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West Virginia State Senate elections, 2018
- General election: Nov. 6
- Voter registration deadline: Oct. 16
- Early voting: Oct. 24 - Nov. 3
- Absentee voting deadline: Nov. 5
- Online registration: Yes
- Same-day registration: No
- Voter ID: Non-photo ID required
- Poll times: 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
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| 2018 West Virginia Senate elections | |
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| General | November 6, 2018 |
| Primary | May 8, 2018 |
| Past election results |
| 2016・2014・2012・2010・2008 2006・2004・2002・2000 |
| 2018 elections | |
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Republicans held their veto-proof majority in the 2018 elections for West Virginia State Senate, since, after the election, they controlled 20 seats to Democrats' 14. Seventeen Senate seats out of the chamber's 34 seats were up for election. At the time of the election, Republicans held 22 seats to Democrats' 12.
The Republican Party maintained its trifecta in West Virginia in 2018 by holding its majorities in the state Senate and House.
Because state senators in West Virginia serve four-year terms, winning candidates in this election served through 2022 and played a role in West Virginia's redistricting process. Congressional and state legislative district boundaries are drawn by the state legislature. Read more below.
The West Virginia State Senate was one of 87 state legislative chambers with elections in 2018. Half of the chamber's seats are up for election every two years. There are 99 chambers throughout the country.
For more information about the Democratic primary, click here.
For more information about the Republican primary, click here.
Post-election analysis
- See also: State legislative elections, 2018
The Republican Party maintained supermajority status in both chambers of the West Virginia State Legislature in the 2018 election. In the state Senate, 17 out of 34 seats were up for election. The Republican West Virginia State Senate supermajority was reduced from 22-12 to 20-14. Three Republican incumbents were defeated in the primary and two Republican incumbents were defeated in the general election.
The West Virginia House of Delegates held elections for all 100 seats. The Republican supermajority in the House of Delegates was reduced. Before the election, Republicans held 63 seats, Democrats held 35 seats, an independent held one seat, and one seat was vacant. Following the election, Republicans held 59 seats and Democrats held 41 seats. One Democratic incumbent and one Republican incumbent were defeated in the primary and twelve incumbents were defeated in the general election; four Democrats, seven Republicans, and one independent.
National background
On November 6, 2018, 87 of the nation's 99 state legislative chambers held regularly scheduled elections for 6,073 of 7,383 total seats, meaning that nearly 82 percent of all state legislative seats were up for election.
- Entering the 2018 election, Democrats held 42.6 percent, Republicans held 56.8 percent, and independents and other parties held 0.6 percent of the seats up for regular election.
- Following the 2018 election, Democrats held 47.3 percent, Republicans held 52.3 percent, and independents and other parties held 0.4 percent of the seats up for regular election.
- A total of 469 incumbents were defeated over the course of the election cycle, with roughly one-third of them defeated in the primary.
Want more information?
- Incumbents defeated in 2018's state legislative elections
- 2018 election analysis: Partisan balance of state legislative chambers
- 2018 election analysis: Number of state legislators by party
- 2018 election analysis: State legislative supermajorities
Candidates
General election
West Virginia State Senate General Election 2018 |
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| Office | Other | ||
| District 1 |
Ryan Ferns (i) |
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| District 2 |
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| District 3 |
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| District 4 |
Amy Nichole Grady (Independent) |
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| District 5 |
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| District 6 |
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| District 7 |
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| District 8 |
Ed Gaunch (i) |
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| District 9 |
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| District 10 |
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| District 11 |
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| District 12 |
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| District 13 |
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| District 14 |
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| District 15 |
Jason Armentrout (Independent) |
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| District 16 |
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| District 17 |
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Primary election
The candidate list below is based on a certified primary candidate list provided by the West Virginia Secretary of State on February 13, 2018. The filing deadline for the May primary was on January 27, 2018. (I) denotes an incumbent.[1]
Margins of victory
A margin of victory (MOV) analysis for the 2018 West Virginia State Senate races is presented in this section. MOV represents the percentage of total votes that separated the winner and the second-place finisher. For example, if the winner of a race received 47 percent of the vote and the second-place finisher received 45 percent of the vote, the MOV is 2 percent.
