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West Virginia gubernatorial election, 2016

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West Virginia Gubernatorial Election
Primary Date:
May 10, 2016
General Election Date:
November 8, 2016
November Election Winner:
Jim Justice (R)
Incumbent Prior to Election:
Earl Ray Tomblin (D)
State Executive Elections
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West Virginia’s gubernatorial race was one of the most-watched gubernatorial contests on the November 2016 ballot. Incumbent Governor Earl Ray Tomblin (D) declined to run for re-election due to term limits. Businessman Jim Justice (D) won the general election, keeping the seat in Democratic hands.

HIGHLIGHTS
  • State Senate President Bill Cole was unopposed in the Republican primary contest.
  • Businessman Jim Justice defeated former U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin and state Senate Minority Leader Jeff Kessler in the Democratic primary contest.
  • Justice won the general election on November 8, 2016.
  • Going into the election, Democrats had held the governor's seat since 2000; if they had lost the seat in 2016, Republicans would have gained trifecta control of the state.

    • This election was one of Ballotpedia's top 10 state-level races in 2016.
    Click here to read the full list.

    Overview

    Going into the election, Democrats had held the office of governor in West Virginia since 2000. In 2014, Republicans won both the state House of Delegates and state Senate, giving the party control of the state’s chambers for the first time since the 1930s and leaving West Virginia with a divided government. If Republicans had won the governor’s seat in 2016, West Virginia would have had a single-party government—a Republican state government trifecta.[1][2] This would be a fairly rapid change from 2014, when West Virginia was under Democratic trifecta control.

    Businessman Jim Justice defeated former U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin and West Virginia's state Senate Minority Leader Jeffrey Kessler in the Democratic primary contest. West Virginia's state Senate President, Bill Cole, was unopposed in the Republican primary.[3][1]

    As noted below, the race was rated as Toss-up. Justice won the general election on November 8, 2016.


    Candidates

    Jim Justice square.jpg

    Jim Justice (D)
    Coal and agriculture executive since 1977

    David Moran square.png

    David Moran (Lib.)
    Farmer, retired engineer

    Charlotte Jean Pritt.jpg

    Charlotte Jean Pritt (Mountain Party)
    Wellness consultant, former state legislator

    Phil Hudok square.JPG

    Phil Hudok (Constitution Party)
    Retired teacher

    Results

    General election

    Jim Justice defeated Bill Cole, Charlotte Jean Pritt, David Moran, and Phil Hudok in the West Virginia governor election.

    West Virginia Governor, 2016
    Party Candidate Vote % Votes
         Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Jim Justice 49.09% 350,408
         Republican Bill Cole 42.30% 301,987
         Mountain Party Charlotte Jean Pritt 5.89% 42,068
         Libertarian David Moran 2.15% 15,354
         Constitution Party Phil Hudok 0.57% 4,041
    Total Votes 713,858
    Source: West Virginia Secretary of State

    Primary elections

    Democratic primary election

     

    Jim Justice defeated Booth Goodwin and Jeff Kessler in the Democratic primary for governor.

    Democratic primary for Governor, 2016
    Candidate Vote % Votes
    Green check mark transparent.png Jim Justice 51.37% 132,704
    Booth Goodwin 25.32% 65,416
    Jeff Kessler 23.31% 60,230
    Total Votes (1,745 of 1,745 precincts reporting) 258,350
    Source: MetroNews

    Republican primary election

     

    Bill Cole ran unopposed in the Republican primary for governor.

    Republican primary for Governor, 2016
    Candidate Vote % Votes
    Green check mark transparent.png Bill Cole  (unopposed) 100.00% 161,127
    Total Votes (1,745 of 1,745 precincts reporting) 161,127
    Source: MetroNews

    About the primary

    A primary election is an election in which voters select the candidate they believe should represent a political party in a general election. Primaries usually take place several months before a general election. West Virginia utilizes a hybrid primary system. Parties decide who may vote. Both the Democratic and Republican parties allow unaffiliated voters to vote in their primaries.[4]

    West Virginia's primary election took place on May 10, 2016.

    Party control

    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
    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[5] 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

    West Virginia had a divided government at the time of the election: Democrats held the governorship, while Republicans controlled both chambers of the state legislature. The state had been under Democratic trifecta control from 2001 until the 2014 elections, when Republicans gained control of the House of Delegates and state Senate for the first time since the 1930s.

