CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Republican Attorney General Patrick Morrisey easily won the West Virginia governor’s race Tuesday, using an endorsement from former U.S. President Donald Trump to catapult him to victory in the deep red state.
Mr. Morrisey emphasized his role as a “conservative fighter” in the courts on issues ranging from abortion to transgender participation in sports to best Steve Williams, the Democratic mayor of West Virginia’s second-largest city of Huntington.
Mr. Morrisey will become just the third Republican elected to a first gubernatorial term in West Virginia since 1928. Outgoing two-term governor Jim Justice, now a Republican, was first elected as a Democrat in 2016. He switched parties months later at a rally for former U.S. President Donald Trump.
Mr. Morrisey’s win further solidifies the GOP’s ever-tightening grip in the mountain state, where Democrats reigned for decades.
Trump-endorsed Morrisey, who has served as West Virginia’s Attorney General since 2013 and leveraged high-profile litigation taken on by his office to make the case for why he was the best man for governor.
Since he was elected Attorney General in 2012, Mr. Morrisey, 56, has led litigation against opioid manufacturers and distributors netting around $1 billion to abate the crisis that has led to 6,000 children living in foster care in a state of around 1.8 million.
He defended a law preventing transgender youth from participating in sports and a scholarship program passed by the Republican lawmakers that would incentivize parents to pull their kids from traditional public school and enroll them in private education or homeschooling.
Key to his candidacy has been his role in defending a near-total ban on abortions passed by the Republican-controlled legislature in 2022 and going to court to restrict West Virginians’ access to abortion pills.
In a statement after a U.S. District Court judge blocked access to the pills in 2023, Mr. Morrisey vowed to “always stand strong for the life of the unborn.”
Mr. Williams, a 60-year-old former state lawmaker, tried to make the argument that most voters found the new abortion law too restrictive.
Earlier this year, Mr. Williams collected thousands of signatures on a petition to push lawmakers to vote to put abortion on the ballot for voters. The effort was unsuccessful. Republicans have repeatedly dismissed the idea of placing an abortion-rights measure before voters, which in West Virginia is a step only lawmakers can take.
Mr. Morrisey previously ran for U.S. Senate in 2018 but lost to Independent U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, then a Democrat.
North Carolina
Josh Stein, North Carolina’s Democratic attorney general, defeated Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, a Republican who had been widely criticized for his extensive record of incendiary remarks.
Mr. Stein positioned himself as a moderate Democrat focused on education and protecting abortion rights. But the core of his message was that Mr. Robinson was too extreme, divisive and unfit to lead a rapidly growing and diversifying state. The current governor, Roy Cooper, is a term-limited Democrat.
Mr. Stein flooded the airwaves with TV ads that highlighted Mr. Robinson's offensive past comments. One showed Mr. Robinson saying in a Facebook video from 2019 that women who got abortions had not been “responsible enough to keep your skirt down.”
On his personal Facebook page, Mr. Robinson, who is Black, had also quoted Adolf Hitler, called Michelle Obama a man and said that Black History Month was for “people who have achieved so little.”
Delaware
Democrat Matt Meyer defeated Republican Michael Ramone. With his victory over the state’s GOP House minority leader, Mr. Meyer maintains the hold on the governor’s office that Democrats have had for more than 30 years.
Mr. Meyer currently serves as chief executive of Delaware’s most populous county. His path to the governor’s office opened up when he defeated Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long in a Democratic primary.
Ms. Hall-Long was the Democrat establishment favorite but was plagued by a campaign finance scandal.
New Hampshire
Former U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte extended the GOP’s hold on the office by defeating former Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig.
The seat was open for the first time since 2016 after Republican Gov. Chris Sununu decided not to seek a fifth two-year term.
Ms. Ayotte, who was New Hampshire’s first female attorney general, is the third woman to be elected governor in the state. She focused much of her campaign on crime and immigration, stoking anti-Massachusetts sentiment with her “Don’t Mass it up” slogan.
Indiana
Republican U.S. Sen. Mike Braun defeated Democrat Jennifer McCormick and extended the GOP’s 20-year hold on the office.
Mr. Braun, the wealthy founder of a national auto parts distribution business, is leaving the Senate after one term. He will succeed Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb, who is term-limited.
Ms. McCormick was a Republican when she was elected Indiana’s schools superintendent in 2016, but she split from the GOP over education policy and changed her party affiliation to Democrat after her term ended in early 2021.
Missouri
Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe won the race to become the state’s 58th governor, after a campaign centered on his extensive business experience and promises of steady conservative leadership.
Mr. Kehoe, a 62-year-old former Jefferson City car dealer, state senator and current lieutenant governor, courted voters partly through tamping down on the aggressive rhetoric that has often defined Missouri politics. But the victory also serves as an affirmation of the Republican Party’s iron grip on Missouri politics as Democrats have struggled to win statewide races in recent years.
Mr. Kehoe defeated Democratic House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, who cast Mr. Kehoe’s opposition to abortion rights and other conservative policies as extreme. Ms. Quade, who would have been the first woman to hold the office of Missouri governor if elected, built her campaign on securing abortion rights, gun reform and child care aid.
North Dakota
U.S. Rep. Kelly Armstrong, a third-term Republican congressman and attorney, bested Democratic state Sen. Merrill Piepkorn to succeed two-term Gov. Doug Burgum, who didn’t seek a third term.
Mr. Armstrong continues Republicans’ dominance in North Dakota, where the party has held the governor's office since 1992 and a Democrat has not won a statewide race since 2012. Mr. Armstrong also is a former state senator and state party chair.
Montana
Republican Greg Gianforte won election, beating Democrat Ryan Busse.
Mr. Gianforte is a former software mogul who served four years in Congress before being first elected to the job in 2020.
Republicans have dominated the last several election cycles in Montana. Mr. Busse, a former gun company executive, failed to gain traction with a campaign that focused on property tax increases under Mr. Gianforte’s leadership. Income taxes fell under Mr. Gianforte and the number of jobs in the state rose sharply. His running mate was Lt. Gov. Kristen Juras.
Washington
Democrat Bob Ferguson defeated Republican former U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert.
Mr. Ferguson is the state’s three-term attorney general. He came to national prominence by repeatedly suing former President Donald Trump’s administration, including bringing the lawsuit that blocked Trump’s initial travel ban on citizens of several majority Muslim nations. The campaign focused on public safety, with Mr. Ferguson saying he will direct money to help cities hire more police, as well as abortion rights and Trump’s legacy.
Washington has not had a Republican governor in nearly 40 years.
First Published: November 6, 2024, 4:11 a.m.