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West Virginia elections, 2014
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West Virginia's 2014 elections U.S. Senate • U.S. House • State Senate • State House • State ballot measures • School boards • Judicial • Candidate ballot access |
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2015 →
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The state of West Virginia held elections in 2014. Below are the dates of note:
| 2014 elections and events in West Virginia | ||||
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| Signature filing deadline for party candidates | January 25, 2014 
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| Voter registration deadline for primary election | April 22, 2014
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| Primary election date | May 13, 2014
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| School board elections (9) | May 13, 2014
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| Filing deadline for independent and minor party candidates for general election | August 1, 2014
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| Filing deadline for write-in candidates running in the general election | September 16, 2014
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| Voter registration deadline for general election | October 14, 2014
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| General election date | November 4, 2014
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| Statewide ballot measures | November 4, 2014
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Below are the types of elections that were scheduled in West Virginia in 2014:
2014 elections
Races to watch in West Virginia
U.S. Congress
- 3rd Congressional District
- Rep. Nick Rahall (D) lost his bid for re-election in one of the seven most Republican districts held by Democrats. The 3rd District favored Mitt Romney by 32.2 percentage points in 2012.
- U.S. Senate
- The retirement of Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D) meant Republicans had a chance to win the seat in 2014. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito defeated West Virginia's Secretary of State Natalie Tennant and other third party candidates on November 4, 2014.
West Virginia State Legislature
Elections for the West Virginia State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on May 13, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was January 25, 2014. Heading into the election, the Democratic Party controlled the chamber. The following table details the nine districts with the smallest margin of victory in the November 6, 2012, general election.
| 2012 Margin of Victory, West Virginia State Senate | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| District | Winner | Margin of Victory | Total Votes | Top Opponent |
| District 8 | 5.8% | 36,162 | Joshua Martin | |
| District 9 | 7.2% | 33,599 | Epp Cline | |
| District 16 | 7.8% | 38,527 | James Ruland | |
| District 4 | 11.8% | 30,384 | Mike Bright | |
| District 1 | 12.5% | 20,906 | Pat McGeehan | |
| District 6 | 14% | 21,009 | Mark Wills | |
| District 13 | 34.3% | 17,118 | Casey Mayer | |
| District 11 | 35.9% | 29,499 | Margaret Kerr Beckwitth | |
| District 15 | 61.5% | 35,613 | Daniel Litten | |
Elections for the West Virginia House of Delegates took place in 2014. A primary election took place on May 13, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was January 25, 2014. Heading into the election, the Democratic Party controlled the chamber.
Elections by type
U.S. Senate
U.S. Senate elections in West Virginia
Voters in West Virginia elected one member to the U.S. Senate in the election on November 4, 2014.
| Candidate Filing Deadline | Primary Election | General Election |
|---|---|---|
Primary: A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. West Virginia utilizes a semi-closed primary system where parties may decide if unaffiliated voters can vote in their primaries.[1][2]
For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.
Voter registration: To vote in the primary, voters had to register by April 22, 2014. For the general election, the voter registration deadline was October 14, 2014.[3]
- See also: West Virginia elections, 2014
Incumbent: The election filled the Senate seat held by Jay Rockefeller, a Democrat first elected in 1984. Rockefeller did not run for re-election in 2014.
Candidates
General election candidates
Shelley Moore Capito - Representative from District 2
Natalie Tennant - West Virginia Secretary of State
John Buckley
Phil Hudok
Bob Henry Baber
Alex Weinstein - Write-in candidate[4]
May 13, 2014, primary results
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Libertarian Party Convention
Third Party Candidates
Withdrew from race
U.S. House
U.S. House of Representatives elections in West Virginia
The 2014 U.S. House of Representatives elections in West Virginia took place on November 4, 2014. Voters elected three candidates to serve in the U.S. House, one from each of the state's three congressional districts.
| Candidate Filing Deadline | Primary Election | General Election |
|---|---|---|
Primary: A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. West Virginia utilizes a semi-closed primary system where parties may decide if unaffiliated voters can vote in their primaries.[18][19]
For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.
