Governor of West Virginia

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	West Virginia Governor
	; ; ;
	General information
Office Type:	Partisan
Office website:	Official Link
Compensation:	$150,000
2024 FY Budget:	$6,489,034
Term limits:	2 consecutive terms
	Structure
Length of term:	4 years
Authority:	West Virginia Constitution, Article VII, Section 5
Selection Method:	Elected
	Current Officeholder
	Governor of West Virginia Jim Justice; Republican Party; Assumed office: January 16, 2017
	Elections
Next election:	November 7, 2028
Last election:	November 5, 2024
	Other West Virginia Executive Offices
	Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General • Treasurer • Auditor • Superintendent of Education• Agriculture Commissioner • Insurance Commissioner• Natural Resources Commissioner • Secretary of Commerce • Commissioner of Labor • Public Service Commission

The Governor of the State of West Virginia is an elected constitutional officer, the head of the executive branch and the highest state office in West Virginia. The Governor is popularly elected every four years by a plurality and is limited to two consecutive terms.^[1]

West Virginia has a Republican trifecta. The Republican Party controls the office of governor and both chambers of the state legislature.

West Virginia has a Republican triplex. The Republican Party controls the offices of governor, secretary of state, and attorney general.

See also: West Virginia State Legislature, West Virginia House of Representatives, West Virginia State Senate

Current officeholder

The 36th and current governor is Jim Justice, a Republican who won election on November 8, 2016, as a member of the Democratic Party. He assumed office on January 16, 2017.^[2]^[3] Justice announced on August 3, 2017 that he would re-register as a Republican.

Authority

The state Constitution addresses the office of the governor in Article VII, West Virginia Constitution.

Under Article VII, Section 5:

The chief executive power shall be vested in the governor...

Qualifications

A candidate for governor must be:

a citizen of the United States
a resident of West Virginia for at least five years preceding the election
a duly qualified elector of West Virginia
at least 30 years old^[4]

Additionally, the Governor may hold no federal office and no state office aide from the governorship.

Under Article IV, Section 10, no individual who has fought a duel with deadly weapons, sent a challenge for such a duel, or knowingly acted as a second in such a duel in West Virginia or in any other state may hold any office in West Virginia.

Vacancies

See also: How gubernatorial vacancies are filled

Details of vacancy appointments are addressed under Article VII, Section 16.

If a sitting Governor dies, resigns, is removed or impeached, is absent, or is unable to discharge the office, temporarily or permanently, the President of the Senate shall succeed to the office as Acting Governor.

After the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Delegates is the next in line. If the governorship if vacant and neither of the two aforementioned officers is able to serve, a joint session of the legislature shall vote on an Acting Governor.

The Acting Governor only completes the term when less than one year remains; otherwise, a special election is held at the next general election.

Duties

The governor is the chief executive of West Virginia. She is the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces (§ 12) and is charged by the West Virginia Constitution with carrying out the state's laws (§ 5).

Other duties and privileges of the office include:

Addressing the General Assembly at the commencement of each regular legislative session on the state of the state, making recommendation for legislation, and giving an accounting of the budget to the legislature (§ 6)

Convening the legislature in extraordinary session by proclamation (§ 7)

Nominating and, with the advice and the consent of the Senate, appointing all officers not otherwise provided for (§ 8)

Making recess appointments to fill vacancies for all non-elective offices when the Senate is not meeting (§ 9)

Removing any appointed officer for "...incompetency, neglect of duty, gross immorality, or malfeasance in office..." (§ 10)

Remitting fines and forfeitures, remitting capital sentences unless the conviction was made by the House of Delegates, and granting pardons and commutations (§ 11)

Requiring additional security from state officers required to execute bonds at her discretion and declaring the office vacant if the officeholder does not make the additional security (§ 13)

Vetoing bills (§ 14), including appropriations (§ 15), subject to a majority override of the legislature

Filling vacancies in the offices of the Secretary of State, Auditor, Treasurer, Commissioner of Agriculture and Attorney General (§ 17)

Requiring a semiannual report, under oath or affirmation, from the subordinate officers of all executive departments and public institutions, concerning each office's collection and disbursement of public moneys (§ 17)

Requiring reports from the heads of each executive department and state institution concerning each office's "condition, management, and expenses," not to be made less than ten days before the start of the regular legislative session. The governor shall communicate the findings of such reports to the legislature in her address (§ 18)^[5]

Elections

West Virginia state government organizational chart

West Virginia elects governors in the presidential election years. Legally, the gubernatorial inauguration is always set for the first Monday after the second Wednesday in January following the election.

Term limits

See also: States with gubernatorial term limits

West Virginia governors are restricted to two consecutive terms in office, after which they must wait one term before being eligible to run again.

West Virginia Constitution, Article VII, Section 4

A person who has been elected or who has served as governor during all or any part of two consecutive terms shall be ineligible for the office of governor during any part of the term immediately following the second of the two consecutive terms.

Partisan composition

The chart below shows the partisan composition of the Office of the Governor of West Virginia from 1992 to 2013.

2024

See also: West Virginia gubernatorial election, 2024

General election

General election for Governor of West Virginia

The following candidates ran in the general election for Governor of West Virginia on November 5, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Patrick Morrisey (R)	63.6	389,019
	Steve Williams (D)	30.0	183,274
	Erika Kolenich (L)	3.0	18,100
	S. Marshall Wilson (Constitution Party)	2.3	14,298
	Chase Linko-Looper (Mountain Party)	1.1	6,937
	Quintin Gerard Caldwell (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	0
	Troy Green (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	0
	William Meadows (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	0

	There were no incumbents in this race. Source	Total votes: 611,628
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Governor of West Virginia

Steve Williams advanced from the Democratic primary for Governor of West Virginia on May 14, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Steve Williams	100.0	89,576

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 89,576
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Governor of West Virginia

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for Governor of West Virginia on May 14, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Patrick Morrisey	33.3	75,146
	Moore Capito	27.5	62,224
	Chris Miller	20.4	46,062
	Mac Warner	16.0	36,199
	Mitch Roberts	1.4	3,142
	Kevin Christian	1.4	3,093

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 225,866
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

John B. McCuskey (R)
Rashida Yost (R)

Mountain Party primary election

Mountain Party primary for Governor of West Virginia

Chase Linko-Looper advanced from the Mountain Party primary for Governor of West Virginia on May 14, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Chase Linko-Looper	100.0	382

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 382
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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