West Virginia State Senate elections, 2022

Elections in West Virginia, 2022

* * *

On the ballot: • U.S. House • State Senate • House of Delegates • State ballot measures • Municipal

* Congress elections
* U.S. Congress
* U.S. Senate
* U.S. House
* Congressional special elections
* State elections
* Ballot measures
* State executives
* State legislatures
* State legislature special elections
* State supreme courts
* Intermediate appellate courts
* Local elections
* Ballot measures
* Municipal government
* School boards
* Trial courts
* Political recalls
* Voter information
* Sample ballot
* Election calendar
* Election results
* Poll opening and closing times
* Voting policies

2022 West Virginia
Senate Elections

Primary| May 10, 2022
General| November 8, 2022
Past Election Results

2020・2018・2016・2014
2012・2010・2008
2022 Elections

Choose a chamber below:

Select a state:Alabama SenateAlabama HouseAlaska SenateAlaska HouseArizona SenateArizona HouseArkansas SenateArkansas HouseCalifornia SenateCalifornia HouseColorado SenateColorado HouseConnecticut SenateConnecticut HouseDelaware SenateDelaware HouseFlorida SenateFlorida HouseGeorgia SenateGeorgia HouseHawaii SenateHawaii HouseIdaho SenateIdaho HouseIllinois SenateIllinois HouseIndiana SenateIndiana HouseIowa SenateIowa HouseKansas HouseKentucky SenateKentucky HouseMaine SenateMaine HouseMaryland SenateMaryland HouseMassachusetts SenateMassachusetts HouseMichigan SenateMichigan HouseMinnesota SenateMinnesota HouseMissouri SenateMissouri HouseMontana SenateMontana HouseNebraska SenateNevada SenateNevada HouseNew Hampshire SenateNew Hampshire HouseNew Mexico SenateNew Mexico HouseNew York SenateNew York HouseNorth Carolina SenateNorth Carolina HouseNorth Dakota SenateNorth Dakota HouseOhio SenateOhio HouseOklahoma SenateOklahoma HouseOregon SenateOregon HousePennsylvania SenatePennsylvania HouseRhode Island SenateRhode Island HouseSouth Carolina HouseSouth Dakota SenateSouth Dakota HouseTennessee SenateTennessee HouseTexas SenateTexas HouseUtah SenateUtah HouseVermont SenateVermont HouseWashington SenateWashington HouseWest Virginia SenateWest Virginia HouseWisconsin SenateWisconsin HouseWyoming SenateWyoming HouseSubmit

Elections for the West Virginia State Senate took place in 2022. The general election was on November 8, 2022. A primary was scheduled for May 10, 2022. The filing deadline was January 29, 2022.

The West Virginia State Senate was one of 88 state legislative chambers with elections in 2022. There are 99 chambers throughout the country.

## Contents

* 1 Party control
* 2 Candidates
* 3 General
* 4 Primary
* 4.1 Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses
* 4.2 Incumbents who were not re-elected
* 4.2.1 Incumbents defeated in general elections
* 4.2.2 Incumbents defeated in primary elections
* 4.2.3 Retiring incumbents
* 4.3 Primary election competitiveness
* 4.3.1 Post-filing deadline analysis
* 4.3.2 Open seats
* 4.4 Process to become a candidate
* 4.4.1 Political party candidates
* 4.4.2 Independent candidates
* 4.4.3 Write-in candidates
* 4.4.4 Qualifications
* 4.4.5 Salaries and per diem
* 4.4.6 When sworn in
* 4.5 West Virginia political history
* 4.5.1 Trifectas
* 4.5.2 Presidential politics in West Virginia
* 4.5.2.1 2020 Presidential election results
* 4.6 Voting information
* 4.7 Redistricting following the 2020 census
* 4.8 See also
* 4.9 External links
* 4.10 Footnotes

## Party control[edit]

See also: Partisan composition of state senates and State government trifectas
West Virginia State Senate

Party  | As of November 8, 2022  | After November 9, 2022
| Democratic Party | 11  | 4
| Republican Party | 23 | 30
Total |  34 |  34

## Candidates[edit]

# General[edit]

#### West Virginia State Senate General Election 2022

* Incumbents are marked with an (i) after their name.
* = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.