Voter registration: To vote in the primary, voters had to register by April 22, 2014. For the general election, the voter registration deadline was October 14, 2014.[20]
- See also: West Virginia elections, 2014
Partisan breakdown
Heading into the November 4 election, the Republican Party held two of the three congressional seats from West Virginia.
| Members of the U.S. House from West Virginia -- Partisan Breakdown | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 2014 | After the 2014 Election | |
| Democratic Party | 1 | 0 | |
| Republican Party | 2 | 3 | |
| Total | 3 | 3 | |
Incumbents
Heading into the 2014 election, the incumbents for the three congressional districts were:
| Name | Party | District |
|---|---|---|
| David McKinley | 1 | |
| Shelley Moore Capito | 2 | |
| Nick Rahall | 3 |
List of candidates by district
Note: The filing deadline for candidates was January 25, 2014.
1st Congressional District
General election candidates
May 13, 2014, primary results
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2nd Congressional District
General election candidates
March 18, 2014, primary results
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Third Party Candidates
3rd Congressional District
General election candidates
May 13, 2014, primary results
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State Senate
State Senate election in West Virginia
Elections for the West Virginia State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on May 13, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was January 25, 2014.
Majority control
- See also: Partisan composition of state senates
Heading into the November 4 election, the Democratic Party held the majority in the West Virginia State Senate:
| West Virginia State Senate | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 3, 2014 | After November 4, 2014 | |
| Democratic Party | 24 | 16 | |
| Republican Party | 10 | 18 | |
| Total | 34 | 34 | |
List of candidates by district
District 1 • District 2 • District 3 • District 4 • District 5 • District 6 • District 7 • District 8 • District 9 • District 10 • District 11 • District 12 • District 13 • District 14 • District 15 • District 16 • District 17
State House
State House elections in West Virginia
Elections for the West Virginia House of Delegates took place in 2014. A primary election took place on May 13, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was January 25, 2014.
Majority control
- See also: Partisan composition of state senates
Heading into the November 4 election, the Democratic Party held the majority in the West Virginia House of Delegates:
| West Virginia House of Representatives | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 3, 2014 | After November 4, 2014 | |
| Democratic Party | 53 | 36 | |
| Republican Party | 47 | 64 | |
| Total | 100 | 100 | |
List of candidates by district
District 1 • District 2 • District 3 • District 4 • District 5 • District 6 • District 7 • District 8 • District 9 • District 10 • District 11 • District 12 • District 13 • District 14 • District 15 • District 16 • District 17 • District 18 • District 19 • District 20 • District 21 • District 22 • District 23 • District 24 • District 25 • District 26 • District 27 • District 28 • District 29 • District 30 • District 31 • District 32 • District 33 • District 34 • District 35 • District 36 • District 37 • District 38 • District 39 • District 40 • District 41 • District 42 • District 43 • District 44 • District 45 • District 46 • District 47 • District 48 • District 49 • District 50 • District 51 • District 52 • District 53 • District 54 • District 55 • District 56 • District 57 • District 58 • District 59 • District 60 • District 61 • District 62 • District 63 • District 64 • District 65 • District 66 • District 67
Statewide ballot measures
Statewide ballot measure elections in West Virginia
- See also: West Virginia 2014 ballot measures and 2014 ballot measures
One ballot measure was certified for the 2014 ballot in the state of West Virginia. The one legislatively referred constitutional amendment had to do with taxes and property.
On the ballot
November 4:
| Type | Title | Subject | Description | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LRCA | Amendment 1 | Taxes | Exempts nonprofit youth organization properties from ad valorem property taxation |
School boards
School board elections in West Virginia
In 2014, 670 of America's largest school districts held elections for 2,188 seats. These elections took place in 37 states.
