilwein said this race could be a harbinger of Trump’s staying power, both statewide and nationally.

“I don’t want to predict anything with McKinley slightly ahead in the polls,” Kilwein said. “But it is possible this is either the first indication of Trump’s waning ability, or if Mooney wins, then you know that he’s still very strong.”

The two men also voted on opposite sides on the question of creating a commission to investigate the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. McKinley was one of 35 Republicans to vote for creating the commission. Mooney was a solid no vote.

Kilwein called it another element in an “excellent juxtaposition” giving voters something to think about.

“When you go back and you look at these issues, I mean, they vote most of the time together,” Kilwein said. “ But it’s these two big, significant votes in the last year that make this race an interesting test.”

In the battle of endorsements, Gov. Jim Justice and Sen. Joe Machin support McKinley – and in a voter committed Trump state, Mooney touts his Trump endorsment.

Three other Republicans, Susan Buccher-Lochocki, Mike Seckman and Rhonda Hercules, are also on the primary ballot in the Second Congressional District race.

Lawsuit Asks State Senate Candidate Be Removed From Ballot

The petition claims state Senate District 8 candidate Andrea Kiessling does not meet residency requirements and asks Secretary of State Mac Warner to remove Kiessling from the May 10th republican primary ballot.

A lawsuit filed Friday afternoon asks that a West Virginia state Senate candidate be removed from the primary ballot.

The lawsuit was filed in Kanawha County Circuit Court by Alicia Stine, a registered voter in Senate District 8.

The suit follows an exchange on Twitter where Kiessiling’s opponent, former state delegate Joshua Higginbotham claimed Kiessling is a North Carolina resident. In a response, Kiessling said the accusation is false and West Virginia is her home.

The West Virginia Constitution requires candidates to be a citizen of the state for five years prior to their election.

The Secretary of State’s office said Kiessling properly filed to run for the office and they don’t have insight into whether there are any other disqualifying characteristics of eligibility.

West Virginia Public Broadcasting emailed both candidates for comment and are awaiting their responses.

W.Va. Candidate Won't Withdraw Despite Registration Glitch

A West Virginia political candidate who was not a registered Republican when he filed papers to run for a House of Delegates seat in the upcoming GOP primary said Tuesday that it was a simple oversight and he plans to continue with his campaign.

Bob Fehrenbacher is running against incumbent Republican Delegate Roger Conley in the May 10 primary for the District 11 seat representing portions of Wood County.

Forms that candidates fill out to run for office must be signed and notarized. They specifically require candidates to attest to their party affiliation.

Fehrenbacher said in a telephone interview that when he signed his candidacy papers in January, “I thought in good faith that I was registered as a Republican. Much to my surprise, I was not. And as soon as that came to my attention, I immediately went into the West Virginia secretary of state’s system and changed it. I should have checked and I did not do that.”

The state Republican Party said in a statement that Fehrenbacher instead was an unaffiliated voter when he filed his papers and did not register as a GOP voter until late March.

“Simply put, lying on a sworn statement is not acceptable behavior for those who wish to be elected officials,” GOP chairman Mark Harris said in the statement.

Harris said he called on Fehrenbacher to withdraw from the race “for the good of the West Virginia Republican Party and our voters.”

Fehrenbacher said his campaign will go on.

“I am a strong Republican supporter and am aligned with Republican candidates, donated to Republican candidates and supported the election of Republicans” he said.

Fehrenbacher said it’s his understanding that if someone had brought up his voter registration within 10 days after his filing, he could have been disqualified from running.

“That did not occur, and as a result of that, it’s my understanding that I am a valid candidate,” he said.

An after-hours message left with the secretary of state’s office was not immediately returned Tuesday.

The winner of the May primary will move on to the general election to face Democrat Harry Deitzler. Deitzler is an attorney and a former county prosecutor who is unchallenged in the primary.

A Guide To The May 10 Primary Election In W.Va.

Candidates in West Virginia’s May 10 primary are hoping for the chance to earn their party’s nominations for the U.S. House or the state Legislature. The overall ballot in the midterm election may be smaller, but the voting landscape changed after the state's once-a-decade redistricting was completed last fall. Early voting in West Virginia runs from Wednesday through May 7.

