West Virginia Gubernatorial Race Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Campaign Ads Targeting Transgender Youth And Understanding W.Va.’s Water Resource, This West Virginia Morning

On this West Virginia Morning, as the primary race for governor enters the home stretch, some candidate’s negative attack ads running endlessly on broadcast and social media target a minority group – transgender children. But what is the fallout from these ads for this vulnerable group, and West Virginia children and families in general? Randy Yohe has the story.

On this West Virginia Morning, as the primary race for governor enters the home stretch, some candidate’s negative attack ads running endlessly on broadcast and social media target a minority group – transgender children. But what is the fallout from these ads for this vulnerable group, and West Virginia children and families in general? Randy Yohe has the story.

Also, in this show, West Virginia has many rivers and creeks all over the state and they are all a bit different. Some are wide and slow moving, some narrow and turbulent. Some flow north and some flow south. On this Earth Day, Briana Heaney sat down with Nicolas Zegre from West Virginia University’s (WVU) Mountain Hydrology Center to talk about one of West Virginia’s most abundant resources – water.

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.

Eric Douglas 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

Gubernatorial Candidates Jump Into Race Early

The West Virginia Primary Election is May 14 of next year, but candidates are already declaring their intention to run for the governor’s office.

As News Director Eric Douglas learned when he spoke with Marshall Political Science Professor Marybeth Beller, it all comes down to money.

The West Virginia Primary Election is May 14 of next year, but candidates are already declaring their intention to run for the governor’s office.

As News Director Eric Douglas learned when he spoke with Marshall Political Science Professor Marybeth Beller, it all comes down to money.

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.

Douglas: By our count, we now have seven candidates who’ve declared for the governor’s office: Chris Miller, Moore Capito, Mac Warner, J.B. McCuskey, Rashida Yost, Marshall Wilson, and most recently, Patrick Morrisey. Why are they declaring so early?

Beller: There are two big reasons. The first main reason is to intimidate the opposition. And that actually has two related parts to it. Donors want to influence the process, and it’s very important to donors that they get a candidate who’s going to favor their policy outcomes. The first or second candidates are heavily evaluated by donors and not knowing that others might sign on, donors often need to make quick decisions to say which of these candidates is going to best put forward their policy preferences.

You might recall there is interest group called Emily’s List. Emily’s List stands for “Early Money Is Like Yeast.” If you bake, you know how important a bit of yeast is. Early donations that come on board signal to other donors that they might also want to start chipping in. That has the reverberating effect for my second point of intimidating the opposition.

Voters look for these cues, and when they see a candidate that has a large war chest, or a war chest that is building, that gives voters confidence to say, “Oh look. Others see this candidate as having real merit, this might be somebody I should follow.” And so voters sign on also. Getting in there early makes a difference.

Douglas: If somebody gets in early, gets a donor to donate the maximum amount, or however much they donate, it’s less likely that donor will also donate to a direct competitor’s campaign.

Beller: Once a donor commits, then the donor stays just with that sole candidate. Now, especially with medium and large size businesses, those people are more likely to spread their donations out over many candidates and sometimes multiple parties in order to secure influence. But especially with single donors, once people commit, they tend to stick with the person to whom they’ve committed.

Douglas: How does this shake out? I’m not asking you to guess who’s going to win, but it’s got to put a lot of stress on the party.

Beller: My second point, answering your question as to why candidates jump on board early on in the process, is that, particularly if they are an incumbent, they owe it to their party to give the party time to recruit viable candidates to replace them in those seats.

When you see these people who are incumbents, who are well known, signaling early on that they want to move to a different office, it’s a gesture to their party, that allows their party to start recruiting candidates. They have an interest not only in seeking the offices they want, but also in preserving the power of their party, and to leave your party high and dry late in the season means you run the risk of allowing the other party to take the seat you’re vacating.

Douglas: Officially, candidates actually don’t really declare their candidacy until January of 2024.

Beller: That’s right, when the Secretary of State makes that open and available.

Douglas: These are pre-candidacy, but it does allow them to start raising funds.

Beller: Yes, it allows them to start raising funds to build that bandwagon of support. It also allows other candidates to say, “Hey, look, we’re gonna have an open seat in this office.”

Douglas: It’s gonna be an interesting election, isn’t it?

Beller: Fascinating. So many of the incumbents have really had time in office to build expertise to know how to form coalitions and could use that experience to be very effective in higher office.