State elections
A total of nine West Virginia school districts among America's largest school districts by enrollment held elections in 2014 for 28 seats. Each district held general elections on May 13, 2014. The Raleigh County school district also held a special election in 2014 for one seat.
Here are several quick facts about West Virginia's school board elections in 2014:
- An average of 1.86 candidates ran for each board seat up for election in 2014 in West Virginia’s largest school districts by enrollment, which was slightly lower than the national average of 1.89 candidates per seat.
- 10.71 percent of the school board seats on the ballot in 2014 were unopposed. This was a lower percentage than the 32.57 percent of school board seats that were unopposed nationally.
- 75 percent of the incumbents whose seats were on the ballot ran for re-election in 2014, and they retained 57.14 percent of the total seats up for election.
- A total of 12 newcomers were elected to school boards in West Virginia. They took 42.86 percent of the total seats in 2014, which was higher than the 38.19 percent of school board seats that went to newcomers nationally.
- The largest school district by enrollment with an election in 2014 was Kanawha County Schools with 28,458 K-12 students.
- The smallest school district by enrollment with an election in 2014 was Mercer County Schools with 9,611 K-12 students.
- All nine districts had three seats up for general election in 2014.
The districts listed below served 125,813 K-12 students during the 2010-2011 school year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.[35] Click on the district names for more information on the district and its school board elections.
| 2014 West Virginia School Board Elections | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| District | Date | Seats up for election | Total board seats | Student enrollment |
| Berkley County Schools | 5/13/2014 | 3 | 5 | 17,720 |
| Cabell County Schools | 5/13/2014 | 3 | 5 | 12,700 |
| Harrison County Schools | 5/13/2014 | 3 | 5 | 11,128 |
| Kanawha County Schools | 5/13/2014 | 3 | 5 | 28,458 |
| Mercer County Schools | 5/13/2014 | 3 | 5 | 9,611 |
| Monongalia County Schools | 5/13/2014 | 3 | 5 | 10,731 |
| Putnam County Schools | 5/13/2014 | 3 | 5 | 9,631 |
| Raleigh County Schools | 5/13/2014 | 3 | 5 | 12,372 |
| Wood County Schools | 5/13/2014 | 3 | 5 | 13,462 |
| Raleigh County Schools (special election) | 11/4/2014 | 1 | 5 | 12,372 |
Voting in West Virginia
- See also: Voting in West Virginia
Important voting information
- A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. West Virginia utilizes a semi-closed primary system where parties may decide if unaffiliated voters can vote in their primaries.[36][37]
For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.
- West Virginia passed legislation in 2013 authorizing online voter registration, but a system has not yet been implemented.[38][39]
Voting absentee
- See also: Absentee voting by state
For information about eligibility, deadlines, military and overseas voting and updates to the voting laws in West Virginia, please visit our absentee voting by state page.
Voting early
- See also: Early voting
West Virginia is one of 34 states that has early voting with no specific requirements as to who can vote early. Early voting begins 13 days before an election and ends three days prior to Election Day.[40] The average number of days prior to an election that voters can cast an early ballot is 21 days in states with a definitive starting date.
