ICYMI: Statehouse incumbents Weld, Willis, Fluharty, Stephens win party nominations; incumbent Winzenried defeated
Incumbents overwhelmingly-except for Del. Diana Winzenreid-won the support of their parties to become the nominees to the State Legislature representing the Wheeling area.
Wheeling, W.Va. – Incumbent legislators representing districts that encompass the Wheeling area overwhelmingly won their parties nominations on May 14. Del. Diana Winzenreid, Republican from the House of Delegates District 4 was the only incumbent to lose.
Senator Ryan Weld captured the Republican nomination for West Virginia State Senate District 1 during the primary election, defeating rightwing challenger Scott Adams. District one comprises the counties of Hancock, Brooke, Ohio, and parts of Marshall.

The race quickly turned dirty when the West Virginia Family Foundation, who supported Adams, accused Weld of passing a bill that protects “pedophiles”. In an ad circulated throughout the panhandle by the group, a 2022 bill–SB 616–was labeled “The Epstein Bill,” and the group alleged its purpose was to protect sexual abusers by sealing court cases related to minors.
In fact, the bill protects victims of sexual assault by concealing their information from the public record. The bill, now law, includes exceptions allowing documents to be released pursuant to a judge’s order, when required by law, or when necessary for law-enforcement to prepare for court proceedings.
Weld was first elected to the state senate in 2016 when he defeated former Senator Jack Yost. He faces no Democratic opponent in November–all but ensuring a third term for the senior senator.
Wheeling–a city with just under 27,000 people–should be represented by one or two members in the House of Delegates; however, four districts contain parts of the city’s municipal borders.


District 3, comprising most of Brooke County and parts of Ohio County, including small portions of Warwood, saw incumbent Del. Jimmy Willis win reelection in an uncontested primary. Willis will face David Cantrell, union worker, in the general election. Cantrell ran unopposed, as well.
Willis was first elected in 2022 after defeating Democratic nominee Phil Diserio. In 2022, Willis garnered 1,181 votes in an uncontested primary. This year, Willis again run unopposed, but received some 600 more votes during the primary election.


District 4, comprising portions of Ohio County, including Wheeling’s suburban-style neighborhoods, saw the biggest upset in the region when incumbent Del. Diana Winzenreid was soundly defeated in the Republican primary by Bill Flanigan, private attorney.
Winzenreid was appointed by Gov. Jim Justice in June 2023 to replace retiring Del. Erikka Storch. Winzenreid bucked her party several times during the 2024 legislative session, particularly when she was the lone Republican no-vote on the “Women’s Bill of Rights”. Winzenreid cited Wheeling’s Human Rights Act and Councilor Rosemary Ketchum–the first openly transgender elected official in the state–for her reasons to oppose the bill.
Flannigan will face Ohio Valley MMA owner Jonathan Haught in November. Haught ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.


District 5, comprising the urban core of Wheeling, saw both the Democratic and Republican primaries hold uncontested primaries. Incumbent Delegate and Minority Whip Shawn Fluharty will face Thomas Salkovick, public school teacher, in November.


District 6, comprising parts of Marshall County including portions of Wheeling along Big Wheeling Creek, saw incumbent Del. Jeff Stephens narrowly win the Republican nomination against Jason Padlow. Padlow spent little in the race compared to Stephens, but managed to come within 33 votes to the incumbent.
Stephens will face Cody Cumpston, union worker, in the November general election. Cumpston was appointed by the Marshall County Democratic Executive Committee as no candidate from the party filed for the election. Due to his appointment after state deadlines, Cumpston did not appear on the primary ballot.
The only woman to represent Wheeling in the State Legislature will be freshman Sen. Laura Wakim Chapman (R-Ohio).
In the rest of the state, incumbents received overwhelming support from their party voters with a few major exceptions.
In the State Senate, four Republican incumbents were defeated in their primaries. Most notably, Senate President Craig Blair, District 15, was defeated by Martinsburg attorney Tom Willis. Blair faced pushback from rightwing members of the senate during his time in leadership.
With Blair’s defeat, the State Senate of the 87th West Virginia Legislature will begin with a fight to choose the next Senate leader.
Republicans will control the Senate in 2025-26. Only one Democratic member, Sen. Mike Woelfel, District 5, is safe this election, and the Democratic party has candidates in just nine of the seventeen races this November. In a best case scenario for the party, Democrats could control ten of the thirty-four seats.
Senators Mike Maroney, District 2, Chandler Swope, District 6, and Robert Karnes, District 11, were also defeated in their respective Republican primaries. Maroney and Karnes were soundly defeated on May 14 by Chris Rose and Robbie Morris, respectively, while Swope lost narrowly to challenger Craig Hart by just over 500 votes.
A look at the statewide results for House of Delegates tells two stories–that incumbents are favored by their party’s bases, and that uncontested primaries reign supreme. Most of the Democratic and Republican primaries saw no challenger, securing the lone candidates’ path to the nomination.
Just four incumbent delegates were defeated in their primaries. As discussed, Winzenreid lost in District 4. Del. David Adkins of District 30 (R-Lincoln Co.) lost to challenger Jeff Eldridge, Del. Heather Tulley (R-Nicholas Co.) lost to Stanley Adkins, and Del. Don Forsht (R-Berkeley Co.) lost to Joseph de Soto.
The Democratic party left forty-one districts uncontested, paving the way for Republican nominees to all but win those races in November. The Republican party, on the other hand, only left two districts uncontested. If Democratic nominees win all their races–and that’s a big if–they would regain the House of Delegates for the first time since losing the chamber in the 2014 general election.
The general election will take place on November 5. The deadline to register to vote or update your voter registration is October 15. Those wishing to participate in the general election can visit the West Virginia Secretary of State’s website to register to vote.