Primary election wrap up

The West Virginia Weakly Reader for Saturday, May 16, 2026

May 16, 2026

The Weak In Review

Following Tuesday’s primary election, House Speaker Roger Hanshaw (R-Clay) sent a strong signal to Gov. Morrisey. The money quote from West Virginia Watch, “Memories in the Legislature last a long time, and we will remember these past few weeks.”

Senate President Randy Smith (R-Preston) acknowledged Thursday that “it was a pretty contested election.” And he told “Talk of the Town” on Morgantown radio station WAJR that he looks for the Senate to come together following the ugly primary fight between the chamber’s two factions. Smith’s rival, Sen. Tom Takubo (R-Kanawha), told WVMetroNews’ Talkline that “It was just an entire strategy based on let’s lie and make it as bad and grotesque as we can so that it just absolutely sickens people so that they don’t come out and vote.”

In a social media post, Morrisey shared a scoreboard showing “33 wins, 10 losses and 2 yet to be called.” Ogden Newspapers reporter Steven Allen Adams offered a correction and WVPublic reported that “more than a dozen of those races were unopposed, and a majority of Morrisey’s endorsements were of incumbents, who are usually considered heavy favorites in elections.” Canvassing begins Monday.

“I’ve got a big smile on my face,” said U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito to WVMetroNews Tuesday night. The Associated Press called the race for her Senate seat less than a half-hour after polls closed. She bested five GOP challengers, advancing to November to face Democrat Rachel Fetty Anderson.

Capito’s nephew, Riley Moore, had to wait to find out who his challenger will be in the November midterm election. The Democratic primary was too close to call after polls closed Tuesday evening. The Associated Press finally called the race late Wednesday afternoon in favor of Morgantown community organizer Ace Parsi. First District Congresswoman Carol Miller (R-WV) will face Democrat Vince George.

West Virginia voters shook up the state’s two top appeals courts — rejecting two Morrisey appointees to the State Supreme Court, Gerald Titus and Thomas Ewing. Intermediate Court of Appeals Judge Dan Greear also lost his race. He had been appointed by then Gov. Jim Justice (R-WV). The losses came despite hundreds of thousands of dollars that were poured into the race by outside groups.

The Justice Department is arguing that a provision of the Civil Rights Act of 1960 “empowers the United States to obtain federal election records upon written demand.” In the latest court filing, the DOJ seeks to compel Secretary of State Kris Warner to cough up sensitive voter data. West Virginia is among more than two dozen states that have refused.

“I never saw another Judge command a courtroom more completely — yet he never had to raise his voice,” from a statement by U.S. District Judge Joseph Goodwin on the death of Judge John Copenhaver, who was appointed to the federal bench by President Gerald Ford.

For U.S. Senator Jim Justice (R-WV), the Greenbrier drama started this week with lawyers for the Justice family arguing that “there is no emergency here.” The remark came in an amended court filing asking a judge to halt a federal lawsuit over control of the storied resort until a separate case the Justice family filed in Greenbrier County Circuit Court is decided. The Justices argue that White Sulfur Springs Holdings, an affiliate of TRT Holdings of Omni Hotels fame, fraudulently acquired their debt on the Greenbrier. The week ended with Carter Bank, the Justice’s longtime lender, asking the judge to dismiss the Greenbrier County suit.