(Photo by Will Price/WV Legislative Photography)
‘I will not give up my vote for the Morriseys … I can’t be bought. I can’t be bullied,’ said Sen. Vince Deeds, R-Greenbrier, who is running for reelection against a Morrisey-backed candidate
By Amelia Ferrell Knisely for West Virginia Watch
The West Virginia Senate, handily under Republican control with just two Democratic members, is the embodiment of an unusual election season. Nineteen Senate seats are on ballots across the state.
“Special interests are going to spend $2 million trying to buy the state Senate,” said veteran West Virginia Republican political strategist Greg Thomas. Outside spending in a Senate primary is usually around $100,000, he said.
Political groups, fueled by out-of-state donors, have pumped hundreds of thousands of dollars into races to endorse or oppose candidates in a fractured Senate, often painting Republicans they don’t like as “woke liberals.” Some groups are tied to Gov. Patrick Morrisey.
“There’s something villainous going on,” said Sen. Tom Takubo, R-Kanawha, who is in a competitive race to keep the Senate seat he has held since 2015. “The question is, what is it, and when are we gonna find out about it?”
Multiple political groups with connections to Morrisey have spent more than $1.6 million since March in both Senate and House of Delegates races, according to reporting from Steven Allen Adams at the Parkersburg News and Sentinel. Several donors include pro-school choice groups.
“(Morrisey is) not a West Virginian, and he’ll never be one of us because he went across the country to New York to California to New Jersey and raised $565,000 to spend against West Virginia legislative candidates,” said Sen. Ryan Weld, R-Brooke, referencing donations to the Morrisey-linked Sugar Maple PAC. “Of that money, 8% of it actually came from the state of West Virginia.”
Weld whose seat isn’t on the ballot this election, said Morrisey “made whatever promises he needed to make” while raising money to impact races.
“The governor wants senators in the Senate that will, for lack of a better term, be there to carry out his wishes,” Weld said. “We don’t answer to the governor. We answer to the people in our district.”
Then, there is the governor’s outright involvement in races.
Morrisey has directly endorsed candidates.
Lars Dalseide, the governor’s spokesperson, told West Virginia Watch in an email that, “The governor is supporting candidates who share his vision of making West Virginia that shining state in (the) mountains, and will continue to forcefully and positively advocate for this pro-West Virginia agenda.”
Sen. Mike Oliverio, R-Monongalia, has served under seven different governors. This level of a governor’s involvement in races was a first for him.
“This is a very conservative Legislature, and to suggest that one has to be opposed to a child (having) a polio vaccine defines you as whether you’re conservative or not doesn’t make sense to me,” said Oliverio, who is running for reelection without a primary opponent.
“This could be very negative for (Morrisey) in terms of him advancing his agenda, or he could be successful in putting people into the Senate who he believes supports his agenda.”
Dalseide said that Morrisey’s focus “remains solely on advancing a policy agenda that supports our state’s values and delivers results for West Virginia families.”
“No amount of pressure from the media or complaints from party elites will change the Governor’s focus on that mission,” Dalseide said.
‘I will not give up my vote for the Morriseys’
The governor and his wife have heavily weighed in on the Senate race in Greenbrier County, publicly endorsing Republican candidate Jonathan Comer over incumbent Sen. Vince Deeds.
“The governor wants me to completely 100% agree with him on his policy initiatives and, bluntly, I cannot do that,” Deeds told West Virginia Watch. “I will not give up my vote for the Morriseys … I can’t be bought. I can’t be bullied … His tactic is to take his out-of-state money, funnel it in here, to try to bully us around and push us in his policy direction or get somebody else in there that will follow him lockstep.”
Deeds flipped his seat to Republican in 2022. A Baptist pastor, Deeds touts his conservative voting record, approving tax cuts and voting to protect children and women’s sports. He spearheaded lawmakers’ foster care reform efforts in the Senate.
“My responsibility is to listen to, analyze, process and weigh it against the values of West Virginians, which I truly believe are God, family and service,” Deeds said. “I have honestly done my very best to listen to the issues that are going on in my district and around the state, and then try to develop a good, common sense solution for those issues.”
