United States Senate election in West Virginia, 2020

	2022 → ← 2018
U.S. Senate, West Virginia
	Democratic primary; Republican primary; General election
Election details
	Filing deadline: January 25, 2020
	Primary: June 9, 2020; General: November 3, 2020; Pre-election incumbent:; Shelley Moore Capito (Republican)
How to vote
	Poll times: 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.; Voting in West Virginia
Race ratings
	Cook Political Report: Solid Republican; Inside Elections: Solid Republican; Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Republican
Ballotpedia analysis
	U.S. Senate battlegrounds; U.S. House battlegrounds; Federal and state primary competitiveness; Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2020
See also
	U.S. Senate, West Virginia; U.S. Senate • 1st • 2nd • 3rd; West Virginia elections, 2020; U.S. Congress elections, 2020; U.S. Senate elections, 2020; U.S. House elections, 2020; Alabama U.S. Senate raceAlaska U.S. Senate raceArizona U.S. Senate raceArkansas U.S. Senate raceColorado U.S. Senate raceDelaware U.S. Senate raceGeorgia U.S. Senate raceIdaho U.S. Senate raceIllinois U.S. Senate raceIowa U.S. Senate raceKansas U.S. Senate raceKentucky U.S. Senate raceLouisiana U.S. Senate raceMaine U.S. Senate raceMassachusetts U.S. Senate raceMichigan U.S. Senate raceMinnesota U.S. Senate raceMississippi U.S. Senate raceMontana U.S. Senate raceNebraska U.S. Senate raceNew Hampshire U.S. Senate raceNew Jersey U.S. Senate raceNew Mexico U.S. Senate raceNorth Carolina U.S. Senate raceOklahoma U.S. Senate raceOregon U.S. Senate raceRhode Island U.S. Senate raceSouth Carolina U.S. Senate raceSouth Dakota U.S. Senate raceTennessee U.S. Senate raceTexas U.S. Senate raceVirginia U.S. Senate raceWest Virginia U.S. Senate raceWyoming U.S. Senate raceSubmit

Voters in West Virginia elected one member to the U.S. Senate in the election on November 3, 2020.

Incumbent Shelley Moore Capito won election in the general election for U.S. Senate West Virginia.

Candidate filing deadline	Primary election	General election
January 25, 2020	June 9, 2020	November 3, 2020

The election filled the Class II Senate seat held by Shelley Moore Capito (R). Moore Capito was first elected in 2014.

Election procedure changes in 2020

See also: Changes to election dates, procedures, and administration in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020

Ballotpedia provided comprehensive coverage of how election dates and procedures changed in 2020. While the majority of changes occurred as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some changes occurred for other reasons.

West Virginia modified its absentee/mail-in voting procedures for the November 3, 2020, general election as follows:

Absentee/mail-in voting: All voters "concerned about their health and safety because of COVID-19" were eligible to vote absentee in the general election. An online absentee ballot request portal was created.

For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.

Candidates and election results

General election

General election for U.S. Senate West Virginia

Incumbent Shelley Moore Capito defeated Paula Jean Swearengin and David Moran in the general election for U.S. Senate West Virginia on November 3, 2020.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Shelley Moore Capito (R)	70.3	547,454
	Paula Jean Swearengin (D)	27.0	210,309
	David Moran (L)	2.7	21,155

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 778,918
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Franklin Riley (Unaffiliated)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. Senate West Virginia

Paula Jean Swearengin defeated Richard Ojeda and Richie Robb in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate West Virginia on June 9, 2020.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Paula Jean Swearengin	38.3	71,725
	Richard Ojeda	32.9	61,712
	Richie Robb	28.8	53,944

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 187,381
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. Senate West Virginia

Incumbent Shelley Moore Capito defeated Allen Whitt and Larry Butcher in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate West Virginia on June 9, 2020.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Shelley Moore Capito	83.3	173,331
	Allen Whitt	9.6	19,972
	Larry Butcher	7.1	14,673

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 207,976
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Ballot access requirements

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. Senate candidates in West Virginia in the 2020 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in West Virginia, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. Senate candidates, 2020
State	Office	Party	Signatures required	Signature formula	Filing fee	Filing fee formula	Filing deadline	Source
West Virginia	U.S. Senate	Recognized party	N/A	N/A	$1,740.00	1% of annual salary	1/25/2020	Source
West Virginia	U.S. Senate	Unaffiliated	4,537	1% of all votes cast in the last election for the office being sought	$1,740.00	1% of annual salary	8/3/2020	Source

Campaign finance

This section contains campaign finance figures from the Federal Election Commission covering all candidate fundraising and spending in this election.^[1] It does not include information on fundraising before the current campaign cycle or on spending by satellite groups. The numbers in this section are updated as candidates file new campaign finance reports. Candidates for Congress are required to file financial reports on a quarterly basis, as well as two weeks before any primary, runoff, or general election in which they will be on the ballot and upon the termination of any campaign committees.^[2]

Name	Party	Receipts*	Disbursements**	Cash on hand	Date
Shelley Moore Capito	Republican Party	$5,756,398	$3,967,986	$2,470,530	As of December 31, 2020
Paula Jean Swearengin	Democratic Party	$2,064,982	$1,998,997	$65,985	As of December 31, 2020
David Moran	Libertarian Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2020. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC). * According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election. * Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.

Race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.^[3]
Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.^[4]^[5]^[6]

Race ratings: U.S. Senate election in West Virginia, 2020
Race tracker	Race ratings
	November 3, 2020	October 27, 2020	October 20, 2020	October 13, 2020
The Cook Political Report	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican
Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball	Safe Republican	Safe Republican	Safe Republican	Safe Republican
Note: Ballotpedia updates external race ratings every week throughout the election season.

Election history