2024 West Virginia gubernatorial election
The 2024 West Virginia gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 2024, to elect the governor of West Virginia, concurrently with the 2024 U.S. presidential election, as well as [United States Senate United States Senate elections, 2024|elections, 2024|elections] to the United States Senate and elections to the United States House of Representatives, and various state and local elections. Republican state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey was elected to his first term in office after defeating Democratic Huntington mayor Steve Williams in the general election. Incumbent Republican Jim Justice was term-limited and was unable to seek re-election to a third consecutive term in office; he instead ran for the U.S. Senate.
First elected in 2016 as a Democrat by 6.8 percentage points, Justice switched parties in August 2017 and won re-election in 2020 as a Republican by 33.3 percentage points. Primary elections took place on May 14, 2024. This is the first time since 1972 that Republicans won consecutive gubernatorial elections in the state. However, Morrisey performed worse than Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who outperformed Morrisey by 7.98 percentage points. Meanwhile, Williams outperformed Kamala Harris by 3.48 percentage points. Williams, Harris, Biden, and Salango, all failed to carry a single county in their respective general election races.
Background
A conservative rural southeastern state, West Virginia is considered extremely Republican at the federal and state levels; Republicans hold all statewide executive offices and supermajorities in both state legislative houses, and from 2015 until he became an Independent in 2024, Senator Joe Manchin had been the state's only congressional Democrat. In the 2020 presidential election, Donald Trump carried West Virginia by 38.93 percentage points.With Jim Justice term-limited and unable to run for a third consecutive term as Governor, the Republican primary was expected to be competitive and crowded. Most analysts considered Republicans to be a heavy favorite, given the state's partisan lean and the margin from the previous election.
Republican primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Patrick Morrisey, West Virginia Attorney General and nominee for U.S. Senate in 2018
Eliminated in primary
- Moore Capito, former state delegate, grandson of former governor Arch Moore, and son of U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito
- Kevin Christian, electrical engineer
- Chris Miller, automobile dealer and son of U.S. Representative Carol Miller
- Mitch Roberts, store manager and write-in candidate for governor in 2020
- Mac Warner, West Virginia Secretary of State
Withdrew
Declined
- Kent Leonhardt, West Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture
- Riley Moore, West Virginia State Treasurer and grandson of former governor Arch Moore ''''
Democratic primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Steve Williams, mayor of Huntington and former state delegate
Declined
- Joe Manchin, U.S. senator and former governor
- Ben Salango, Kanawha County commissioner and nominee for governor in 2020
Other candidates
Mountain Party
Nominee
- Chase Linko-Looper, U.S. Army veteran
Libertarian Party
Nominee
- Erika Kolenich, attorney and nominee for governor in 2020
Constitution Party
Nominee
- S. Marshall Wilson, former Republican state delegate and write-in candidate for governor in 2020
Independents
Declined
- Joe Manchin, U.S. senator and former governor ''''
General election
Polling
Patrick Morrisey vs. Joe Manchin vs. Steve Williams| Poll source | Date administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Patrick Morrisey | Joe Manchin | Steve Williams | Other | Undecided |
| Kaplan Strategies | June 4, 2024 | 464 | ± 4.6% | 34% | 26% | 21% | 1% | 18% |
Results
By county
Morrisey won every county in the state.By congressional district
Morrisey won both congressional districts.| District | Morrisey | Williams | Representative |
| 60% | 34% | Carol Miller | |
| 63% | 30% | Alex Mooney | |
| 63% | 30% | Riley Moore |