MORGANTOWN — State Sen. Bob Beach kept his seat Tuesday night, winning re-election over his immediate predecessor and challenger Mike Oliverio.
With all precincts reporting, Democrat Beach tallied 18-580 votes (52 percent) to Republican Oliverio’s 17,054 (48 percent).
The district represents the most populous portions of Monongalia and Marion counties, along the I-68 and I-79 corridors. Oliverio won in Marion County with 8,388 votes (53.78 percent) to Beach’s 7,186 (46.07 percent).
But that wasn’t enough to overcome Beach’s lead in Mon. There, Beach tallied 11,394 votes (56.72 percent) to Oliverio’s 8,666 (43.14 percent).
When the last precincts were reported and Beach’s victory was certain, he said, “This has been one of those races that really changed things for me.”
He knew he couldn’t match his opponent for fundraising so he had to change strategies. “We’re glad for the outcome,” he said.
For the rest of the evening, he planned to watch the other Senate races to see if the balance of power might tip. Republicans hold at 22-12 majority and Beach and some of his colleagues, he said, were hoping to see Democrats pick up three seats, if not more.
Oliverio said, “Democracy works best when voters have choices. We gave them a quality choice and I’m grateful to the thousands of people that voted for us. I’m grateful to all the people that worked on our campaign. I want to congratulate Sen. Beach on his victory.”
Results are unofficial pending canvassing.
Tweet David Beard @dbeardtdp Email dbeard@dominionpost.com