A third thing to keep in mind is that many times candidates will run for an office, knowing that they don’t have a very viable chance of being elected. But they’re using that opportunity to gain greater name recognition, to build more contacts, so that in an election down the road, they become more viable. And I think what we’re gonna see this term is that a lot of candidates, knowing that it’s not likely they’re going to secure the position they’re running for, are actually going to use that to build momentum for the future.

Douglas: Any other thoughts about the legislature or any big surprises you see coming up in West Virginia?

Beller: Not necessarily for 2024, but the Democratic Party in this state has recently reorganized. It has new leadership, and a lot of Democrats are feeling hopeful. The party has a lot to do to rebuild, and might be able to take some legislative seats in 2024, but I think moving past that, the Democratic Party could become viable again in the state.

The legislative policies that were passed this year are going to have financial repercussions. If they’re successful, it’s going to be very, very good for the Republican Party. But in two to four years, we’re going to be able to see what the result of those fiscal policies are. And if they’re not successful for the state, the Democratic Party could really take back some seats and gain power.

Douglas: If the tax cuts don’t work out then it’s fodder for the Democrats.

Beller: Schools, social services, roads, all of those must be maintained. And this past session, there are some problems we haven’t yet solved. The Public Employees Insurance Agency (PEIA) is going to become more solvent, but that’s going to be done on the backs of the employees. And it’s very tough, because the across the board raises are not going to meet the increasing charges for their health care. But also, the employment problem in our prisons has not been solved. I think that is an ongoing problem. It requires money. And what we’ve done is to just put forward some very heavy tax cuts. It might work to bring in more revenue, but it may not.

Let’s Talk Running For Governor On This West Virginia Morning

On this West Virginia Morning, the West Virginia Primary Election isn’t until next May, but candidates are already declaring their intention to run for the governor’s office. News Director Eric Douglas talks to Marshall Political Science Professor Marybeth Beller about the political objective.

On this West Virginia Morning, the West Virginia Primary Election isn’t until next May, but candidates are already declaring their intention to run for the governor’s office. News Director Eric Douglas talks to Marshall Political Science Professor Marybeth Beller about the political objective.

Also, in this show, this week’s broadcast of Mountain Stage features a highly danceable set from vocalist Victoria Victoria, who brought along jazz-giant Charlie Hunter on guitar, performing songs from her new album Wayside for the live audience in Charleston.

Our Song of the Week is Victoria Victoria’s performance of “Hardware Store,” where the subject roams the isles of the hardware store in anticipation of seeing a lost love-interest.

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 West Virginia University, Concord University, and Shepherd University.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting with support from Charleston Area Medical Center and Marshall Health.

West Virginia Morning is produced with help from Bill Lynch, Caroline MacGregor, Curtis Tate, Chris Schulz, Emily Rice, Eric Douglas, Liz McCormick, Randy Yohe, and Shepherd Snyder.

Caroline MacGregor is our assistant news director and our producer.

Eric Douglas is our news director.

Teresa Wills and Chuck Anziulewicz are our hosts.

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

State Picks Rich Outsiders: Trump, Dem for Governor

At the same time West Virginia overwhelmingly picked Republican billionaire political outsider Donald Trump on Tuesday, the state widely preferred a Democratic billionaire political outsider for governor, Jim Justice.

In a stark split-ticket statement, the Mountain State scoffed off Justice’s political party label, picked the two businessmen who said the current system is broken, and left its state government in almost the same divide it’s currently in.

Justice will have to work with a Republican-led Legislature, just like Democratic Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin. The coal and agriculture businessman will also share the executive branch with four other Republican statewide elected officers, three of them freshly elected Tuesday.

The Mountain State’s political whims even led to media reports that Sen. Joe Manchin, the leader of the state’s conservative Democratic coalition, was considering a party switch. He vehemently denied it Tuesday.

“I’m a born in the wool West Virginia Democrat. I don’t know where they’re getting that crap from,” Manchin told The Associated Press at Justice’s victory party.

Justice defeated Republican state Senate President Bill Cole on Tuesday to keep the office in Democratic control. Despite the historically Democratic state’s quick shift to Republican, the GOP now has gone two decades without winning the West Virginia governor’s race.

In his victory speech, Justice said Tuesday was the “first day of real healing,” and called for unity.

