West Virginia gubernatorial election, 2016
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The 2016 West Virginia gubernatorial election will take place on November 8, 2016, to elect the Governor of West Virginia, concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
Incumbent Democratic Governor Earl Ray Tomblin is term-limited and cannot run for re-election to a third term in office.
Background
In November 2010, Democratic Governor Joe Manchin resigned after being elected to the U.S. Senate. Earl Ray Tomblin, the President of the West Virginia Senate, became Acting Governor and won a special election held in October 2011. He was re-elected to a full term in the regularly-scheduled 2012 election. Tomblin is ineligible to run for re-election as the Constitution of West Virginia limits Governors to two consecutive terms, regardless of whether they are full or partial terms. However, Governors are re-eligible after four years out of office.[1][2]
After publicly speculating he would run for his former office, Manchin was considered a heavy favorite in the 2016 race. However, he announced on April 19, 2015, that he would be remaining in the Senate instead.[3]
Democratic primary
Candidates
Declared
- Jeff Kessler, Minority Leader of the West Virginia Senate and candidate for Governor in 2011[4]
Potential
- Glen Gainer III, West Virginia State Auditor and nominee for West Virginia's 1st congressional district in 2014[5]
- Mike Green, former State Senator[6]
- Booth Goodwin, United States Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia[4][7]
- Carte Goodwin, former U.S. Senator[6]
- Walt Helmick, West Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture[5]
- Jim Justice, businessman[8]
- Doug Reynolds, State Delegate[6]
- Doug Skaff, former State Delegate[6]
- Rick Thompson, West Virginia Secretary of Veterans Assistance, former Speaker of the West Virginia House of Delegates and candidate for Governor in 2011[1]
Declined
- Joe Manchin, U.S. Senator and former Governor[9][10][11][12]
- John Perdue, West Virginia State Treasurer and candidate for Governor in 2011[13][14]
- Natalie Tennant, West Virginia Secretary of State, candidate for Governor in 2011 and nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2014 (running for re-election)[1][15]
Republican primary
Candidates
Potential
- Bill Cole, President of the West Virginia Senate[5]
- Evan Jenkins, U.S. Representative[6]
- David McKinley, U.S. Representative and candidate for Governor in 1996[16]
- Patrick Morrisey, Attorney General of West Virginia[17][18]
- Mary Lou Retton, Olympic gymnast[6]
- Erikka Storch, State Delegate[6]
Polling
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Bill Cole |
David McKinley |
Patrick Morrisey |
Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harper Polling | April 9–11, 2015 | 242 | ± 6.3% | 15% | 31% | 25% | 29% |
General election
Polling
- With B. Goodwin
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Booth Goodwin (D) |
Bill Cole (R) |
Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harper Polling | April 9–11, 2015 | 702 | ± 3.7% | 35% | 37% | — | 27% |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Booth Goodwin (D) |
David McKinley (R) |
Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harper Polling | April 9–11, 2015 | 702 | ± 3.7% | 35% | 40% | — | 25% |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Booth Goodwin (D) |
Patrick Morrisey (R) |
Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harper Polling | April 9–11, 2015 | 702 | ± 3.7% | 36% | 36% | — | 28% |
- With Kessler
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Jeff Kessler (D) |
Bill Cole (R) |
Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harper Polling | April 9–11, 2015 | 702 | ± 3.7% | 34% | 38% | — | 28% |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Jeff Kessler (D) |
David McKinley (R) |
Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harper Polling | April 9–11, 2015 | 702 | ± 3.7% | 32% | 42% | — | 26% |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Jeff Kessler (D) |
Patrick Morrisey (R) |
Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harper Polling | April 9–11, 2015 | 702 | ± 3.7% | 35% | 38% | — | 27% |
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Hypothetical polling | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Miller, Tom. "2016 race for governor could be crowded". The Lincoln Journal. Retrieved March 4, 2013.
- ↑ King, Joselyn (May 18, 2011). "Tomblin, Maloney win nominations". Wetzel Chronicle. Retrieved March 3, 2013.
- ↑ Ramsey, Pam (April 19, 2015). "Manchin says he'll stay in Senate, forgoes governor bid". The Journal. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Ebert, Joel (March 19, 2015). "Kessler says he'll run for governor in 2016". Charleston Daily Mail. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Sunday Sit-Down: West Virginia GOP Chairman Conrad Lucas". The Intelligencer & Wheeling News Register. November 18, 2014.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 "West Virginia Undergoing Political, Generational Change". Roll Call. May 1, 2014. Retrieved May 1, 2014.
- ↑ Kercheval, Hoppy (April 8, 2015). "Booth Goodwin eyes governor’s race". West Virginia MetroNews. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
- ↑ Pritt, Pamela (April 21, 2015). "Justice says he's weighing options in run for governor". The Register-Herald. Retrieved April 22, 2015.
- ↑ "GOP Senate may run purple". Politico. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
- ↑ "Manchin, 50-50 on Possible Return Run for Governor". West Virginia Public Broadcasting. April 7, 2015. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
- ↑ Raju, Manu (April 14, 2015). "Joe Manchin signals stronger interest in West Virginia governor run". Politico. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
- ↑ Eric Bradner (April 19, 2015). "Joe Manchin picks Senate over governor's bid". CNN. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
- ↑ Aaron Blake (January 23, 2015). "The 5 best governors races in the country". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 25, 2015.
- ↑ Jonathan Mattise (January 23, 2015). "Though @WaPost says otherwise, WV Treasurer John Perdue's office says he's not running for governor". Twitter. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
- ↑ "W.Va. Secretary of State Files Early Re-Election Paperwork". West Virginia Public Broadcasting. March 19, 2015. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
- ↑ Johnson, Shauna (March 10, 2015). "McKinley "seriously considering" gubernatorial run in 2016". West Virginia MetroNews. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
- ↑ Johnson, Shauna (March 19, 2015). "Morrisey says he is considering a possible run for governor in 2016". West Virginia MetroNews. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
- ↑ "Morrisey has $850K for possible governor bid". The Journal. April 2, 2015. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
External links
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