West Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2016
| 2016 West Virginia House Elections | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Primary | May 10, 2016 |
| General | November 8, 2016 |
| 2016 Election Results | |
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| 2016 Elections | |
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All 100 seats in the West Virginia House of Delegates were up for election in 2016. Democrats gained one seat in the November 2016 general election.
Introduction
Elections for the West Virginia House of Delegates took place in 2016. The primary election took place on May 10, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was January 30, 2016.
Majority control
- See also: Partisan composition of state houses
Heading into the election, the Republican Party held the majority in the West Virginia House of Delegates:
| West Virginia House of Delegates | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 7, 2016 | After November 8, 2016 | |
| Democratic Party | 36 | 37 | |
| Republican Party | 64 | 63 | |
| Total | 100 | 100 | |
2016 election competitiveness
West Virginia saw an increase in electoral competitiveness.
Ballotpedia conducts a yearly study of electoral competitiveness in state legislative elections. Details on how well West Virginia performed in the study are provided in the image below. Click here for the full 2016 Competitiveness Analysis »
- In the West Virginia State Senate, there were 16 Democratic incumbents and 18 Republican incumbents. Two incumbents faced primary challengers in the Democratic Party. Four incumbents faced primary challenges in the Republican primary. In the election for Senate District 3a, two Republican incumbents faced each other in the primary.
- In the House, there were 36 Democratic incumbents and 64 Republican incumbents. Seventeen state representatives faced primary opposition in the Democratic Party. There were 19 incumbents facing primary challenges in the Republican primary.
- Overall, 18.6 percent of Democratic incumbents and 21.4 percent of GOP incumbents faced primary opposition in all of the state legislatures with elections in 2016.
- The cumulative figure for how many state legislative candidates faced no major party opposition in November in these states was 41.8 percent. This compares to 32.7 percent in 2010, 38.3 percent in 2012, and 43.0 percent in 2014.
- More details on electoral competitiveness in West Virginia can be found below.
Races we watched
Ballotpedia identified nine notable West Virginia primary races in 2016, six of which were state House races.
Click here to read more about Ballotpedia's coverage of notable West Virginia races »
Primary contests
- Four Republican candidates sought the seat left open by one outgoing GOP incumbent.
- ☑ Michael Ihle (Inc.) ☐ Amanda Cadle ☐ Kathie Hess Crouse ☑ Joshua Higginbotham ☐ Robert Marchal
- Five Democratic candidates sought the seat left open by an outgoing Democratic incumbent.
- ☑ Sean Hornbuckle (Inc.) ☑ Joe Akers ☐ Justin Murdock ☐ James Stacy ☑ Matt Spurlock
- Four Democratic candidates competed for an open seat left by the Democratic incumbent.
- ☑ Ed Evans ☐ Pat McKinney ☐ Shaun Nevi ☐ Mary Shandor
- The 11-way Democratic primary contest featured two former incumbents.
- ☐ Tighe Bullock ☐ Joel Davis ☐ Randy Halsey ☐ Luke Lively ☑ Shirley Love ☑ John Pino ☐ William R. Sulesky
- ☐ Dustin Teel ☐ Greg Crist ☐ Mel Kessler ☑ Margaret Staggers
- The seven-way Republican primary contest featured two open seats vacated by GOP incumbents.
- ☑ Eric Nelson (Inc.) ☑ Moore Capito ☐ Calvin Grimm ☐ Bill Johnson ☐ Matt Kelly ☑ Charlotte Lane ☑ Keith Pauley
- The state House Speaker faced two primary challengers and criticism over labor union issues.
- ☑ Tim Armstead (Inc.) ☐ Ronald Shamblin ☐ Lewis A. Taylor
General election contests
Ballotpedia identified six notable West Virginia state general election races in 2016, one of which was a state House contest.
Click here to read more about Ballotpedia's coverage of notable West Virginia races »
- A Democrat and a Republican will compete to replace the Republican incumbent.