    West Virginia had been represented by Democrats in the U.S. Senate from 1958 until the 2014 election, when Shelley Moore Capito (R) won the open seat. The state's electoral votes had gone to both Democrats and Republicans over the 30 years preceding 2016, though the Republican presidential candidate had won the state every four years since 2000.[6]

    Going into the election, Democrats had held the office of governor in West Virginia since the election of Bob Wise (D) in 2000. Prior to his election, the office had changed party hands every other officeholder since 1965, with no single party controlling the seat for longer than eight years. The partisan shift in the state legislature signaled a potential shift in the 16-year dominance of Democrats in the governor’s seat.[7] If a Republican had won the 2016 election, West Virginia would have joined the expanding list of Republican state government trifectas around the country.

    Race tracking

    Race Ratings: West Virginia Governor
    Race Tracker Race Ratings
    The Cook Political Report Toss-up Toss-up
    Governing Toss-up Toss-up
    Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball Lean Republican Toss-up
    Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales Toss-up Toss-up
    Daily Kos Race Ratings Lean Republican Toss-up
    Note: Ballotpedia updates external race ratings every two weeks throughout the election season.

    Polls

    Jim Justice vs. Bill Cole
    Poll Jim Justice (D) Bill Cole (R)UndecidedMargin of errorSample size
    R.L. Repass & Partners/MetroNews
    (October 12-17, 2016)    		 44%33%9%+/-4.9408
    Garin-Hart-Yang (D-Reynolds)
    (September 13-17, 2016)    		 46%33%10%+/-5500
    R.L. Repass & Partners/MetroNews
    (August 9-28, 2016)    		 46%32%9%+/-4.7435
    Global Strategy Group (D-Justice)
    (August 1-3, 2016)    		 47%37%15%+/-4.8419
    AVERAGES 45.75% 33.75% 10.75% +/-4.85 440.5
    Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

    Endorsements

    Key endorsements, Democratic primary candidates[8][9]
    Booth GoodwinJeff KesslerJim Justice
    West Virginia Chiefs of Police AssociationUnited Food and Commercial Workers Local 23U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D)
    West Virginia Sheriffs' AssociationInternational Brotherhood of ElectriciansFormer Governor Gaston Caperton (D)
    Teamsters Local 175American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 2198United Mine Workers
    What is a key endorsement?
    Key endorsements, Republican primary candidates
    Bill Cole
    Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R)
    West Virginia Business & Industry Council
    Speaker of the House Tim Armstead (R)
    Senate Majority Leader Mitch Carmichael (R)
    U.S. Congressman Evan Jenkins (R)
    U.S. Congressman David McKinley
    What is a key endorsement?


    Campaign finance

    In West Virginia, candidates are required to file campaign finance reports at regular intervals. They were required to file:

    • Primary, first report: covers period between March 28, 2015 and March 25, 2016
    • Pre-Primary report: covers period between March 26, 2016 and April 24, 2016
    • Post-Primary report: covers period between April 25, 2016 and May 22, 2016
    • General, first report: covers period between May 23, 2016 and September 25, 2016
    • Pre-General report: covers period between September 26, 2016 and October 23, 2016
    • Post-General report: covers period between October 24, 2016 and November 20, 2016
    • 2017 annual report: covers period between November 21, 2016 and March 24, 2017

    General election

    The following chart detailed the campaign finances for Jim Justice (D) and Bill Cole (R), the two major party nominees for governor in 2016.

    Primary election


    Campaign media

    Note: If a candidate is not listed below, Ballotpedia staff were unable to locate any campaign media for that candidate. Do you know of any? Tell us!

    Democrats
    Booth Goodwin (D) Campaign website Facebook Twitter 
    Jim Justice (D) Campaign website Facebook 
    Jeff Kessler (D) Campaign website Facebook Twitter 

    		Republicans
    Bill Cole (R) Campaign website Facebook Twitter YouTube 

     

    Libertarians

    David Moran (Lib.) Facebook 

    Know of a candidate's campaign site not listed? Tell us!