The table below presents the following figures for each party:
- Elections won
- Elections won by less than 10 percentage points
- Elections won without opposition
- Average margin of victory[2]
| West Virginia State Senate: 2018 Margin of Victory Analysis | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Elections won | Elections won by less than 10% | Unopposed elections | Average margin of victory[2] |
| Total | ||||
The margin of victory in each race is presented below. The list is sorted from the closest MOV to the largest (including unopposed races).
Seats flipped
The below map displays each seat in the West Virginia State Senate which changed partisan hands as a result of the 2018 elections, shaded according to the partisan affiliation of the winner in 2018. Hover over a shaded district for more information.
| State legislative seats flipped in 2018, West Virginia State Senate | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| District | Incumbent | 2018 winner | Direction of flip |
| West Virginia State Senate District 1 | R to D | ||
| West Virginia State Senate District 8 | R to D | ||
Process to become a candidate
See statutes: Chapter 3, Article 5 of the West Virginia Code
Political party candidates
Before raising money for a campaign, a candidate must file a pre-candidacy registration form. The form must identify a campaign treasurer, who will be responsible for the campaign's financial transactions. A candidate must file a certificate of announcement declaring his or her candidacy with the West Virginia Secretary of State. The candidate must pay a filing fee, which is calculated as a percentage of the salary of the office sought. The candidate must also file a financial disclosure statement with the West Virginia Ethics Commission within 10 days of filing the certificate of announcement.[3][4][5]
Independent candidates
An independent candidate must gain authorization to collect petition signatures by obtaining an official credentials form from the county clerk in each county in which the candidate wishes to collect signatures. This form must be presented to each voter canvassed or solicited.[3][6]
The candidate must obtain a candidate nomination petition at the time of gaining authorization. The candidate must obtain signatures equaling at least 1 percent of the entire vote cast at the last preceding general election for the office being sought (or at least 25 signatures).[3][7][8]
The candidate must file the certificate of announcement and nominating petition with the appropriate office. An independent candidate must also pay a filing fee (the same as that paid by political party candidates).[3][9]
Write-in candidates
A write-in candidate must file a certificate of announcement with the West Virginia Secretary of State. Write-in candidates are not listed on the ballot, but a list of official write-in candidates is posted at each polling place during early voting and on Election Day.[3]
A write-in candidate is not required to pay a filing fee or collect signatures.[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."
Salaries and per diem
- See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries
| State legislative salaries, 2024[10] | |
|---|---|
| Salary | Per diem |
| $20,000/year | $75/day for members who commute daily. $175/day for members who do not commute daily. |
When sworn in
West Virginia legislators assume office on the first day of December following their election.[11]
West Virginia political history
Party control
2018
In the 2018 elections, the Republican majority in the West Virginia State Senate was reduced from 22-12 to 20-14.
| West Virginia State Senate | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 6, 2018 | After November 7, 2018 | |
| Democratic Party | 12 | 14 | |
| Republican Party | 22 | 20 | |
| Total | 34 | 34 | |
2016
In the 2016 elections, Republicans increased their majority in the West Virginia State Senate from 18-16 to 22-12.
| West Virginia State Senate | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 7, 2016 | After November 8, 2016 | |
| Democratic Party | 16 | 12 | |
| Republican Party | 18 | 22 | |
| Total | 34 | 34 | |
Trifectas
A state government trifecta is a term that describes single-party government, when one political party holds the governor's office and has majorities in both chambers of the legislature in a state government. Republicans gained control of the state Senate and state House in the 2014 elections, moving West Virginia's state government to divided control. Prior to that, Democrats had held a trifecta since the 2000 elections. In 2016, West Virginia elected a Democratic governor, Jim Justice, to a four-year term. On August 3, 2017, Justice announced that he would switch to the Republican Party effective August 4, 2017. Because both the state Senate and state House were majority-Republican, this made West Virginia a Republican state government trifecta.