PACs linked to Morrisey have spent money in the Deeds and Comer race. Sugar Maple PAC has spent more than $24,000 against Deeds. The School Freedom Fund spent more than $13,000 against him.
Denise Morrisey has knocked on doors in Greenbrier County on behalf of Comer, according to her Facebook page.
Comer, a Baptist pastor, did not return phone calls for this story.
Kanawha Senate race shows Republican factions
Senate Republicans are divided into two factions, which isn’t as simple as describing “moderate Red versus dark Red,” because all of them have run on conservative platforms.
Senate Health Chair Brian Helton, R-Fayette, noted outside money has impacted candidates in both factions. He aligns himself with Senate President Randy Smith, whose faction more commonly supports Morrisey’s agenda.
“I think as you look at both groups, I think it will define the Senate moving forward – is it going to continue to be a Senate that’s more conservative, which would align more with what traditional Republican conservatives are, or is it a group that’s going to be more moderate and who takes more of a less conservative approach to doing it?”
Jason Huffman, state director for West Virginia’s chapter of Americans for Prosperity, said much of the moderate Senate candidate’s support “is coming from hospital cartels who want to keep competition out of the state by keeping certificate of need laws on the books.”
Takubo has taken a lead role in the Senate’s more moderate faction, pushing business-minded GOP candidates to run for Senate seats. After losing to Smith in the Senate president race in 2024, Takubo said he feels the Senate needs new leadership.
“We’re stuck in complete neutral, going nowhere,” he said. “It’s very difficult because the general public can’t perceive how incredibly dysfunctional these people are without seeing it firsthand.”
Takubo, a doctor who previously served as majority leader, told West Virginia Watch, “I figured I would be target number one” during this election cycle.
“I did not think it would be this intense,” he said. “The governor should be a unifier and someone who can bridge the differences and bring the party together. But instead, the actions of the governor in this primary have caused more division than anything that I have ever seen in my political career.”
Takubo is being challenged by Chris Pritt, a Charleston attorney and former Republican House member who has previously run for Secretary of State and the state Senate.
“I was not super happy about the fact that Sen. Takubo and others went out and recruited nine people to run against conservative incumbents. That was one of the things that motivated me to run,” Pritt said.
Morrisey hasn’t openly endorsed Pritt; groups linked to Morrisey have spent around $132,000 to oppose Takubo, according to the Parkersburg News and Sentinel, and $46,392 in support of Pritt.
Thomas said West Virginia is an “inexpensive” place for national special interest groups to buy political favor.
“They’re not looking for an independent, successful person in West Virginia to go serve at the Legislature,” he said.
Outside spending could outpace direct contributions to Takubo and Pritt in their races. The latest campaign filings through March 31 showed Takubo had more than $86,000 in cash on hand; Pritt had $60,000 in the same time period.
Ads by outside groups have attempted to paint Takubo as “a woke liberal” for reasons including his push to allow children with severe gender dysphoria as diagnosed by medical professionals to access what he said was life-saving hormone treatment in West Virginia. The Legislature repealed that limited loophole for children in 2025.
“I am loyal to the people of (my) district first, West Virginia second, and the party third,” said Takubo, a lifelong Republican whose platform focuses on economic development and keeping children safe. “I think the people elected me and sent me there to do that, and trust me enough to do that. So, if I get re-elected, I’ll continue to do that.”
Pritt wants the Senate to go a more conservative route, saying he’d push for more tax cuts and economic development, if elected.
“My worldview largely falls within that is in terms of increasing economic and personal liberties. That’s what I’m all about as a person,” Pritt said. “I think that we need to keep going the same route we’re going in terms of the West Virginia Senate.”
John Williams is a Democratic House member from Morgantown running against Oliverio this fall. Both Senate Republican factions have remained focused on fringe social issues this election, he said.
“There are real issues that affect West Virginians, like utility rates, the price of food, the price of gasoline, general cost of living, issues that are just completely untouched,” Williams said. “I think you’re seeing a lot of really unserious rhetoric on their side.”
West Virginia Watch is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. West Virginia Watch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Leann Ray for questions: info@westvirginiawatch.com.