    Past elections

    2012

    See also: West Virginia gubernatorial election, 2012
    Governor of West Virginia General Election, 2012
    Party Candidate Vote % Votes
         Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngEarl Ray Tomblin Incumbent 50.4% 284,758
         Republican Bill Maloney 45.7% 258,376
         Mountain Jesse Johnson 2.6% 14,614
         Libertarian David Moran 1.4% 7,653
    Total Votes 565,401
    Election results via West Virginia Secretary of State Election Results Center



    Race background

    Key election dates
    Filing deadline (major parties):
    January 30, 2016
    Primary date:
    May 10, 2016
    Filing deadline (third parties and independents):
    August 1, 2016
    Filing deadline (write-ins):
    September 20, 2016
    General election date:
    November 8, 2016
    Recount request deadline:
    TBD
    Inauguration:
    January 16, 2017

    General election

    Jim Justice tax records

    On October 24, 2016, the Charleston Gazette-Mail reported that Justice owed "millions in back taxes to some of Appalachia's most impoverished counties."[10] According to county officials in Kentucky, the unpaid taxes include $2.3 million in Knott County, $1.2 million in Pike County, $228,300 in Magoffin County, and $167,000 in Harlan County.[10] The previous day, the Associated Press ran an article detailing a series of legal issues between several of Justice's companies and its contractors—including three lawsuits alleging nonpayment for services rendered.[11] An investigation by NPR in early October 2016 found that Justice's companies owed about $15 million in taxes and fees across six states.[12]

    "It’s just absurd that a billionaire wouldn’t pay his taxes," said Knott County Judge-Executive Zach Weinberg.[10] Justice responded to the issue by stating that his companies suffered during the 2008 recession and were following the proper procedure to settle their debts while still staying open and retaining employees. "Unlike the coal companies that filed for bankruptcy and walked away from their obligations, the Justice companies are being responsible and following the agreed-upon payment plan. ... The Justice companies are taking the proper steps to make good on all MSHA commitments," said Billy Shelton, an attorney for Justice.[13]

    A spokesman for Justice's opponent Senate President Bill Cole's campaign said that "[w]ith West Virginia facing a $350 million deficit, every penny owed to the state helps. ... Instead of paying his debts, Jim Justice has spent more than $3 million on his campaign for Governor."[14] Both candidates declined a request from the Charleston Gazette-Mail to release their tax records to the public.[15]

    Primary elections

    Candidate field

    State Sen. Bill Cole was unopposed for the Republican nomination. He was elected state Senate president in 2015.

    Three candidates competed for the Democratic nomination: Booth Goodwin, Jeff Kessler, and Jim Justice.

    Kessler was voted state Senate president in 2011—replacing Earl Ray Tomblin (D), who won the 2011 gubernatorial special election, and served until 2014. Of the three candidates for the Democratic nomination, he was seen as the most liberal. [16]

    At the time of the election, Justice was a businessman and the owner of Greenbrier, a resort located in West Virginia.[17]

    Goodwin, a former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia, was the federal prosecutor in the trial stemming from one of the worst mine explosions in United States history: the 2010 explosion of West Virginia’s Upper Big Branch mine that killed 29 men.[18]

    Campaign analysis

    Karyn Bruggeman of the National Journal wrote in a January 2016 article that Booth Goodwin (D) had ties to former Senator Jay Rockefeller (D), as well as former governors Bob Wise (D) and Gaston Caperton (D). Jim Justice (D), meanwhile, was close to U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D); Justice's campaign hired several former Manchin advisers and consultants. Manchin praised Justice but did not endorse him upon his entering the race.[19]

    Goodwin is also a member of a longtime West Virginia political family, including former Senator Carte Goodwin (D), his cousin.[19]

    Bruggeman wrote that the split between Justice and Goodwin was closer to a friendly tribal split than an ideological one and that Jeff Kessler was perceived as the most liberal or progressive candidate of the three Democrats. She also wrote that money would be a bigger factor in the race than alliances; she pointed to billionaire Justice's personal wealth as a source of "unlimited personal resources" and an obstacle for Kessler and Goodwin.[19] Indeed, Justice self-funded most of his campaign and ultimately won the Democratic nomination.

    Democratic strategist Mike Plante said that a challenge for Goodwin was to define himself beyond his role as a successful prosecutor. “For the Good­win cam­paign, it’s a ques­tion of how to win a primary in a race in which Jim Justice has staked out the busi­ness con­ser­vat­ive Demo­crat­ic side and Jeff Kessler has fairly con­sist­ently been run­ning to the left,” he said.[19]

    Bruggeman wrote that whoever won the Democratic primary would have a tough race in November against the Republican nominee, state Sen­ate Pres­id­ent Bill Cole. She quoted state GOP Chair­man Con­rad Lu­cas: “We see the Demo­crat Party in com­plete dis­ar­ray as it’s be­come highly fac­tion­al­ized as they’ve lost their strong­hold on the state.”[19]

