CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia voters are set to decide a slate of primary contests Tuesday that will test the political influence of Governor Patrick Morrisey and shape the state’s congressional and judicial elections heading into the November midterms.

Morrisey, a Republican who is not on the ballot, is staking his political capital on several state legislative races in an effort to reshape his party’s supermajorities in the state Senate and House of Delegates. The governor has endorsed challengers to sitting Republican incumbents, putting him at odds with members of his own party less than two years into his term.

The primaries follow an Indiana election in which President Donald Trump successfully backed primary challengers to several Republican state senators he viewed as disloyal. Morrisey’s involvement in West Virginia’s legislative races creates a similar dynamic, testing whether a governor can bend his party’s legislative wing to his preferences.

Some of Morrisey’s endorsements place him in direct conflict with U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito, the state’s senior Republican, who is pursuing a third term. In state Senate District 10, Capito has endorsed incumbent Republican state Senator Vince Deeds, while Morrisey is backing Deeds’ challenger, Jonathan Comer, a pastor.

The Capito-Morrisey friction is not new. In 2024, Morrisey narrowly defeated Capito’s son, Moore Capito, for the Republican gubernatorial nomination. Tuesday’s legislative primaries extend that family rivalry into the down-ballot contests that will determine the composition of West Virginia’s legislature.

Senate and House races

Capito enters the U.S. Senate primary as the heavy favorite, backed by a key endorsement from Trump. She faces five challengers, the most prominent of whom is state Senator Tom Willis. Willis has secured endorsements from six fellow GOP state senators, including Senate President Randy Smith. Capito, by contrast, has the backing of 15 state senators.

Trump’s endorsement of Capito may neutralize some of the attacks Willis has leveled against her record. Capito has served in the Senate since 2015 after seven terms in the U.S. House.

West Virginia voters will also nominate candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives. The Associated Press will provide vote results and declare winners in contested primaries for both congressional chambers, as well as for the state legislature, Charleston mayor, and judicial seats.

Charleston mayor and judicial races

In Charleston, Democratic Mayor Amy Goodwin is seeking a third term but must first clear a primary challenge from Martec Washington, a community advocate who placed a distant second behind Goodwin in the 2022 mayoral primary. Republican Brian Hunt is unopposed for his party’s nomination.

Two West Virginia Supreme Court justices, Tom Ewing and Gerald Titus, both appointed in 2025 to fill vacancies, face challengers in their special elections to continue serving on the high court. Intermediate Court of Appeals Chief Judge Dan Greear is running for a 10-year term and faces a challenge from Jim Douglas.

Voting logistics

Polls close at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time. West Virginia operates a closed primary system — voters registered with a political party may vote only in that party’s primary. Independent or unaffiliated voters may vote in the Democratic or Mountain Party primaries but not the Republican primary. Voter identification is required.

As of April 23, West Virginia had approximately 1.2 million registered voters, including about 520,000 Republicans, 327,000 Democrats, and 302,000 unaffiliated voters. In the 2024 primaries, GOP turnout reached about 225,000 voters for the major statewide races — roughly 19% of registered voters at the time. Democratic primary turnout ranged from about 90,000 for governor to about 102,000 for the U.S. Senate race.

As of May 5, about 36,000 ballots had already been cast, with more than 17,000 from Republicans, about 13,600 from Democrats, and roughly 3,600 from unaffiliated voters. About 30% of the vote in the 2024 primaries was cast before Election Day.

Roughly 60% of West Virginia’s 55 counties tend to report all or nearly all of their early and absentee vote results in the first vote report of the night, meaning early returns may provide a strong signal of the final outcomes. In the 2024 Republican U.S. Senate primary, the AP first reported results 11 minutes after polls closed, and the vote count surpassed the 90% mark by approximately 10:06 p.m. Eastern Time.

There are no automatic recounts in West Virginia. A candidate may request and pay for a recount regardless of the margin of victory, with the cost refunded if the recount changes the outcome. The AP may declare a winner in a race subject to a recount if it determines the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.

Tuesday’s election falls 175 days before the 2026 midterm elections in November.