The West Virginia Republican Party is the affiliate of the

United States Republican Party The Republican Party, also referred to as the GOP ("Grand Old Party"), is one of the Two-party system, two Major party, major contemporary political parties in the United States. The GOP was founded in 1854 by Abolitionism in the United Stat ...

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

. Mark Harris is the party chair. It is currently the dominant party in the state, controlling all three of West Virginia's

U.S. House The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

seats, one of the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

seats, both houses of the state legislature, and the

governorship A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

History

The Republican Party arose in 1854. The Democratic Party was an advocate of slavery and the Republican Party opposed it. There was a lot of turmoil in Virginia with the rise of the Republican Party. When the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

reached Western Virginia, there was a rise in violence against those who opposed slavery. In May 1861, people traveled to

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, to vote on secession of the state. Many Republicans had to leave the city because of the threats. Those who fled and others who lived in Western Virginia went to Wheeling to create their own government and began creating a new state, in which they were successful. The Civil War helped the Republican Party gain recognition in the state. The Civil War in West Virginia often split families apart. The Boggs family lived in Pendleton County and one son was the head of the Confederate County Court while another son was the head of the Union Home guards in the north. Today, the northern party of Pendleton County is still strongly Republican. Republicans in Hampshire and Hardy counties left after the war to form Mineral and Grant counties, which are still primarily Republican. Republicans held the control in the state until the 1870s and the Confederates began voting and holding offices. In the 1870s, the party was so weak that it endorsed a Democratic governor. Major Nathan Goff Jr. a veteran of the Civil War restructured the party. He was able to get the party to raise money and voters and recruit leaders. He led the party until the 1880s. He ran for governor in 1888 and was defeated by

Aretas B. Fleming Aretas Brooks Fleming (October 15, 1839October 13, 1923) was the List of governors of West Virginia, 8th governor of West Virginia. In 1865, he married Carrie Watson Fleming, Carrie Watson."West Virginia's First Ladies," West Virginia Division of ...

despite having more votes. The Republicans were the dominant party until the Great Depression. Since the Depression, Democrats have controlled the state. Arch Moore Jr. was elected the Republican governor in the 1960s. In 1985, Moore helped raise money and supervised recovery efforts for the flood of 1985. The state voted for Bush in 2000 and 2004. Betty Ireland was also elected as Secretary of State in 2004. In the 2014 elections, the West Virginia Republican Party made major gains in West Virginia, capturing one of its two Senate seats, all of its congressional House seats for the first time since 1921, and gained control of both the

West Virginia House of Delegates The West Virginia House of Delegates is the lower house of the West Virginia Legislature. Only three states—Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia—refer to their lower house as the House of Delegates. Organization Regular sessions begin with ...

and the

West Virginia Senate The West Virginia Senate is the upper house of the West Virginia Legislature. There are seventeen senatorial districts. Each district has two senators who serve staggered four-year terms. Although the Democratic Party held a supermajority in the ...

for the first time in 80 years. In the 2016 elections, the Republicans held on to their seats and made gains in the State Senate and gained three statewide offices. In March 2019, the West Virginia GOP was embroiled in national controversy when a poster linking Democratic Rep.

Ilhan Omar Ilhan Abdullahi Omar (born October 4, 1982) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2019. She is a member of the Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party. Before her election to Congress, Omar served in the Minnesota ...

, a Muslim member of Congress, to the 9/11 attacks was displayed at the state capitol.

Current elected officials

The West Virginia Republican Party holds all three of the state's three U.S. House seats. Incumbent governor

Jim Justice James Conley Justice II (born April 27, 1951) is an American businessman and politician who has served as the 36th governor of West Virginia since 2017. Justice had a net worth of $1.2 billion in September 2018, making him the wealthiest person ...

who was elected as a Democrat in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, switched to the Republican Party in August 2017.Federal Officials, West Virginia Republican Party, http://wvgop.org/leadership/federal-officials/, retrieved 13 December 2011 ''As of January 3, 2023:''

Members of Congress

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

File:Shelley Moore Capito official Senate photo (cropped 2).jpg, Junior U.S. Senator

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

Statewide office (State Board of Public Works)

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

''(Formerly Democratic, later Republican since 2017)'' * President of the Senate/Lt. Governor:

Craig Blair Craig Philip Blair (born October 17, 1959) is an American politician and a Republican Party (United States), Republican member of the West Virginia Senate representing West Virginia's 15th Senate district, District 15 since January 12, 2013. Blair ...

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

Patrick Morrisey Patrick James Morrisey (born December 21, 1967) is an American politician and attorney serving as the 34th Attorney General of West Virginia since 2013. He is a member of the Republican Party. Morrisey was elected Attorney General of West Vi ...

* Auditor:

JB McCuskey John "JB" McCuskey (born in Charleston, West Virginia) is an American politician who has served as West Virginia State Auditor since January 16, 2017. A Republican Party (United States), Republican, he was a member of the West Virginia House of ...

* Secretary of State:

Mac Warner Andrew McCoy "Mac" Warner (born February 18, 1955) is an American attorney, veteran, and the current West Virginia Secretary of State. He announced his candidacy for Governor of West Virginia in 2024 on January 10, 2023. Early life and educatio ...

* Agriculture Commissioner:

Kent Leonhardt Kent Leonhardt (born April 2, 1954) is the West Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture, having been elected in November 2016, he took office January 2017. He is a member of the United States Republican Party. Leonhardt is a farmer operating a fa ...

State Legislature

*Senate Majority Leader: TBA *Speaker of the House:

Roger Hanshaw Roger Hanshaw (born March 24, 1980) is an American politician from West Virginia who currently serves as the Speaker of the West Virginia House of Delegates, in office since August 2018. West Virginia House of Delegates Hanshaw was first elected ...

''(designate)'' **House Majority Leader: TBA

Recent electoral history

References

External links

West Virginia Republican Party website
{{State Republican Parties in the US

Republican Party