“I’m an absolute believer that we don’t have to divide business and labor. We don’t have to be at odds with one another whether you be rich, poor, black, white, whatever it may be,” Justice said. “We don’t need to be at odds with one another whether you be Republican, Democrat or independent. We’ve got too many people on the outside throwing rocks at us, and we’ve got to bond together and be great West Virginians.”

If the current setup is any indication, though, the split government could be a headache.

This year, the Legislature overrode Tomblin vetoes of bills that made West Virginia a “right-to-work” state, repealed its prevailing wage for public construction projects, further limited abortions and made it legal to carry a concealed gun without a permit. The overrides on policy bills only require simple majority votes.

And a fight over whether or not to patch a dismal budget with higher taxes dragged on with a special session that cost the state about $600,000. Tomblin, who has a stronger veto power on the budget, won the argument with higher taxes on cigarettes and other tobacco products.

In otherwise statewide bids, Republican Mac Warner of Morgantown ousted two-term Secretary of State Natalie Tennant on Tuesday night.

Patrick Morrisey claimed a second term as attorney general after an expensive, contentious race against Democratic state Delegate and businessman Doug Reynolds.

JB McCuskey became the first Republican elected as West Virginia’s auditor since 1928. He denied auditor’s office employee Mary Ann Claytor’s bid to be the first black elected to a statewide office in West Virginia.

State Sen. Kent Leonhardt became the first Republican in 28 years to win election as West Virginia’s agriculture commissioner, defeating incumbent Democratic Walt Helmick in a rematch of the 2012 race.

The only other statewide Democrat to win, John Perdue, kept his streak alive as West Virginia’s longest-serving state treasurer. He won a sixth term by defeating Republican Charleston bank executive Ann Urling. A Republican hasn’t been elected state treasurer since 1928.

Charlotte Pritt: The Mountain Party’s Maverick

Mountain Party gubernatorial candidate Charlotte Pritt is no stranger to the political scene. She spent 8 years as a state legislator in the ’80s into the ’90s. Then she ran for governor and almost won in ’96. She made history once, and she’s hoping to do it again.

Historically, an Inside Outsider

A former educator and the daughter of a coal miner, Pritt first ran for governor in the democratic primary against Gaston Caperton in 1992; then she made history in 1996 as the first woman to be nominated by a major party to run for governor of West Virginia. She ran then as a Democrat, and almost beat the Republican Cecil Underwood. Pritt became the chairwoman of the Mountain Party in 2012 — a party she says she was instrumental in forming. Now that party has recruited her to run for the office again.

“My years working in the Legislature were for working people, small businesses, the unions, the environment and women,” Pritt said. “I feel as if these experiences have really given me the opportunity to be the very best person to lead the state in this critical time.”

“She has had a reputation dating back to her days in the legislature as being a maverick,” said William Hal Gorby, an assistant professor of history at West Virginia University. He explained that Democrats in West Virginia have been divided ideologically for a long time and Pritt represents the left-leaning, progressive wing of the party — as well as many independent voters.

“Whenever Jim Justice won the nomination,” Gorby recently recalled, “when I heard her name — it’s not a surprise.” Gorby said she ran against Caperton in ’92 and effectively sent a message that the Democratic Party in the state was getting away from the party’s base.

“When the party turned its back on the progressives,” Pritt said, “the New Deal Democrats of FDR — when it turns its back on us — the party left us. So I went to the Mountain Party.”

Now, just as she did in ’92, Pritt is challenging the conservative-leaning Democrats in the state as well as the far-right Republicans. She champions many of the same causes that Bernie Sanders has — and is hoping the voters who came out for him in the primary will rally behind her. Many progressive voters are getting behind her — including former congressional candidate Sue Thorn.

“I am a member of the Democratic Party, and I am very happy to come out and say — I am a Democrat for Pritt,” Thorn said. “Charlotte just understands the struggles that West Virginians are going through. And frankly, I’m tired of voting for the lesser of two evils. That hasn’t gotten us anywhere in West Virginia.”

Thorn ran for federal congressional office in West Virginia’s first district in 2012. She lost in the general election, gaining 38 percent of the vote. She’s campaigned for Pritt this election cycle and, despite Pritt’s lower polling numbers, she believes the Mountain Party’s candidate stands a good chance.

“She’s somebody who’s honest,” Thorn said. “She’s always come right out and talked about what’s important to her. And people trust that.”