Candidates in West Virginia’s May 10 primary are hoping for the chance to earn their party’s nominations for the U.S. House or the state Legislature. The overall ballot in the midterm election may be smaller, but the voting landscape changed after the state’s once-a-decade redistricting was completed last fall. Early voting in West Virginia runs from Wednesday through May 7.

U.S. House

West Virginia lost one of its three U.S. House seats based on results of the 2020 U.S. census, which showed a 3.2% decline in the state’s population over the past decade — the biggest drop of any state in the nation, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The new 2nd District features a race between incumbents in the former 1st and 2nd districts. The new district will run from Wood County along the Ohio River to the Eastern Panhandle and include the Northern Panhandle.

Reps. David McKinley and Alex Mooney will be joined in the GOP primary by Susan Buchser-Lochocki of Morgantown, Rhonda Hercules of Wheeling and Mike Seckman of West Union. McKinley is seeking his seventh term and Mooney his fifth.

In the 2nd District Democratic primary, security operations manager Angela Dwyer of Falling Waters faces former Morgantown City Council member Barry Lee Wendell.

In the new southern 1st District, formerly the 3rd District, incumbent U.S. Rep. Carol Miller faces Republican challengers Scott Fuller of Kenova, James Edwin Houser of Mount Nebo, Zane Lawhorn of Princeton and Kent Stevens of Milton. Second-time candidate Lacy Watson of Bluefield is unopposed in the Democratic primary. Watson lost in the 2020 Democratic primary in the former 3rd District.

Miller is seeking her third term.

House of Delegates

The entire 100-member state House of Delegates is up for election. Republicans hold a 78-22 supermajority. More than half of the incumbents have no opposition in the May primary.

For the first time, the chamber is split into 100 single-member voting districts after the passage of a 2018 bill. Previously, the House had 67 districts with more than half of the chamber elected from multiple-member districts.

Democrats complained loudly last year when the GOP-led House passed its own redistricting map and the Senate concurred. Prior to the House vote, Kanawha County Democrat Mike Pushkin said the new map wasn’t what he envisioned when he voted in 2018 for the single-member district bill.

“I’d really like to know who we have consulted in drawing this map,” Pushkin said. “What we have before us is a gerrymandered mess. If your goal is to protect political power well into the future, it was done quite well.”

Republicans countered that the House redistricting committee held more than a dozen hearings across the state to receive public input and that lawmakers tried to avoid splitting counties and municipalities into separate districts where it was requested.

State Senate

Half of the 34-member Senate is up for election. Republicans hold a 23-11 supermajority in the chamber, whose districts changed in configuration but not in numbers during redistricting.

Contested primary races include those between Republican Sen. Rollan Roberts and current Delegate and former Democrat Mick Bates; Democratic Sen. Owens Brown and former Delegate Randy Swartzmiller; and Republican Mike Azinger and Delegate John Kelly.

Former Senate Democrat Mike Oliverio plans to seek office again, this time as a Republican. Also running for the 13th District seat is fellow Morgantown resident Barbara Evans Fleischauer, a longtime House Democrat. Both have primary opposition.

Former U.S. Attorney Mike Stuart has one opponent in the GOP primary for a seat held by Democrat Ron Stollings, who is running unopposed.

Former GOP Delegate Josh Higginbotham moved to Kanawha County to seek a Senate seat among a field of four candidates.

Eight senators have no primary opposition and four others are not seeking reelection.

Voting Options

Voters can cast an early ballot at their county courthouse, an annex or a designated voting location during normal weekday business hours or on the two Saturdays before the primary. All 55 counties offer early voting. More information on voting, including a list of early voting sites, is available on the Secretary of State’s website.

Residents who wish to vote by absentee ballot must fill out and return an application to their county clerk’s office by May 4.

Polls will be open on the day of the May 10 primary from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. ET.

Voters who aren’t affiliated with a recognized political party may participate in the primary of the party of their choice. Unaffiliated voters must ask poll workers for the specific party’s ballot they desire, according to Secretary of State Mac Warner’s office.

Voter Turnout

With no presidential, gubernatorial or U.S. Senate races this year, the lines at the polls are anticipated to be light. In nonpresidential election years, the primary election turnout statewide was 26% in 2018, 20% in 2014 and 24% in 2010.