Donald Trump wins White House; Republicans sweep statewide races

Former President Donald Trump has won his bid for re-election. Meanwhile, Republicans in West Virginia increased their Legislative majority and swept statewide races.

WHEELING, W.Va. — While the results are unofficial, former President Donald Trump appears to have clinched a win in the race to become the 47th President of the United States. He now becomes the oldest person, first impeached person, and first convicted felon to become president. He would also be just the second president to serve two non-consecutive terms.

Trump ran on a largely negative campaign, calling his political opponents the “enemy within,” “vermin,” and “absolute garbage” that he suggested the U.S. military should deal with. As well, the former president has said he would carry out mass deportations of migrants, enact tariffs against imported goods, and increase oil, natural gas, and coal production.

Still, his messaging on the economy, inflation, the border, and his contrast between his term in office and the term of President Joe Biden, appears to have appealed to voters in the several swing states, including Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania.

His Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, entered the race in late July after a dismal debate performance by then-Democratic nominee Biden. Harris attempted to appeal to conservative voters disillusioned by Trump, while failing to broadly appeal to young and progressive voters. Harris significantly underperformed Biden’s 2020 results throughout the county.

Biden’s administration has been plagued by high inflation early in his term, increasing costs on Americans, wars in Ukraine and the Levant, and a disastrous withdraw from the War in Afghanistan that led to 13 U.S. military personnel dying.

Barring any potential court cases that may—but are unlikely to—change the results, Trump will be affirmed as the next president on January 6, 2025, four years after his supporters led a siege of the U.S. Congress. On January 20, 2025, Trump will take the oath of office and become the 47th President of the United States.

It was a rough night for West Virginia Democrats, too, as Republicans outperformed their 2020 and 2022 numbers, gaining seats in the state Legislature, flipping a U.S. Senate seat, and sweeping statewide offices.

As expected, former President Donald Trump won the state of West Virginia, with Vice President Harris underperforming President Joe Biden’s 2020 results. Governor Jim Justice easily won Sen. Joe Manchin’s seat in the U.S. Senate, defeating Democratic challenger Glenn Elliott, former mayor of Wheeling. In the gubernatorial race, Attorney General Patrick Morrisey defeated former Huntington mayor Steve Williams by over 60% of the vote. 

Republicans continued their wins in other statewide races, too. Current state Auditor John “JB” McCuskey was elected as the next Attorney General; Kris Warner–brother of current Secretary of State Mac Warner–won the Secretary of State’s office; state Sen. Mark Hunt defeated perennial candidate Mary Ann Claytor to become the next state Auditor; incumbent Agriculture Commissioner Kent Leonhardt held on to his seat; and, Acting Secretary of the Department of Revenue Larry Pack became state Treasurer in an uncontested race. 

West Virginia voters narrowly approved a constitutional prohibition on medically-assisted death, something that is not practiced in the state of West Virginia. The vote came within a few thousands of votes. The new amendment may open the door for Republican legislators to reinstate the death penalty as its language specifically exempts capital punishment. 

Riley Moore will be the next Representative for the House of Representative District 2 after defeating Democrat Steven Wendelin 2 to 1. The race was left open after current Rep. Alex Mooney sought the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate. 

In the state Senate, Republican Scott Fuller defeated Democrat Ric Griffith in the fifth district, flipping the seat for the GOP. The seat had been held by Sen. Robert Plymale who did not seek re-election. Democrats now hold just two seats in the 34 member chamber.

The House of Delegates saw Democrats lose two seats as District 27 and District 52 flipped to Republicans. Democrats now hold just nine seats in the 100 member chamber. 

In Ohio County, Democratic Del. Shawn Fluharty of District 5 held his seat against Republican challenger Thomas Salkovick, increasing his win over his 2022 results. In District 3, Republican Del. Jimmy Willis soundly defeated Democrat David Cantrell. 

In District 4, left open after Republican Del. Diana Winzenreid lost her party’s primary, Republican Bill Flannigan easily defeated Democrat Jonathan Haught. In District 6, Del. Jeff Stephens narrowly won re-election as Democrat Cody Cumpston waged a surprisingly competitive race. 

Ohio County saw a voter turnout of 66.79%, a strong increase from 48.77% in 2022 and slightly above the 2020 turnout of 64.95%.

While election results remain unofficial, they are not expected to change much. 

Of the five county races on voter’s ballots, just one was contested. In the race for county Sheriff, Republican Harry Croft, Jr., won with nearly 53% of the vote against Democrat Howard Haglock. 

Republican Donald Nickerson ran uncontested for County Commissioner, with nearly 1% of the vote going to write-ins. In the uncontested race for Prosecuting Attorney, Democrat Shawn Turak won with over 1% of votes cast for write-ins. Democrat Tiffany Hoffman won her race for County Assessor–again, uncontested. 

No candidate filed for the election for County Surveyor. 453 voters wrote in a candidate. 

Write-in candidates must declare their candidacy with the Secretary of State for their votes to count. No write-in candidates met the criteria.