Office |  Democratic |  Republican | Other
District 1 |

Randy Swartzmiller

Laura Wakim Chapman

District 2 |

Eric Hayhurst

Charles Clements (i)

District 3 |

Jody Murphy

Mike Azinger (i)

District 4 |  |

Eric Tarr (i)

District 5 |

Mike Woelfel (i)

Melissa Clark

District 6 |

Tiffany Clemins

Mark R. Maynard (i)

District 7 |

Ron Stollings (i)

Mike Stuart

District 8 |

Richard Lindsay (i)

Mark Hunt

District 9 |  |

Rollan Roberts (i)

Kari Woodson (Libertarian Party)

District 10 |

Stephen Baldwin (i)

Vince Deeds

Aaron Ransom (Independent)

Did not make the ballot:
Harry Forbes (Independent)

District 11 |  |

William Hamilton (i)

District 12 |  |

Ben Queen

Austin Lynch (Libertarian Party)
Harlin Felton (Independent) (Write-in)

District 13 |

Barbara Fleischauer

Mike Oliverio

District 14 |

Amanda Pitzer

Jay Taylor

District 15 |  |

Charles S. Trump IV (i)

Robin Mills (Upwising WV)

District 16 |

Hannah Geffert (i)

Jason Barrett

District 17 |

Samuel Wood

Tom Takubo (i)

# Primary[edit]

#### West Virginia State Senate Primary 2022

* Incumbents are marked with an (i) after their name.
* = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.

Office |  Democratic |  Republican | Other
District 1 |

Owens Brown (i)
Randy Swartzmiller

Judi Varner Meyer
Laura Wakim Chapman

District 2 |

Eric Hayhurst

Charles Clements (i)

District 3 |

Jody Murphy

Mike Azinger (i)
John Kelly

District 4 |

The Democratic primary was canceled.

Eric Tarr (i)

District 5 |

Mike Woelfel (i)

Melissa Clark

District 6 |

Tiffany Clemins

Mark R. Maynard (i)
Wesley Blankenship
Sabrina Grace

District 7 |

Ron Stollings (i)

Chad McCormick
Mike Stuart

District 8 |

Richard Lindsay (i)

Andrea Garrett Kiessling (disqualified appeared on ballot)
Joshua Higginbotham
Mark Hunt
Mark Mitchem

District 9 |

The Democratic primary was canceled.

Rollan Roberts (i)
Mick Bates

District 10 |

Stephen Baldwin (i)

Vince Deeds
Thomas Perkins
Mike Steadham

District 11 |

The Democratic primary was canceled.

William Hamilton (i)

District 12 |

The Democratic primary was canceled.

Ben Queen

District 13 |

Barbara Fleischauer
Rich Jacobs

Carly Braun
Mike Oliverio

District 14 |

Amanda Pitzer

Angela Iman
William Keplinger
James Lough
Stephen Smith
Jay Taylor

District 15 |

The Democratic primary was canceled.

Charles S. Trump IV (i)

District 16 |

The Democratic primary was canceled.

Jason Barrett
Renee Wibly

District 17 |

Samuel Wood

Tom Takubo (i)
Terry Burns

## Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses[edit]

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. Click a link below to read survey responses from candidates in that district:

* District 1
* District 2
* District 3
* District 4
* District 5
* District 6
* District 7
* District 8
* District 9
* District 10
* District 11
* District 12
* District 13
* District 14
* District 15
* District 16
* District 17

## Incumbents who were not re-elected[edit]

See also: Annual State Legislative Competitiveness Report: Vol. 12, 2022

### Incumbents defeated in general elections[edit]

Four incumbents lost in the Nov. 8 general election.

Name  | Party  | Office

|
|

Ron Stollings |  Democratic | Senate District 7
Richard Lindsay |  Democratic | Senate District 8
Stephen Baldwin |  Democratic | Senate District 10
Hannah Geffert |  Democratic | Senate District 16

### Incumbents defeated in primary elections[edit]

See also: Defeated state legislative incumbents, 2022

One incumbent lost in the May 10 primaries.

Name  | Party  | Office

|
|

Owens Brown |  Democratic | Senate District 1

### Retiring incumbents[edit]

Three incumbents were not on the ballot in 2022.[1] Those incumbents were:

Name  | Party  | Office  | Reason

|
|
|

Mike Romano |  Democratic | Senate District 12 | Other office
Robert Beach |  Democratic | Senate District 13 | Retired
David Sypolt |  Republican | Senate District 14 | Retired

## Primary election competitiveness[edit]

See also: Primary election competitiveness in state and federal government, 2022

This section contains data on state legislative primary election competitiveness in West Virginia. These totals include data from all regularly-scheduled House and Senate elections. For more information about Ballotpedia's competitiveness analysis of state legislative elections, please click here.

