When West Virginia Republicans vote in Tuesday’s primary, they will be hard-pressed to find a significant contender on the ballot in any statewide race who explicitly admits that President Joe Biden won the 2020 election.
Embracing or crossing the line on election denialism has become an unspoken checkbox among Republican candidates for governor and Congress in one of former President Donald Trump’s most loyal states. Almost often, a slate of candidates, including a convicted Jan. 6 insurrectionist and the sons of two GOP members of West Virginia’s congressional delegation, praises the party’s anticipated White House nominee.
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Glenn Elliott, a Democratic candidate for an open Senate seat, stated that denying the election outcome was a “purity test” for West Virginia Republicans.
“You must align with the party’s leader in all matters or face expulsion.” You’re no longer a Republican; you’re a ‘RINO,'” he declared, using the term for “Republicans in Name Only.” “That’s not a party—it’s a cult.”
It’s about the worst thing you can call a Republican candidate in West Virginia.
In the packed governor’s contest, Secretary of State Mac Warner has stated that he “firmly” believes, like Trump, that the election was stolen, despite the fact that dozens of courts and auditors ruled the race was fairly settled in Biden’s favor.
Warner, whose agency oversees West Virginia elections, claims tech companies, the media, and federal intelligence authorities collaborated to conceal damaging material discovered on Biden’s son Hunter’s laptop. Warner’s comments come a few months after he announced his campaign for the 2020 presidential race after years of remaining silent. The Army veteran stated that his opinions had nothing to do with running for office.
“Donald Trump won West Virginia by a landslide,” former state lawmaker Moore Capito, another contender for governor, said in response to a question from The Associated Press. “And I just wish that the rest of the country would run our elections like we do here in the state of West Virginia.”
Other candidates hedge or don’t respond immediately.
Attorney General Patrick Morrisey has declined to say if Biden won the 2020 presidential election, but he has claimed that there were “huge irregularities,” “significant irregularities,” and “very, very severe issues” with the vote.
People do not trust mail-in ballots, according to businessman Chris Miller, who is also running for governor and is the son of U.S. Representative Carol Miller. He did not indicate if he believed Biden was the legitimate winner.
“If you are voting in person and see your vote cast, that’s one thing,” he stated. He stated that mail-in ballots are not visible. You have no idea what has transpired, and that is the danger.
Derrick Evans, a former state senator who served three months in prison for his role in the disturbance at the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021, has increased his verbal attacks on his primary opponent. He describes Carol Miller as a “commie RINO” who “refused to stand and fight with President Trump,” as well as an “undocumented Democrat.”
Never mind that Miller supported Trump in practically every House vote while he was in office.
In an interview, Evans stated that he feels his resolve to stand behind Trump and claim the election was stolen will take him to success, despite the fact that Miller voted to challenge the Electoral College results in two states that Biden won hours after Evans and other rioters invaded the Capitol.
She stated at the time that she had a constitutional responsibility to “ensure that all Americans have access to free, fair, and accurate elections.”
Evans is unfazed, viewing his involvement in the deadly attack on the Capitol as a badge of pride.
“I think when the people learn I’m the only elected legislator in the entire country who had the courage to stand up against the stolen election and had the courage to stand up beside President Trump on Jan. 6,” he stated, “I think that that makes them realize very seriously that I am the guy to represent this district on a national stage.”
Carol Miller did not explicitly address the 2020 election results in an email to the Associated Press. However, she claims she is the only contender in the election who “has never been a registered Democrat or run for office as a Democrat.”
In the West Virginia governor’s campaign, all four major contenders agree on protecting the state’s coal sector, increasing punishment for fentanyl distributors, and emphasizing the significance of economic growth.
Morrisey, the fundraising leader, threw the “RINO” label at Capito, who is considered his primary competitor. Morrissey referenced a February 2024 social media post by Donald Trump Jr. condemning a vote by Capito’s mother, Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, to deliver aid to Ukraine. “She’s not up for reelection this year, but her RINO son is running for governor of West Virginia,” stated Donald Trump Jr. “MAGA: Send a message to the Ukraine First RINOs and OPPOSE,” he said, alluding to Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” campaign.
Morrisey, in an interview, connected the dots.
“I think the choice is very clear: You have a conservative fighter with a record of getting big things done, and you have members of political royalty, part of the liberal establishment,” Morrisey stated.
Moore Capito has subsequently used every opportunity to let voters know where his allegiance lies. Television station WSAZ organized a Republican gubernatorial forum where they asked candidates about their potential solutions to help people on fixed incomes struggling to pay their bills amid periodic utility rate increases.
“That’s why it’s incredibly important that we elect Donald Trump as president,” Capito added, criticizing a recently issued Biden administration rule that would require coal-fired power facilities to capture their emissions or shut down.
Ironically, Republican Gov. Jim Justice, who is running for the Senate seat vacated by retiring Democrat Joe Manchin, is the only contender to receive the coveted Trump endorsement in any primary. Justice has had more disagreements with Trump than with most other candidates. For example, the governor supported the bipartisan infrastructure act, which invested millions of dollars in the state to expand broadband and roads.
Alex Mooney, a congressman running against Justice in the primary, has labeled him a “RINO” at every opportunity. Initially elected as a Democrat in 2017, Justice, a former millionaire businessman with a folksy charm and a devoted following, switched to Republican during a Trump rally early in his term. Mooney voted against the infrastructure legislation.
Mooney has stated that he recognizes Biden as president but believes the 2020 election was not fair. He voted against certifying Biden’s victory in Pennsylvania.
When asked if he believes Biden won legitimately during a recent news briefing, Justice maintained a defiant tone while hedging, saying, “What does it matter? I mean, what does it matter?
The governor then related a frequently heard anecdote about something his father told him when he was a young man competing in golf tournaments.
“Dad would tell me, ‘Son, the only stroke that counts in golf is the next one. So, what if your last shot resulted in a hole in one?