Voter turnout
According to records from West Virginia’s Secretary of State’s office, voter turnout has declined in West Virginia. Turnout for the 2006 midterm primary was 26 percent and 44 percent in the general election. In 2010, turnout declined to 24 percent during the midterm primary and 42 percent in the general election.[41]
“During the 2012 general election, a presidential election year, West Virginia had the lowest voter turnout in the nation with about 47 percent of voters casting ballots. The U.S. Census Bureau said West Virginia was the only state where less than half of eligible voters made it to the polls,” according to West Virginia Metro News.[41]
Elections Performance Index
West Virginia ranked 44th out of the 50 states and District of Columbia in the Pew Charitable Trusts' Elections Performance Index (EPI), based on the 2012 elections. The EPI examined election administration performance and assigned an average percentage score based on 17 indicators of election performance. These indicators were chosen in order to determine both the convenience and integrity of these three phases of an election: registration, voting and counting. West Virginia received an overall score of 57 percent.[42]
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ West Virginia State Legislature, "WV Code § 3-4A-20," accessed June 30, 2025
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "State Primary Election Types," accessed June 30, 2025
- ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State Website, "Voter Registration FAQ," accessed January 3, 2014 (dead link)
- ↑ DirectDemocracyBook.com, "Home," accessed October 15, 2014
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Associated Press, "West Virginia - Summary Vote Results," May 13, 2014
- ↑ 6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 West Virginia Secretary of State, "Candidate Listing By Office," accessed January 27, 2014 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "list" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ The Hill, "W.Va. Senate race gets interesting", accessed September 16, 2013
- ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "Candidate Detail," accessed February 3, 2014
- ↑ ThomasJosephCoyne.com, "Nominating 'Convention' Votes for Sale?" accessed July 1, 2014
- ↑ Libertarian Party of West Virginia, "John Buckley," accessed March 12, 2014
- ↑ Independent Political Report, "Phil Hudok Running as Constitution Party Candidate for U.S. Senate from West Virginia," accessed February 3, 2014
- ↑ Ballot Access News, "Mountain Party Enters West Virginia U.S. Senate Race," accessed July 23, 2014
- ↑ Register Herald, "TV newsman Martin Staunton running for Senate," accessed February 3, 2014
- ↑ West Virginia State Election Info, "2014 West Virginia Senate Elections," accessed July 23, 2014
- ↑ Zane Lawhorn, "Home," accessed July 23, 2014
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 West Virginia Secretary of State, "2014 Candidate Listing By Office," accessed October 6, 2014
- ↑ Tami Stainfield, "Home," accessed July 23, 2014
- ↑ West Virginia State Legislature, "WV Code § 3-4A-20," accessed June 30, 2025
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "State Primary Election Types," accessed June 30, 2025
- ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State Website, "Voter Registration FAQ," accessed January 3, 2014 (dead link)
- ↑ Write-inChuckWood.com, "Welcome," accessed October 15, 2014
- ↑ Fluharty4WV, "Home," accessed October 15, 2014
- ↑ Facebook.com, "Press release," accessed June 10, 2013
- ↑ Chron, "W.Va.'s 2nd district GOP primary a crowded race," accessed April 26, 2014
- ↑ Associated Press, "West Virginia - Summary Vote Results," May 13, 2014
- ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 26.3 West Virginia Gazette, "Nine Now Running for Congress," accessed July 12, 2013
- ↑ Facebook.com, "Steve Harrison 2014 Exploratory Committee," accessed February 10, 2014
- ↑ Associated Press, "West Virginia - Summary Vote Results," May 13, 2014
- ↑ Vote4DavyJones.org, "Its Time To Restore Liberty!" accessed July 11, 2014
- ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "Candidate Search," accessed February 3, 2014
- ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "Candidate Search," accessed January 27, 2014
- ↑ Associated Press, "West Virginia - Summary Vote Results," May 13, 2014
- ↑ The Hill, "Manchin's State of Union guest to challenge Rep. Nick Rahall," accessed January 20, 2014
- ↑ Washington Post, "West Virginia Democrat switches parties to challenge Rahall," accessed July 31, 2013
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed March 21, 2014
- ↑ West Virginia State Legislature, "WV Code § 3-4A-20," accessed June 30, 2025
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "State Primary Election Types," accessed June 30, 2025
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, Electronic(or Online) Voter Registration," accessed May 10, 2013
- ↑ Open States, SB477
- ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "Early voting and absentee voting," accessed January 22, 2015
- ↑ 41.0 41.1 WV Metro News, "Light voter turnout expected for Tuesday’s primary," accessed May 12, 2014
- ↑ Pew Charitable Trusts, "Election Performance Index Report," accessed April 23, 2014
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