2008 West Virginia Elections

West Virginia's 2008 general elections were held on 4 November 2008 with Primary elections being held on 13 May 2008. It saw a landslide Democratic victory across nearly every single office in the state.

Federal

Senate

Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller, was re-elected, defeating Republican nominee Jay Wolfe with 63% of the vote.

House of Representatives

1st congressional district

Democratic incumbent Alan Mollohan, who has represented the 1st district since 1983, easily won re-election as he faced no opposition, receiving 99.93% of the vote.

2nd congressional district

Republican incumbent Shelley Moore Capito, who has represented the 2nd district since 2001, won re-election against Democratic nominee Anne Barth, receiving 57% of the vote.

3rd congressional district

Democratic incumbent Nick Rahall, who has represented the 3rd district since 1993 (and previously represented the 4th district from 1977 to 1993) won re-election against Republican nominee Marty Gearheart, receiving 67% of the vote.

State

Constitutional officers

Governor

Incumbent Democratic Governor Joe Manchin was re-elected against Republican nominee Russell E. 'Russ' Weeks Jr., receiving 70% of the vote.

Secretary of State

Democrat Natalie Tennant won her first term with 65% of the vote over Republican Charles Theophilus Minimah.

Attorney General

Democratic incumbent Darrell McGraw was re-elected against Republican nominee Daniel W. Greear with 50.39%.

Treasurer

Democratic incumbent John Perdue, won re-election with 99.94% as he faced no opposition.

Auditor

Democratic incumbent Glen Gainer III, won re-election with 99.94% as he faced no opposition.

Commissioner of Agriculture

Democratic incumbent Gus Douglass, who has held the position of state Agriculture Commissioner since 1993 (and previously held the position from 1965 to 1989), won re-election against Republican nominee J. Michael Teets.

Legislature

State Senate

17 of the 34 members of the West Virginia Senate were up for election. The state Senate consisted of 23 Democrats and 11 Republicans. Democrats won 14 of the 17 races. This meant Democrats retained control of the State Senate and expanded that majority resulting in a 26 to 8 Democratic advantage.

State House of Delegates

All 100 members of the West Virginia House of Delegates were up for election. The state House previously consisted of 72 Democrats and 28 Republicans. Democrats won 71 of the 100 races, with Republicans gaining one seat, making the new balance of power 71–29.

Supreme Court

Two seats were up for election on the state Supreme Court of Appeals. The electoral system requires voters to "vote for no more than two" in a single election, rather than electing each seat separately. Both seats were held by Democrats.

Incumbent Justice Larry Starcher retired while Chief Justice Spike Maynard ran for re-election, but was defeated in the Democratic primary by Margaret Workman and Menis Ketchum. Ketchum and Workman faced Republican nominee Beth Walker in the general election and defeated her with 34.83% and 32.93% respectively against Walker's 32.25%.

References

External links

Elections Division
at the West Virginia Secretary of State
West Virginia
at Ballotpedia

{{2008 United States elections

2008 West Virginia elections
2008 elections in the United States by state
2008 elections
West Virginia elections
2008 elections in North America
2008 elections in the United States
November 2008 events
November 2008 events in North America
November 2008 events in the United States