West Virginia Party Control: 1992-2024
Nineteen years of Democratic trifectas • Seven years of Republican trifectas
| Year | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
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| Governor | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D[12] | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
| Senate | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
| House | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
Wave election analysis
- See also: Wave elections (1918-2016)
The term wave election is frequently used to describe an election cycle in which one party makes significant electoral gains. How many seats would Republicans have had to lose for the 2018 midterm election to be considered a wave election?
Ballotpedia examined the results of the 50 election cycles that occurred between 1918 and 2016—spanning from President Woodrow Wilson's (D) second midterm in 1918 to Donald Trump's (R) first presidential election in 2016. We define wave elections as the 20 percent of elections in that period resulting in the greatest seat swings against the president's party.
Applying this definition to state legislative elections, we found that Republicans needed to lose 494 seats for 2018 to qualify as a wave election.
The chart below shows the number of seats the president's party lost in the 10 state legislative waves from 1918 to 2016. Click here to read the full report.
| State legislative wave elections | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | President | Party | Election type | State legislative seats change | Elections analyzed[13] | |
| 1932 | Hoover | R | Presidential | -1,022 | 7,365 | |
| 1922 | Harding | R | First midterm | -907 | 6,907 | |
| 1966 | Johnson | D | First midterm[14] | -782 | 7,561 | |
| 1938 | Roosevelt | D | Second midterm | -769 | 7,179 | |
| 1958 | Eisenhower | R | Second midterm | -702 | 7,627 | |
| 2010 | Obama | D | First midterm | -702 | 7,306 | |
| 1974 | Ford | R | Second midterm[15] | -695 | 7,481 | |
| 1920 | Wilson | D | Presidential | -654 | 6,835 | |
| 1930 | Hoover | R | Presidential | -640 | 7,361 | |
| 1954 | Eisenhower | R | First midterm | -494 | 7,513 | |
Competitiveness
Every year, Ballotpedia uses official candidate lists from each state to examine the competitiveness of every state legislative race in the country. Nationally, there has been a steady decline in electoral competitiveness since 2010. Most notable is that the number of districts with general election competition has dropped by more than 10 percent.
Results from 2016
Click here to read the full study »
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.
Redistricting in West Virginia
- See also: Redistricting in West Virginia
Because state senators in West Virginia serve four-year terms, winning candidates in the 2018 election served through 2022 and played a role in West Virginia's redistricting process—the drawing of boundary lines for congressional and state legislative districts. Prior to 2020-2022, redistricting last took place in West Virginia from 2010-2012.
State legislature districts in the 2010-2012 redistricting process
On August 5, 2011, the state legislature approved a state Senate redistricting plan, which was signed into law by the governor on August 18, 2011. On August 21, 2011, the legislature approved a state House redistricting plan, which was signed into law on September 2, 2011. Challenges were filed against the state legislative district maps, but the maps were ultimately upheld.[16]
Pivot Counties
- See also: Pivot Counties by state
There are no pivot counties in West Virginia. Pivot Counties are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.
In the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump (R) won West Virginia with 68.5 percent of the vote. Hillary Clinton (D) received 26.4 percent. In presidential elections between 1900 and 2016, West Virginia cast votes for the winning presidential candidate 76.7 percent of the time. In that same time frame, West Virginia supported Democratic and Republican candidates for president equally. West Virginia favored Republicans in every presidential election between 2000 and 2016.
