From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2020 West Virginia gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 2020, to elect the
governor of West Virginia , concurrently with the
2020 U.S. presidential election , as well as
elections to the
United States Senate , elections to the
United States House of Representatives and various
state and local elections.
Incumbent Governor
Jim Justice announced his 2020 re-election campaign on January 7, 2019.
[1] Justice was elected in
2016 as a
Democrat , but later switched back to the Republican Party in a campaign rally with
Donald Trump .
[2] Justice won re-election to a second term, defeating Democratic
Kanawha County commissioner Ben Salango. Justice's re-election made him the first Republican to be elected governor of West Virginia since
Cecil Underwood in
1996 . Additionally, Justice became the first incumbent Republican governor to win re-election since
Arch A. Moore Jr. in
1972 , as well as the first Republican to carry all counties in West Virginia. However, Justice performed worse than Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who outperformed Justice by 5.13 percentage points. Additionally, Salango slightly outperformed Biden by 0.53 percentage points.
Republican primary
Candidates
Nominee
Eliminated in primary
Shelby Jean Fitzhugh, retiree
[4]
Michael Folk , former state delegate
[5]
Brooke Lunsford, insurance agent
[6]
Chuck Sheedy, U.S. Army veteran
[7]
Doug Six, surveyor
[6]
Woody Thrasher, former West Virginia Secretary of Commerce (2017–2018)
[8]
Declined
Polling
Results
Results by county: 40–50%
50–60%
60–70%
70–80%
80–90%
Democratic primary
Candidates
Nominee
Eliminated in primary
Declined
Endorsements
Ben Salango
Federal politicians
Individuals
Organizations
Newspapers
Stephen Smith
Federal politicians
Organizations
Polling
Results
Results by county: Salango—60–70%
Salango—50–60%
Salango—40–50%
Salango—30–40%
Smith—30–40%
Smith—40–50%
Smith—50–60%
Stollings—50–60%
Stollings—70–80%
Murphy—30–40%
Murphy—40–50%
Other candidates
Mountain Party
The
Mountain Party received over 5% of the vote in
2016 with former State Senator and Delegate
Charlotte Pritt as the party's gubernatorial nominee. The party nominates its candidate for governor by convention per its bylaws.
[29]
Nominee
Daniel Lutz, Eastern Panhandle Conservation District Supervisor representing Jefferson County, and Commissioned U.S. Air Force Veteran
[30]
Endorsements
Daniel Lutz
Organizations
Eastern Panhandle Green Coalition, environmental organization
[31]
Jefferson County Vision, sustainability organization
[31]
Libertarian Party
Nominee
Erika Kolenich, trial attorney
[7]
Write-ins
The following candidates are certified write-in candidates.
[32]
Declared
Quintin Gerard Caldwell
Michael Folk , former State Delegate (sought the nomination of the Republican Party)
Kimberly Gross
Mitch Roberts
Marshall Wilson , State Delegate (Independent)
[33]
General election
Predictions
Endorsements
Ben Salango (D)
Federal politicians
Individuals
Organizations
Newspapers
Polling
Hypothetical polling
Jim Justice vs. Joe Manchin
Poll source
Date(s) administered
Sample size
[a]
Margin of error
Jim Justice (R)
Joe Manchin (D)
Other / Undecided
Research America/MetroNews
August 14–22, 2019
501 (RV)
± 4.4%
39%
49%
12%
Results
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
Notes
^
a
b
c
d Key: A – all adults RV – registered voters LV – likely voters V – unclear
^ Undecided with 12%, Doug Six with 2.0%; Shelby Fitzhugh with 1.8%; Brooke Lunsford with 1.2%; Chuck Sheedy with 0.6%
^ Not available
^ Undecided with 29%, Jody Murphy with 2.9%; Douglas Hughes with 1.3%
^ Undecided with 42%, Cecil Silva with 1.8%; Jody Murphy with 1.4%; Edwin Vanover with 0.5%
^ Additional data sourced from FiveThirtyEight
^ Poll sponsored by Justice's campaign.
^ Split between Danny Lutz (M) and Erika Kolenich (L)
Partisan clients
^ Poll conducted for Woody Thrasher
^ Poll sponsored by Woody Thrasher's campaign
^ Poll sponsored by Woody Thrasher's campaign
^ Poll sponsored by West Virginia First, which opposed Jim Justice's reelection bid prior to this poll's sampling period.
References
^ Brown, Haley (January 7, 2019).
"Governor Justice announces 2020 campaign" . WVVA. Retrieved January 7, 2019 . [
permanent dead link ]
^
"West Virginia Undergoing Political, Generational Change" . New York Times . August 3, 2017. Retrieved August 3, 2017 .
^ Zuckerman, Jake (January 7, 2019).
"Gov. Jim Justice announces re-election bid" . Charleston Gazette-Mail . Retrieved January 7, 2019 .
^
"Campaign Update: Shelby Jean Fitzhugh on West Virginia's needs" . West Virginia Press . February 14, 2020.
^
"Former Delegate Mike Folk announces run for W.Va. governor" .
Associated Press . February 5, 2019. Retrieved February 5, 2019 .
^
a
b Thomas, Alex (January 29, 2020).
"Governor, US Senate seats up in this year's election" .
^
a
b
c
"Financial Disclosure - Governor 2020 Election" . West Virginia Secretary of State .
^ Young, Charles (April 16, 2019).