West Virginia state legislative competitiveness, 2014-2022

Office  | Districts/
offices  | Seats  | Open seats  | Candidates  | Possible primaries  | Contested Democratic primaries  | Contested Republican primaries  | % of contested primaries  | Incumbents in contested primaries  | % of incumbents in contested primaries
2022 | 117 | 117 | 23[2] | 299 | 234 | 18 | 54 | 30.8% | 36 | 36.7%
2020 | 84 | 117 | 24 | 294 | 168 | 19 | 33 | 31.0% | 45 | 48.4%
2018 | 84 | 117 | 20 | 304 | 168 | 23 | 34 | 33.9% | 40 | 41.2%
2016 | 85 | 118 | 25 | 313 | 170 | 30 | 32 | 36.5% | 40 | 43.0%
2014 | 84 | 117 | 11 | 283 | 168 | 19 | 24 | 25.6% | 33 | 31.1%

#### Post-filing deadline analysis[edit]

The following analysis covers all state legislative districts up for election in West Virginia in 2022. Information below was calculated on Feb. 28, 2022, and may differ from information shown in the table above due to candidate replacements and withdrawals after that time.

The 2022 election cycle marked the first election following West Virginia’s redistricting process, which introduced structural changes to the state’s legislature.

Before the 2022 election cycle, the West Virginia House of Delegates used multi-member districts, with 100 seats divided between 67 districts. During the redistricting process, the legislature created 100 single-member districts. As a result, 84 of the 85 incumbents who filed for re-election did so in districts different from those they represented before 2022.

The Senate kept its multi-member districts, in which two senators represent each of the 17 districts. One seat from each district is up for election each cycle, and senators are elected to staggered four-year terms. The 13 incumbent senators seeking re-election all filed to run in the same districts they represented before redistricting.

Other takeaways from West Virginia's candidate filing deadline can be found below:

* Overall, 295 major party candidates filed for the 117 districts holding elections this year: 100 Democrats and 195 Republicans. This equals 2.5 candidates per seat, matching 2020 but lower than the 2.6 in 2018.

* Twenty-three of the 117 districts holding elections (20%) were left open, meaning no incumbents filed to run. Four were in the Senate and 19 were in the House. Among those in the House, nine were in districts that did not exist before 2022, three were in districts that were previously multi-member, and seven were in districts that remained single-member.

* Ninety-eight incumbents filed for re-election—22 Democrats and 76 Republicans. Thirty-six incumbents (37%) were set to face primary challengers as of the candidate filing deadline, the lowest percentage since 2014.

* 30.8% of possible primaries were set to be contested between multiple candidates, the lowest percentage since 2016. However, numerically, this equals 72 total contested primaries, the most since 2014. This shift was caused due to the 33 new single-member House districts.

### Open seats[edit]

The table below shows the number and percentage of open seats in the West Virginia State Senate from 2010 to 2022.[3]

Open Seats in West Virginia State Senate elections: 2010 - 2022

Year  | Total seats  | Open seats  | Seats with incumbents running for re-election
2022 | 17 | 4 (24 percent) | 17 (76 percent)
2020 | 17 | 4 (24 percent) | 13 (76 percent)
2018 | 17 | 0 (0 percent) | 17 (100 percent)
2016 | 18 | 4 (22 percent) | 14 (78 percent)
2014 | 17 | 2 (12 percent) | 15 (88 percent)
2012 | 17 | 3 (18 percent) | 14 (82 percent)
2010 | 17 | 3 (18 percent) | 14 (82 percent)

## Process to become a candidate[edit]

See also: Ballot access requirements for political candidates in West Virginia

See statutes: Chapter 3, Article 5 of the West Virginia Code

Certificate of announcement, 2013

#### Political party candidates[edit]

Before raising money for a campaign, a candidate must file a pre-candidacy registration form. The form must identify a campaign treasurer, who will be responsible for the campaign's financial transactions. A candidate must file a certificate of announcement declaring his or her candidacy with the West Virginia Secretary of State. The candidate must pay a filing fee, which is calculated as a percentage of the salary of the office sought. The candidate must also file a financial disclosure statement with the West Virginia Ethics Commission within 10 days of filing the certificate of announcement.[4][5][6]

### Independent candidates[edit]

An independent candidate must gain authorization to collect petition signatures by obtaining an official credentials form from the county clerk in each county in which the candidate wishes to collect signatures. This form must be presented to each voter canvassed or solicited.[4][7]

The candidate must obtain a candidate nomination petition at the time of gaining authorization. The candidate must obtain signatures equaling at least 1 percent of the entire vote cast at the last preceding general election for the office being sought (or at least 25 signatures).[4][8][9]

The candidate must file the certificate of announcement and nominating petition with the appropriate office. An independent candidate must also pay a filing fee (the same as that paid by political party candidates).[4][10]

### Write-in candidates[edit]

A write-in candidate must file a certificate of announcement with the West Virginia Secretary of State. Write-in candidates are not listed on the ballot, but a list of official write-in candidates is posted at each polling place during early voting and on Election Day.[4]

A write-in candidate is not required to pay a filing fee or collect signatures.[4]

### Qualifications[edit]

See also: State legislature candidate requirements by state

Section 13 of Article 6 of the West Virginia Constitution states, "No person holding any other lucrative office or employment under this state, the United States, or any foreign government; no member of Congress; and no person who is sheriff, constable, or clerk of any court of record, shall be eligible to a seat in the Legislature."

