MORGANTOWN – Attorney General Patrick Morrisey won the GOP race for the nomination for governor on Tuesday, in a hard-fought campaign characterized by negative, often insulting campaigning.
Morrisey will face Huntington Mayor Steve Williams in November. Williams had no primary opposition.
Morrisey’s competitors were Moore Capito, former House of Delegates Judiciary chair and son of Sen. Shelley Moore Capito; Huntington businessman Chris Miller, son of Rep. Carol Miller; Secretary of State Mac Warner; Mitch Roberts, of Poca; and Kevin “KC” Christian, of Chloe.
Tuesday’s numbers almost, but not quite, aligned with recent polls. The most recent MetroNews West Virginia Poll showed Morrisey at 32%, Miller at 25%, Capito at 24% and Warner at 10%.
An Emerson College/Nexstar Media poll had Morrisey ahead at 28%, but Capito second at 25%, followed by Miller at 19% and Warner at 12%.
Early Tuesday evening, Capito was running less than 200 votes behind Morrisey but the gap widened as the evening went on.
Here’s how the votes were falling on Tuesday, with 1,637 of 1,672 precincts reporting: Morrisey, 71,737 (33%); Capito, 60,647 (28%); Miller, 44,769 (20%); Warner, 36,987 (17%); Roberts, 3,020 (1%); Christian, 2,941 (1%)
Morrisey celebrated at his campaign party in Martinsburg, noting he received postive messages from some of his rivals. “We are going to go into November unified as a party. Republicans are united and we’re ready to win.”
He continued, “Tonight we sent a message across the country and to our fellow West Virginians,” and to the D.C. swamp, Joe Biden, and the world: “You do not mess with West Virginia.”
Morrisey told his supporters, “We are not done fighting and winning for our conservative values.”
Those include the right to life, the Second Amendment, jobs, quality education and the integrity of women’s sports.
“We’re not done fighting for our West Virginia way of life. … It’s not just fighting, it’s winning.”
Warner issued a statement Tuesday evening: “We relied on our conservative Christian values, dedicated work ethic and our faith in the Republican Party platform to present our case to the voters of West Virginia. We fashioned a team of coalitions that spread our message across West Virginia and built an incredible groundswell of support from all 55 counties. I will forever be indebted to this amazing group of volunteers.
He said, “I congratulate Patrick Morrisey for becoming the Republican nominee for governor of West Virginia. It is now time for all Republicans to rally behind our nominee, and work to win in November.”
The Republican Governors Association commented, “Congratulations to Patrick Morrisey on his victory tonight in West Virginia’s Republican gubernatorial primary election. Patrick Morrisey has stood up to Democrats’ bureaucratic overreach time and time again, and he’ll continue to do just that as West Virginia’s next governor, delivering freedom and economic opportunity to West Virginians across the state.”
Figures are unofficial pending canvassing.
Email: dbeard@dominionpost.com
