EDITOR’S NOTE: Hoppy is on vacation this week. This column is from Jan. 30, 2024.
The West Virginia Republican Party executive committee has approved a resolution that will limit the party’s primary election to only Republican voters beginning in 2026. The decision reverses the party policy that had been in place for more than 30 years that allowed independents or individuals with no party affiliation to vote in the GOP primary.
The decision split the party leaders. Sixty-five members of the executive committee supported the change, while 54 voted against it.
Some members wanted to make the switch right away to capitalize on the popularity of Donald Trump. They argued that independents who support Trump would be enticed to switch to the Republican Party so they could vote for the former president in the May 14 primary.
Others did not want to exclude independents who had helped expand the GOP’s electoral dominance in the state by voting for Republican candidates. They worried about alienating those voters.
So, what will happen now?
State Sen. Mike Stuart (R-Kanawha), who is running for the Republican nomination for attorney general, referred me to Idaho as an example. That state passed a law in 2011 closing both the Republican and Democratic primary elections to only party members.
Since then, Republican Party registration has more than doubled, to nearly 580,000 (240,852 to 579,391), while the number of independents has dropped from 440,000 to 275,000, a decline of 38%.
Democratic Party registration also more than doubled (56,664 to 126,235). However, Democrats only make up 13% of all registered voters in Idaho.
(The total number of registered voters in Idaho increased from 743,000 in 2013 to 996,731 now.)
The key figure here is that, when forced to choose to qualify to vote in the primary election, Republican registration soared from 32% of registered voters to 58%. Democratic registration rose from 7% to 13%.
Independents dropped from 59% to 28%.
Not surprisingly, Republicans dominate Idaho politics. The governor, members of their Board of Public Works, both U.S. senators and both House representatives are Republican. The GOP also holds overwhelming majorities in both chambers of their state legislature (28-7 in the Senate, 59-11 in the House).
In short, restricting primaries to party members has strengthened the Idaho Republican Party even more. Supporters of the closed Republican primary in West Virginia are hoping for the same here, even though the GOP already has complete electoral dominance.
The Idaho situation is relevant, but not completely analogous, since West Virginia’s Democratic Party primary remains open. In 2026, unaffiliated voters here will still be able to vote in the primary if they choose a Democratic ballot.
One note of caution for West Virginia Republicans. Not all Idahoans are pleased with closed primaries. The group Idahoans for Open Primaries is mounting a petition drive to put the closed primary system up for a vote.
How will West Virginia’s 287,000 independent voters respond to the Republican rule change? The answer will be found in the party registration numbers for the 2026 primary election.
