MORGANTOWN — Voters in Monongalia and Marion counties helped turn West Virginia’s red Legislature even redder on Tuesday.
Based on the unofficial results – nothing’s official until the 55 counties complete canvassing – posted on the secretary of state’s website Wednesday morning, the state Senate GOP majority grew from 20-14 to 23-11. Of 17 seats up for election, Republicans won 14, with two of those uncontested.
In the House of Delegates, Democrats took a significant whomping. The GOP majority swelled from 58-41 (with one Independent who caucused with the Republicans) to 76-24 (the Independent made a failed run for governor).
It’s a historic election for another reason. Sometime next summer there will be a redistricting special session based on the 2020 census. It will be the first in more than 80 years under GOP control and the first in state history to create 100 single-member House districts.
Barring some future change in the law, it is the last to select a five-member Mon and three-member Marion delegation. The redistricting changes will affect the Legislature elected in 2022 for the 2023 session.
But the Marion County delegation will see a significant change for the 2021 session. Except for Republican Delegate Guy Ward who served one term for the 2017 and 2018 sessions, the three seats have long been held by Democrats.
But on Tuesday, voters returned Ward to office along with Republican Phil Mallow, who previously ran unsuccessfully in 2014, 2016 and 2018. The only Democrat to win a seat was Joey Garcia, who previously served as deputy legal counsel and legislative director under Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin.
Only one of the three incumbents sought re-election: Delegate Michael Angelucci, who bumped Ward out of office in 2018 and came in fourth this time. Vote-wise, Angelucci trails Garcia by only 74 votes (0.12%), but is well behind second place Mallow.
The other two incumbents ran for other offices. Delegate Mike Caputo won a seat in the Senate 13th District. Delegate Linda Longstreth ran for county commission and was reported in the lead on Wednesday.
The figures for the six Marion candidates: Ward, 11,281 votes (18.25%); Mallow,11,120 (17.99%); Garcia, 10,851 (17.56%); Angelucci, 10,777 (17.44%); Ronald Straight, D, 9,341 (15.11%); Darton McIntire, R, 8,436 (13.65%).
Mon County voters also boosted the House majority, turning the Democratic Fab 5 into the Fab 4. Former GOP Delegate Joe Statler won back a seat, bumping out Democratic Delegate Rodney Pyles.
Statler came in third and Pyles took seventh place. But the fifth, sixth and seventh spots are so close canvassing may change the picture. Fifth-place delegate John Williams is just 25 votes ahead of former GOP Delegate Cindy Frich, who is just 33 votes ahead of Pyles. The total spread from Williams to Pyles is just 58 votes (0.03%) out of 164,994 cast.
Here are the current figures: Delegate Barbara Evans Fleischauer, 19,534 votes (11.84%); Delegate Evan Hansen, 18,636 (11.29%); Statler, 18,175 (11.02%); Delegate Danielle Walker, 17,749 (10.76%); Williams, 17,580 (10.65%); Frich, 17,555 (10.64%); Pyles, 17,522 (10.62%); Justin White, R, 14,079 (8.53%); Todd Stainbrook, R, 12,133 (7.34%); Zach Lemaire, R, 12,051 (7.3%).
Two other local incumbents retained their seats. In the 5th District, Democrat Delegate Dave Pethtel tallied 3,675 votes (53.63%) to GOP challenger Phillip Wiley’s 3,177 (46.37%). The 5th spans all of Wtzel and part of Mon and Pethtel won in both.
In the 49th District, Majority Leader Amy Summers received 5, 057 votes (61.99%) to hold off a challenge by her predecessor Mike Manypenny, who had 3,101 votes (38.01%). The 49th covers most of Taylor and small parts of Marion and Mon; Summers won in all three.
Senate races
Local Senate races didn’t affect the balance of power there in terms of numbers. In the 13th Caputo tallied 25,870 votes (56.18%) to Republican Rebecca Polis’ 20,178 (43.82%). Caputo is succeeding Minority Leader Roman Prezioso, D-Marion, so Democrats will have to choose a new leader.
Caputo was a longtime House Democratic leader, serving as majority and minority whip. The 13th spans the most populous portions of Mon and Marion counties and Caputo won in both, though by a wider margin in Mon. The margin was 59.46% to 40.54% in Mon, but 52.06% to 47.94% in Marion, which is also Polis’ home county.
In the 2nd District, Health and Human Resources Committee chair Mike Maroney held off Democratic challenger Josh Gary with 24,761 votes (56.24%) to Gary’s 19,269 (43.76%). The 2nd spans all or part of nine counties; Maroney won in seven, including Mon and Marion.
He lost in his home county, Marshall, by 1,240 votes (10.8%). For more than a year, he’s faced a misdemeanor Marshall County charge of soliciting a prostitute, a charge he’s consistently maintained is baseless and politically motivated.
It should be noted that Senate committee chairs may and likely will see some changes, as Senate President Mitch Carmichael lost in his primary and GOP senators will be choosing a new leader, too.
In the 14th District, Energy, Industry and Mining Committee chair Randy Smith overwhelmingly defeated Democratic challenger David Childers with 35,191 votes (72.64%) to Childers’ 13,254 (27.36%). The district spans all or part of eight counties and Smith won in all eight, including Mon and Preston.
Statewide turnout
Finally, Secretary of State Mac Warner – who won re-election over a challenge from his Democratic predecessor Natalie Tennant on Tuesday – called statewide voter turnout historic. Turnout was 62.49%, with 793,088 of 1,269,156 registered voters casting ballots. Presidential year turnout is typically higher than off-year, and this year’s turnout topped 2016, at 57.4%; 2012, at 55%; and 2008, at 57.9%.
In a press release, his office noted that over the last four years, they’ve identified a little more than 200,000 “inactive” voters who haven’t participated in an election for more than six years. “If you take those inactive voters off of the state’s voter registration list, our voter turnout of ‘active’ voters for the 2020 General Election would be about 73% – one of the highest voter turnouts in the nation.”
Tweet David Beard@dbeardtdp Email dbeard@dominionpost.com