- ☐ Tom Tull ☑ Nancy Reagan Foster
List of candidates
General election
Primary election
Important dates and deadlines
- See also: West Virginia elections, 2016
The calendar below lists important dates for political candidates in West Virginia in 2016.
| Dates and requirements for candidates in 2016 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Deadline | Event type | Event description | |
| January 30, 2016 | Ballot access | Partisan candidate filing deadline | |
| April 1, 2016 | Campaign finance | First primary report due | |
| April 29, 2016 | Campaign finance | Pre-primary report due | |
| May 10, 2016 | Election date | Primary election | |
| June 20, 2016 | Campaign finance | Post-primary report due | |
| August 1, 2016 | Ballot access | Unaffiliated candidate filing deadline | |
| September 20, 2016 | Ballot access | Write-in candidate filing deadline | |
| September 30, 2016 | Campaign finance | First general report due | |
| October 28, 2016 | Campaign finance | Pre-general report due | |
| November 8, 2016 | Election date | General election | |
| December 19, 2016 | Campaign finance | Post-general report due | |
| March 31, 2017 | Campaign finance | Annual report due | |
| Sources: West Virginia Secretary of State, "2016 Election, Dates and Deadlines," accessed June 14, 2015 West Virginia Secretary of State, "For Non-Party Affiliated Candidates," accessed June 14, 2015 West Virginia Secretary of State, "Candidates and Voters Guide to Write-in Filing and Voting Procedures," accessed June 14, 2015 | |||
Competitiveness
Candidates unopposed by a major party
In 22 of the 100 seats up for election in 2016, there was only one major party candidate running for election. A total of 5 Democrats and 17 Republicans were guaranteed election barring unforeseen circumstances.
Two major party candidates faced off in the general election in 78 of the 100 seats up for election.
Primary challenges
Thirty-four incumbents faced primary competition on May 10. Twenty-one seats are open, leaving 45 incumbents that advanced past the primary without opposition.
Retired incumbents
Twenty-one incumbent representatives did not run for re-election, while 79 ran for re-election. The twenty-one retiring incumbents were:
| Name | Party | Current Office |
|---|---|---|
| Ryan Weld |  Republican |
House District 2 |
| Lynwood Ireland | Republican |
House District 7 |
| Anna Border | Republican |
House District 9 |
| Mike Azinger | Republican |
House District 10 |
| Scott Cadle | Republican |
House District 13 |
| James Morgan |  Democratic |
House District 16 |
| Douglas Reynolds | Democratic |
House District 17 |
| Don Perdue | Democratic |
House District 19 |
| Joshua Nelson | Republican |
House District 23 |
| Clifton Moore | Democratic |
House District 26 |
| David Perry | Democratic |
House District 32 |
| John B. McCuskey | Republican |
House District 35 |
| Chris Stansbury | Republican |
House District 35 |
| Patrick Lane | Republican |
House District 38 |
| Denise Campbell | Democratic |
House District 43 |
| Patsy Trecost II | Democratic |
House District 48 |
| William Flanigan | Republican |
House District 51 |
| Randy E. Smith | Republican |
House District 53 |
| Larry W. Faircloth | Republican |
House District 60 |
| Walter Duke | Republican |
House District 61 |
| Stephen Skinner | Democratic |
House District 67 |
Results from 2014
There were 6,057 seats in 87 chambers with elections in 2014. All three aspects of Ballotpedia's Competitiveness Index—the number of open seats, incumbents facing primary opposition, and general elections between partisan candidates—showed poor results compared to the prior election cycle. States with elections in 2014 held fewer general elections between partisan candidates. Additionally, fewer incumbents faced primary opposition and more incumbents ran for re-election than in recent years.