"Woody Thrasher to run for governor, hopes to unseat Justice in WV's 2020 election" . WV News. Retrieved April 16, 2019 .
^ Kabler, Phil (October 4, 2018).
"BRIM adopts statement of support for pending settlements of Mac Warner lawsuits" . Charleston Gazette-Mail .
^
a
b Adams, Steven Allen (December 3, 2018).
"Tis the election season again" . The Journal . Retrieved December 5, 2018 .
^
"GOVERNOR - REP" .
Secretary of State of West Virginia . Retrieved June 9, 2020 .
^ Morris, Jeff (October 4, 2019).
"Kanawha Commissioner Ben Salango to run for governor" . WCHS .
^ Mistich, David (November 27, 2018).
"West Virginia Community Organizer Jumps in 2020 Gubernatorial Race" . WV Public Broadcasting . Archived from
the original on September 29, 2019. Retrieved August 30, 2019 .
^ Jenkins, Jeff (September 23, 2019).
"Stollings to run for governor" . WV MetroNews . Retrieved September 23, 2019 .
^
"Douglas Hughes, Democratic candidate for W.Va. governor" . WCHS - ABC 8 . April 3, 2020. Archived from
the original on June 16, 2020. Retrieved June 16, 2020 .
^ Levine, Marianne (September 3, 2019).
"Joe Manchin won't run for governor of West Virginia" .
Politico . Retrieved September 3, 2019 .
^
a
b WVMetroNews (March 18, 2020).
"Manchin endorses Salango in gubernatorial contest" . WV MetroNews . Retrieved May 21, 2020 .
^
a
b
"Endorsements | Ben Salango for Governor" . Ben Salango . Archived from
the original on September 22, 2020. Retrieved June 9, 2020 .
^
a
b
"2020 Primary Election Cope Endorsements" . West Virginia AFL-CIO . [
permanent dead link ]
^
a
b
"Ben Salango for Governor | West Virginia" . Ben Salango . Archived from
the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved October 16, 2019 .
^ McElhinny, Brad (September 9, 2019).
"Elizabeth Warren pitches an early endorsement for Stephen Smith's campaign for governor" . WV MetroNews . "I'm proud to endorse Stephen's bid for governor, and his team's efforts to run candidates up and down the ballot," Warren stated.
^
"Next Up Endorses Young Progressive Candidates" . People for the American Way . Archived from
the original on February 11, 2020. Retrieved March 28, 2020 .
^
"Join the Bold Progressive Movement!" . Progressive Change Campaign Committee (BoldProgressives.org) .
^
"2020 Endorsements" . Rise Up West Virginia . Retrieved March 28, 2020 .
^
"Join us Sunday for the next WFP Assembly" . Working Families Party . January 24, 2020. Archived from
the original on March 29, 2020. Retrieved March 28, 2020 .
^
"Planned Parenthood Votes! South Atlantic Announces Election Endorsements, including Stephen Smith for Governor" . Planned Parenthood Action Fund (PlannedParenthoodAction.org) .
^ Pace, Bailey (March 18, 2020).
"Democratic gubernatorial candidate, Dr. Stollings, criticizes Manchin for endorsement of opponent during COVID-19 crisis" . WVVA . Archived from
the original on May 18, 2020. Retrieved June 10, 2020 .
^
"GOVERNOR - DEM" .
Secretary of State of West Virginia . Retrieved June 9, 2020 .
^
"Constitution and Bylaws of the West Virginia Mountain Party" .
Mountain Party . November 11, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2020 .
^
"Mountain Party Nominates Danny Lutz For Governor" .
Mountain Party . June 20, 2020. Retrieved June 20, 2020 .
^
a
b
"2020 General Election Guide" (PDF) . Retrieved October 22, 2020 .
^
"List Of Candidates For 11/03/2020 -- GENERAL 2020" (PDF) . West Virginia Secretary of State. Archived from
the original (PDF) on October 16, 2020. Retrieved October 12, 2020 .
^
"Delegate Marshall Wilson running for Governor of West Virginia" .
WDVM-TV . June 12, 2020. Retrieved September 7, 2020 .
^
"2020 Governor Race Ratings for October 23, 2020" . The Cook Political Report . Retrieved March 11, 2021 .
^
"2020 Gubernatorial Ratings" . insideelections.com . Retrieved March 11, 2021 .
^
"2020 Gubernatorial race ratings" . Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball . November 2, 2020. Retrieved March 13, 2021 .
^
"We rated every gubernatorial race in 2020. Here's who we think will win" . Politico . Retrieved November 19, 2019 .
^
"2020 Governor Race Ratings" .
Daily Kos . June 1, 2020. Retrieved June 5, 2020 .
^
"2020 Governor Races" .
RealClearPolitics . June 13, 2020. Retrieved June 14, 2020 .
^
"2020 Gubernatorial Elections Map" .
270towin .
^
"Ben Salango hosts Facebook Live with Jennifer Garner to discuss issues in W.Va" . WSAZ News. September 17, 2020.
^
"Ben Salango on Twitter: I am honored to have the endorsement of Cecil Roberts and the @MineWorkers" . Twitter .
^
"November 3, 2020 General Election - Official Results" . West Virginia State - Clarity Elections . Retrieved November 30, 2020 .
^
"Election Night Reporting" . results.enr.clarityelections.com . Retrieved December 13, 2020 . .
^
"2020 General Election Write-in Candidate Results" (PDF) . West Virginia Secretary of State . Retrieved April 6, 2021 .
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