    Bruggeman said that the party planned to tie the Democratic nominee to the president, again quoting Lucas. “All three can­did­ates on the Demo­crat side have sup­por­ted Barack Obama, with Jim Justice hav­ing been a donor, Jeff Kessler hav­ing proudly pro­claimed him­self as an Obama Demo­crat, and Booth Good­win hav­ing been an at­tor­ney for the Obama ad­min­is­tra­tion,” Lu­cas said. “And if there’s any­thing West Vir­gini­ans do not ap­prove of, it’s the pres­id­ent, and cer­tainly those with ties to him will not fare well here next Novem­ber.”[19]

    Bruggeman noted that Justice donated to the Democratic National Committee for the Kentucky governor race, not to President Obama.[19]

    About the office

    Governor

    Main article: Governor of West Virginia

    The West Virginia governor is an elected constitutional officer and the head of the executive branch. The governor, who holds the highest office in West Virginia, is popularly elected every four years by a plurality and is limited to two consecutive terms.[20]

    Incumbent

    West Virginia U.S. Senator Robert Byrd's (D) death in 2010, and West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin's (D) decision to resign and run in a special election for the late U.S. senator’s seat that same year paved the way for Democrat Earl Ray Tomblin’s governorship.

    Tomblin—a 36-year veteran of the legislature of West Virginia and the longest-running senate president in the state’s history—won a special election in 2011 to fill the remainder of Manchin’s term. Tomblin went on to win a full term in 2012, narrowly defeating Republican candidate Bill Maloney by a 5 percent margin of victory. Tomblin was ineligible to seek another term in 2016 due to term limits.

    State profile

    Demographic data for West Virginia
     West VirginiaU.S.
    Total population:1,841,053316,515,021
    Land area (sq mi):24,0383,531,905
    Race and ethnicity**
    White:93.6%73.6%
    Black/African American:3.3%12.6%
    Asian:0.7%5.1%
    Native American:0.2%0.8%
    Pacific Islander:0%0.2%
    Two or more:2%3%
    Hispanic/Latino:1.4%17.1%
    Education
    High school graduation rate:85%86.7%
    College graduation rate:19.2%29.8%
    Income
    Median household income:$41,751$53,889
    Persons below poverty level:22.2%11.3%
    Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015)
    Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in West Virginia.
    **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

    Presidential voting pattern

    See also: Presidential voting trends in West Virginia

    West Virginia voted Republican in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.


    More West Virginia coverage on Ballotpedia

    See also

    West Virginia government:

    Previous elections:

    Ballotpedia exclusives:

    External links

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Politico, "Top 10 governors races of 2016," accessed January 14, 2016
    2. ↑ Slate, "Goodbye West Virginia," accessed January 19, 2016
    3. ↑ The Wall Street Journal," Jim Justice, West Virginia Billionaire, Launches Campaign for Governor," accessed January 14, 2016
    4. ↑ Fair Vote, "Congressional and Presidential Primaries: Open, Closed, Semi-Closed, and 'Top Two,'" accessed January 6, 2014
    5. ↑ Gov. Jim Justice switched his registration to Republican on August 4, 2017.
    6. ↑ National Archives and Records Administration, "Historical Election Results," accessed September 24, 2016
    7. ↑ West Virginia Legislature, "Governors of West Virginia 1863-2008," accessed January 28, 2016
    8. ↑ Jim Justice, "Endorsements," accessed April 13, 2016
    9. ↑ Jeff Kessler for Governor, accessed April 13, 2016
    10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Charleston Gazette-Mail," October 23, 2016
    11. ↑ AP, "A look at West Virginia candidate Jim Justice's debts," October 23, 2016
    12. ↑ NPR, "Billionaire Gubernatorial Candidate Owes $15 Million In Taxes And Fines," October 7, 2016
    13. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named nprjustice
    14. ↑ Bill Cole 2016 campaign website, New TV Ad Exposes Jim Justice's Record," October 19, 2016
    15. ↑ Charleston Gazette-Mail, "Cole, Justice won’t open their tax records," October 22, 2016
    16. ↑ National Journal, "Democrats Face Crowded Primary in…West Virginia," accessed January 26, 2016
    17. ↑ Wall Street Journal, "Jim Justice, West Virginia Billionaire, Launches Campaign for Governor," accessed January 26, 2016
    18. ↑ The New York Times, "No Survivors Found After West Virginia Mine Disaster,"accessed February 11, 2016
    19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 19.4 19.5 19.6 Karyn Bruggeman, National Journal, "Democrats face crowded primary in...West Virginia," January 5, 2016
    20. ↑ West Virginia Governor, "Homepage," accessed April 10, 2013
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