### Salaries and per diem[edit]

See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries
State legislative salaries, 2024[11]

Salary| Per diem
$20,000/year| $75/day for members who commute daily. $175/day for members who do not commute daily.

### When sworn in[edit]

See also: When state legislators assume office after a general election

West Virginia legislators assume office on the first day of December following their election.[12]

## West Virginia political history[edit]

### Trifectas[edit]

A state government trifecta is a term that describes single-party government, when one political party holds the governor's office and has majorities in both chambers of the legislature in a state government.

West Virginia Party Control: 1992-2024
Nineteen years of Democratic trifectas • Seven years of Republican trifectas

Year  | 92  | 93  | 94  | 95  | 96  | 97  | 98  | 99  | 00  | 01  | 02  | 03  | 04  | 05  | 06  | 07  | 08  | 09  | 10  | 11  | 12  | 13  | 14  | 15  | 16  | 17  | 18  | 19  | 20  | 21  | 22  | 23  | 24

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Governor | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D[13] | R | R | R | R | R | R | R
Senate | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R
House | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R

### Presidential politics in West Virginia[edit]

#### 2020 Presidential election results[edit]

#####  Presidential election in West Virginia, 2020

Candidate/Running mate

Popular votes

Electoral votes

|
|
|
|

✔ |

| Donald Trump/Mike Pence (R) |

68.6

| 545,382 | 5

| Joe Biden/Kamala D. Harris (D)  |

29.7

| 235,984 | 0

| Jo Jorgensen/Spike Cohen (L)  |

1.3

| 10,687 | 0

| Howie Hawkins/Angela Nicole Walker (Mountain Party of West Virginia)  |

0.3

| 2,599 | 0

* * *

Incumbents are bolded and underlined The results have been certified.

| Total votes: 794,652

|
|

## Voting information[edit]

See also: Voting in West Virginia

Election information in West Virginia: Nov. 8, 2022, election.

What was the voter registration deadline?

* In-person: Oct. 18, 2022
* By mail: Received by Oct. 18, 2022
* Online: Oct. 18, 2022

Was absentee/mail-in voting available to all voters?

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot request deadline?

* In-person: Nov. 2, 2022
* By mail: Received by Nov. 2, 2022
* Online: N/A

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline?

* In-person: Nov. 7, 2022
* By mail: Postmarked by Nov. 8, 2022

Was early voting available to all voters?

Yes

What were the early voting start and end dates?

Oct. 26, 2022 to Nov. 5, 2022

Were all voters required to present ID at the polls? If so, was a photo or non-photo ID required?

N/A

When were polls open on Election Day?

N/A

## Redistricting following the 2020 census[edit]

West Virginia enacted district maps for the Senate and House of Delegates on October 22, 2021.[14] On September 30, 2021, the House Redistricting Committees released a single-member district map proposal for the West Virginia House of Delegates.[15] The proposal passed the House on October 13, 2021, in a 79-20 vote and passed the Senate on October 18, 2021, in a 28-5 vote.[16] On October 5, 2021, the Senate Redistricting Committee released five map proposals for West Virginia's State Senate districts.[17] On October 11, 2021, the Senate Redistricting Committee voted to recommend Sen. Charles S. Trump IV's (R) 8th proposed senate map to the full Senate.[18] The Senate approved a map that combined aspects of previous proposals in a 31-2 vote on October 19, 2021. The map, named after Sens. Trump, Tom Takubo (R), Eric Tarr (R) Patricia Rucker (R), and Robert Karnes (R) was approved by the House in a 72-19 vote. Both the House and Senate maps were signed into law by Gov. Jim Justice (R) on October 20, 2021.[19] These maps took effect for West Virginia's 2022 legislative elections.

Below is the state Senate map in effect before and after the 2020 redistricting cycle.

### West Virginia State Senate Districts
until November 30, 2022

Click a district to compare boundaries.

### West Virginia State Senate Districts
starting December 1, 2022

Click a district to compare boundaries.