Presidential results by legislative district
The following table details results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections by state Senate districts in West Virginia. Click [show] to expand the table. The "Obama," "Romney," "Clinton," and "Trump" columns describe the percent of the vote each presidential candidate received in the district. The "2012 Margin" and "2016 Margin" columns describe the margin of victory between the two presidential candidates in those years. The "Party Control" column notes which party held that seat heading into the 2018 general election. Data on the results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections broken down by state legislative districts was compiled by Daily Kos.[17][18]
| In 2012, Mitt Romney (R) won all 17 state Senate districts in West Virginia with an average margin of victory of 26.9 points. In 2016, Donald Trump (R) won all 17 state Senate districts in West Virginia with an average margin of victory of 42.2 points. Trump won six districts controlled by Democrats heading into the 2018 elections. |
| 2016 presidential results by state Senate District | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District | Obama | Romney | 2012 Margin | Clinton | Trump | 2016 Margin | Party Control |
| 1 | 38.88% | 58.94% | R+20.1 | 27.77% | 66.65% | R+38.9 | R |
| 2 | 32.77% | 64.68% | R+31.9 | 20.86% | 73.96% | R+53.1 | R |
| 3 | 33.26% | 64.91% | R+31.6 | 22.79% | 72.18% | R+49.4 | R |
| 4 | 33.03% | 64.83% | R+31.8 | 22.59% | 72.89% | R+50.3 | R |
| 5 | 41.38% | 56.74% | R+15.4 | 33.31% | 61.36% | R+28.1 | D |
| 6 | 28.09% | 69.87% | R+41.8 | 19.59% | 77.10% | R+57.5 | R |
| 7 | 31.06% | 66.37% | R+35.3 | 18.66% | 77.58% | R+58.9 | D |
| 8 | 43.81% | 54.51% | R+10.7 | 36.28% | 59.06% | R+22.8 | R |
| 9 | 25.85% | 72.38% | R+46.5 | 20.13% | 76.29% | R+56.2 | R |
| 10 | 35.71% | 61.86% | R+26.2 | 25.84% | 69.41% | R+43.6 | D |
| 11 | 30.14% | 67.43% | R+37.3 | 20.73% | 74.93% | R+54.2 | R |
| 12 | 35.90% | 61.82% | R+25.9 | 25.47% | 69.53% | R+44.1 | D |
| 13 | 45.16% | 52.30% | R+7.1 | 39.62% | 52.80% | R+13.2 | D |
| 14 | 29.97% | 67.35% | R+37.4 | 22.28% | 72.74% | R+50.5 | R |
| 15 | 30.42% | 67.50% | R+37.1 | 20.63% | 74.76% | R+54.1 | R |
| 16 | 46.00% | 51.87% | R+5.9 | 37.53% | 56.75% | R+19.2 | D |
| 17 | 41.63% | 56.74% | R+15.1 | 36.10% | 59.06% | R+23 | R |
| Total | 35.54% | 62.30% | R+26.8 | 26.48% | 68.63% | R+42.2 | - |
| Source: Daily Kos | |||||||
See also
- West Virginia State Senate
- West Virginia State Legislature
- State legislative elections, 2018
- West Virginia state legislative Democratic primaries, 2018
- West Virginia state legislative Republican primaries, 2018
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "Candidate Listing By Office: 2018 Primary," accessed January 29, 2018
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Excludes unopposed elections
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 West Virginia Secretary of State, "Running for Office in West Virginia," accessed April 28, 2025
- ↑ West Virginia Code, "Chapter 3-8-5(e)," accessed April 28, 2025
- ↑ West Virginia Code, "Chapter 3-5-8," accessed April 28, 2025
- ↑ West Virginia Code, "Chapter 3-5-23," accessed April 28, 2025
- ↑ West Virginia Code, "Chapter 3-5-23," accessed April 28, 2025
- ↑ West Virginia Code, "Chapter 3-5-24," accessed April 28, 2025
- ↑ West Virginia Code, "Chapter 3-5-8," accessed April 28, 2025
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "2024 Legislator Compensation," August 21, 2024
- ↑ West Virginia Constitution, "Article IV, Section 7," accessed February 9, 2021
- ↑ Gov. Jim Justice switched his registration to Republican on August 4, 2017.
- ↑ The number of state legislative seats available for analysis varied, with as many as 7,795 and as few as 6,835.
- ↑ Lyndon Johnson's (D) first term began in November 1963 after the death of President John F. Kennedy (D), who was first elected in 1960. Before Johnson had his first midterm in 1966, he was re-elected president in 1964.
- ↑ Gerald Ford's (R) first term began in August 1974 following the resignation of President Richard Nixon (R), who was first elected in 1968 and was re-elected in 1972. Because Ford only served for two full months before facing the electorate, this election is classified as Nixon's second midterm.
- ↑ All About Redistricting, "West Virginia," accessed May 7, 2015
- ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' statewide election results by congressional and legislative districts," July 9, 2013
- ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' 2016 presidential results for congressional and legislative districts," February 6, 2017