Since 2010, when the Competitiveness Index was established, there had not been an even-year election cycle to do statistically worse in any of the three categories. See the following chart for a breakdown of those scores between each year.
| Overall Comparison between years | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 2012 | 2014 | |
| Competitiveness Index | 36.2 | 35.8 | 31.4 |
| % Open Seats | 18.6% | 21.2% | 17.0% |
| % Inc that did face primary | 22.7% | 24.6% | 20.1% |
| % Candidates that did face major party opp | 67.3% | 61.7% | 57.0% |
The following table details West Virginia's rates for open seats, incumbents that faced primary challenges, and major party competition in the 2014 general election.
| West Virginia Legislature 2014 Competitiveness | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| % Open Seats | % Inc that did face primary | % Candidates that did face major party opp | Competitiveness Index | Overall rank |
| 9.4% | 31.1% | 83.8% | 41.4 | 9 |
Historical context
Uncontested elections: In 2014, 32.8 percent of Americans lived in states with an uncontested state senate election. Similarly, 40.4 percent of Americans lived in states with uncontested house elections. Primary elections were uncontested even more frequently, with 61 percent of people living in states with no contested primaries. Uncontested elections often occur in locations that are so politically one-sided that the result of an election would be a foregone conclusion regardless of whether it was contested or not.
Open seats: In most cases, an incumbent will run for re-election, which decreases the number of open seats available. In 2014, 83 percent of the 6,057 seats up for election saw the incumbent running for re-election. The states that impose term limits on their legislatures typically see a higher percentage of open seats in a given year because a portion of incumbents in each election are forced to leave office. Overall, the number of open seats decreased from 2012 to 2014, dropping from 21.2 percent in 2012 to 17.0 percent in 2014.
Incumbent win rates: Ballotpedia's competitiveness analysis of elections between 1972 and 2014 documented the high propensity for incumbents to win re-election in state legislative elections. In fact, since 1972, the win rate for incumbents had not dropped below 90 percent—with the exception of 1974, when 88 percent of incumbents were re-elected to their seats. Perhaps most importantly, the win rate for incumbents generally increased over time. In 2014, 96.5 percent of incumbents were able to retain their seats. Common convention holds that incumbents are able to leverage their office to maintain their seat. However, the high incumbent win rate may actually be a result of incumbents being more likely to hold seats in districts that are considered safe for their party.
Marginal primaries: Often, competitiveness is measured by examining the rate of elections that have been won by amounts that are considered marginal (5 percent or less). During the 2014 election, 90.1 percent of primary and general election races were won by margins higher than 5 percent. Interestingly, it is usually the case that only one of the two races—primary or general—will be competitive at a time. This means that if a district's general election is competitive, typically one or more of the district's primaries were won by more than 5 percent. The reverse is also true: If a district sees a competitive primary, it is unlikely that the general election for that district will be won by less than 5 percent. Primaries often see very low voter turnout in comparison to general elections. In 2014, there were only 27 million voters for state legislative primaries, but approximately 107 million voters for the state legislative general elections.
Campaign contributions
The following chart shows how many candidates ran for State House in West Virginia in past years and the cumulative amount of campaign contributions in State House races, including contributions in both primary and general election contests.[2]
| West Virginia House of Delegates Donations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Candidates | Amount |
| 2014 | 262 | $5,604,584 |
| 2012 | 257 | $5,032,163 |
| 2010 | 233 | $4,859,441 |
| 2008 | 237 | $4,325,554 |
| 2006 | 243 | $4,880,089 |
State comparison
The map below shows the average contributions to 2014 candidates for state houses. The average contributions raised by state house candidates in 2014 was $59,983. West Virginia, at $21,392 per candidate, is ranked 34 of 45 for state house chambers with the highest average contributions. Hover your mouse over a state to see the average campaign contributions for that state’s house candidates in 2014.[2][3]
Qualifications
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."
See also
External links
- West Virginia Secretary of State - Candidate filings
- West Virginia Secretary of State - Primary results
Footnotes
- ↑ Under Ballotpedia's competitiveness criteria, districts that have a margin of victory of less than 5 percent are considered highly competitive. Districts that have a margin of victory from 5 to 10 percent are considered mildly competitive.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 followthemoney.org, "Contributions to candidates and committees in elections in West Virginia," accessed July 28, 2015
- ↑ This map relies on data collected in July 2015.