Democratic Party leaders say a vote for Pritt is a vote for the Republican candidate, Sen. Bill Cole. But supporters like Thorn disagree.

“What Charlotte’s hearing is a lot of Republicans saying they’re going to come out and vote for her. So I don’t think it’s a given that she’s just taking votes away from Democrats. She’s appealing to a wide range of people,” Thorn said.

A Maverick Platform

The Mountain Party’s platform seeks to increase public participation in government, promote social justice, and to protect the environment. Pritt’s approach to economic development falls far outside the natural resource-extraction mainstream.

“No plan that is based on extractive industries that damage the environment or your health is really an economic plan,” Pritt said. “My economic development plan has three criteria: It has to be a sustainable economy that we can do over and over again — like hemp. It has to be equitable. And I want to make certain it’s ecologically sound.”

Pritt also wants to see Marijuana decriminalized and all those imprisoned for nonviolent cannabis crimes pardoned. She’d like to see prevailing wage reinstated, she’s pro-choice, and she supports the right to bear arms. Pritt said that despite her liberal-leaning stance, she’d be an effective governor — even if the Republican Party maintains control of the Legislature.

“I have a very good working relationship with people of all parties. Democrats, Republicans, Independents — they know they can work with Charlotte Pritt. I don’t give up. I have a persistence in work ethic that I think is unmatchable.”

Pritt said a vote for her is a vote against a conservative status quo that has led the state into dangerous economic times over the course of the past 15 years.

Moran Says Improving West Virginia Is Everyone's Responsibility

At the Red Shamrock farm in the red and gold hills of Preston County, David Moran gives more of a western vibe than a political one. He wears a cowboy hat and stable boots, and he loves showing off his alpacas and sheep. Moran is a farmer and engineer. But this year, he’s also hoping to be the governor of West Virginia.

As the candidate representing the Libertarian Party of West Virginia, Moran believes that individuals have the right to live as they wish, and that the role of government in their lives should be as small as possible. It’s a young party in West Virginia – This is Moran’s second time running for governor as a libertarian. When he ran for the first time, in 2012, his main goal was to win at least 1 percent of the vote to qualify the Libertarian Party of West Virginia as a major party. He ultimately won 1.34 percent. This year, Moran says he’s running to address the problems the state faces.

“We are in many ways limiting ourselves with what we can do. We are West Virginians, one of the poorest states in the United States. We’re either 49 or 50 depending on whether Mississippi beats us,” he said. “It’s not because we live in the mountains, it’s not because we’re a resource-rich state, it’s not because we’re lazy or anything like that. It’s because we’ve allowed ourselves to forget that we are responsible for making our way and for improving a lot of this state.”

That message of personal responsibility is reflected in Moran’s position on education and drug abuse. He’s against Common Core educational standards, and when it comes to opioid addiction, he says he would decriminalize certain drugs while assisting those who are addicted to harder drugs.

“It’s something we brought upon ourselves because we allowed ourselves to become addicted. We allowed it because we’ve been demoralized,” he said. “We can’t wage wars on drugs, we can’t just say, don’t do it. We have to ask, ‘Why?'”

The latest statewide MetroNews poll shows Moran at 5 percent, which for third party candidates is a big milestone because it factors into which parties are invited to debates. Moran says that while Democratic candidate Jim Justice and Republican candidate Bill Cole have big leads, he is competing for the voters who are considering third-party candidates.

“You see that Jim Justice is polling at about 45 percent, and Bill cole is polling at 35 percent. That’s 80 percent, right? That leaves 20 percent uncommitted or willing to consider,” he said. “I do see that as a big success. Yes.”

Moran has 20,000 extra miles on his car while driving around the state to campaign. He says he doesn’t have any connections in government or with corporations, so he just talks to the people. But at the end of a long day on the campaign trail, farm work is the perfect way for him to relax.

“It’s a good combination. If you’re going to be in public and doing public service, then this is a very, very nice way to complement that,” he said. “If you just sit with these animals for a while, and sit out here and read a book in a field and let them wander arund you, it would take years off your life. It is wonderful.”

Moran estimates that he’s already spoken to about 65,000 West Virginians, but he isn’t stopping there. Early voting is underway and Moran is making some last campaign stops in the next few days leading up to Election Day. That peaceful moment on the farm will have to wait just a little longer until the votes are tallied next Tuesday.