## See also[edit]

West Virginia | State Legislative Elections | News and Analysis

|
|

West Virginia State Executive Offices West Virginia State Legislature West Virginia Courts |  2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020
2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 West Virginia elections: 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 |  Party control of state government State government trifectas Partisan composition of state legislatures Partisan composition of state senates Partisan composition of state houses

## External links[edit]

| Suggest a link

|

* West Virginia State Senate

## Footnotes[edit]

1. ↑ Ballotpedia defines an incumbent as retiring if the incumbent did not file for office or filed for office but withdrew, was disqualified, or otherwise left a race in a manner other than losing the primary, primary runoff, or convention. If an incumbent runs as a write-in candidate, Ballotpedia does not consider them to be retiring. If an incumbent runs in the same chamber for a different seat, Ballotpedia does not consider them to be retiring.
2. ↑ There were four open seats in the Senate. Of the 19 open seats in the House, nine were in districts that did not exist before the 2022 election cycle. Three open seats were in districts that, before 2022, contained multiple seats. The remaining seven open seats were in districts that had been single-member districts before 2022.
3. ↑ Ballotpedia defines a seat as open if the incumbent did not file to run for re-election or filed but withdrew and did not appear on any ballot for his or her seat. If the incumbent withdrew from or did not participate in the primary but later chose to seek re-election to his or her seat as a third party or independent candidate, the seat would not be counted as open. If the incumbent retired or ran for a different seat in the same chamber, his or her original seat would be counted as open unless another incumbent from the same chamber filed to run for that seat, in which case it would not be counted as open due to the presence of an incumbent.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 West Virginia Secretary of State, "Running for Office in West Virginia," accessed December 10, 2013
5. ↑ West Virginia Code, "Chapter 3-8-5(e)," accessed December 10, 2013
6. ↑ West Virginia Code, "Chapter 3-5-8," accessed December 10, 2013
7. ↑ West Virginia Code, "Chapter 3-5-23," accessed December 10, 2013
8. ↑ West Virginia Code, "Chapter 3-5-23," accessed December 10, 2013
9. ↑ West Virginia Code, "Chapter 3-5-24," accessed December 10, 2013
10. ↑ West Virginia Code, "Chapter 3-5-8," accessed December 10, 2013
11. ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "2024 Legislator Compensation," August 21, 2024
12. ↑ West Virginia Constitution, "Article IV, Section 7," accessed February 9, 2021
13. ↑ Gov. Jim Justice switched his registration to Republican on August 4, 2017.
14. ↑ West Virginia Legislature, "Actions by the Governor," accessed October 25, 2021
15. ↑ WSAZ, "First West Virginia redistricting maps released," September 30, 2021
16. ↑ West Virginia Legislature, "Actions by the Governor," accessed October 25, 2021
17. ↑ West Virginia Legislature, "Senate Select Committee on Redistricting," accessed October 7, 2021
18. ↑ WV News, "(West Virginia) Senate Redistricting Committee selects proposed maps," October 11, 2021
19. ↑ Metro News, "After days of trying, Senate overwhelmingly passes a map of its own districts," October 19, 2021

[show]

Current members of the West Virginia State Senate

Leadership

Senate President:Randy Smith

Majority Leader:Patrick Martin

Minority Leader:Mike Woelfel

Senators

District 1

Laura Wakim Chapman (R)

Ryan Weld (R)

District 2

Charles Clements (R)

Christopher Rose (R)

District 3

Mike Azinger (R)

Donna Boley (R)

District 4

Amy Grady (R)

Eric Tarr (R)

District 5

Scott Fuller (R)

Mike Woelfel (D)

District 6

Craig Hart (R)

Mark Maynard (R)

District 7

Rupie Phillips (R)

Mike Stuart (R)

District 8

T. Kevan Bartlett (R)

Glenn Jeffries (R)

District 9

Brian Helton (R)

Rollan Roberts (R)

District 10

Vince Deeds (R)

Jack Woodrum (R)

District 11

William Hamilton (R)

Robbie Morris (R)

District 12

Patrick Martin (R)

Ben Queen (R)

District 13

Joey Garcia (D)

Mike Oliverio (R)

District 14

Randy Smith (R)

Jay Taylor (R)

District 15

Darren Thorne (R)

Tom Willis (R)

District 16

Jason Barrett (R)

Patricia Rucker (R)

District 17

Anne Charnock (R)

Tom Takubo (R)

Republican Party (32)

Democratic Party (2)

v • e

2022 Elections to State legislatures

State Senate elections|

Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kentucky • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming

* * *

State House elections|

Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Missouri • Montana • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming

* * *