GOP tightens its strong grip on the West Virginia Legislature, where women also lost seats

By LEAH WILLINGHAM and JOHN RABY The Associated Press

FILE - The West Virginia Capitol with its dome framed by turning sugar maples leaves is seen, Nov. 3, 2014, in Charleston, W.Va. (Tom Hindman/The Daily Mail via AP, File)[ASSOCIATED PRESS/Tom Hindman]

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Republicans have tightened their hold on the West Virginia Legislature, notching election wins that will relegate Democrats to an even smaller fraction of the chamber’s 134 seats and giving themselves one of the country’s largest legislative supermajorities.

Just two out of West Virginia’s 34 state senators will be Democrats come January, down from three this year. At least nine of the 100 delegates will be Democrats, down from 11, with the results of one key race still pending Wednesday.

GOP in control

With the passing of a U.S. Senate seat from independent Joe Manchin to Republican Jim Justice, the GOP will control every statewide elected office for the first time in nearly a century.

In a Facebook video Wednesday taken in front of the U.S. Capitol, West Virginia GOP Chairman Matt Herridge said “today is a amazing day for the state of West Virginia and for this country. We are poised for great things.”

“I was a child of the Reagan years. I remember Ronald Reagan said ‘it’s morning in America again.’ Well, it’s morning in America once again, and also in the great state of West Virginia,” he said.

Female lawmakers on the decline

The election will reduce the number of women serving in the Legislature, which already has the fewest female legislators of any state.

Sixteen women currently serve in the Legislature, including four in the state Senate and 12 in the state House. Republican state Sens. Donna Boley, Amy Grady and Patricia Rucker all kept their seats in Tuesday’s election. Republican state Sen. Laura Wakim Chapman’s seat isn’t up for election until 2026.

As of Wednesday, at least two Democratic and eight Republican women had been elected to the state House, with a call still pending in another race between two female candidates, Republican Del. Mickey Petitto and Democrat Shannon Welsh.

A lawsuit and a landslide

Hours after a lawsuit was filed calling for a special election after Jeff Disibbio’s name was temporarily left off the ballot, the Democrat handily lost to Republican Craig Hart for a state Senate seat in southern West Virginia.

According to preliminary race results, Hart earned about 10,000 more votes than Disibbio.

During the first five days of the early-voting period, 624 ballots were cast in the state Senate race before it was discovered that Disibbio’s name had been omitted from the ballot and that another candidate who wasn’t running had been added in his place.

Senate District 6 includes parts of four counties.

House of Delegates

One of the closest races was between Democratic Del. Kayla Young and Republican Andrew Anderson in Kawaha County, which includes the capital, Charleston. Young, who was declared the winner Wednesday, won by a margin of 3.5%.

Democratic Del. Anitra Hamilton, a nurse and county NAACP president from Morgantown who was running unopposed after being appointed to the seat last year, said candidate recruitment will be key to trying to win over more Democratic voters.

“Until we get more counties to turn, it makes it more difficult to produce policies that stand a chance,” she said.

State Senate

Democratic Del. Ric Griffith, of Wayne County, narrowly lost a state Senate race to retired police officer Scott Fuller, a political newcomer. The seat, which represents Wayne and Cabell counties, was previously held by Democratic state Sen. Robert Plymale, who retired.

Democratic Del. Joey Garcia, of Marion County, narrowly defeated Republican Rebecca Polis in the race for the seat being vacated by Democratic state Sen. Mike Caputo.

Republican Thomas Willis, who bested Senate President Craig Blair in the May primary, easily won a seat representing part of West Virginia’s eastern panhandle, defeating Democrat Anthony Murray.

Incumbents won 10 of the 17 state Senate seats that were at stake. Seven Republicans ran uncontested.