Surge of Democrats, women file to run for office in West Virginia's 2026 primary election
Democrats have filed to run for at least 85 of the 100 seats in the West Virginia House of Delegates and 17 of the 19 seats up for grabs in the Senate this year.
The at least 125 Democrats running for seats in the Legislature — along with others running for federal and county-level seats — reflects a “historic surge” that’s been years in the making, the Democratic party said Monday.
State party Chairman Mike Pushkin, a delegate representing Kanawha County, said many Democratic candidates are running this year because of a frustration about what’s happening under Republican leadership in West Virginia and across the country.
“We have a lot of people that are upset that the Republican super majority are forcing data centers in places where people just don’t want it, and removing local control,” he said. “That’s just one example. There are a lot of people that are frustrated with the Republican super majority that spend so much time on wedge issues and so much time dividing us rather than doing the real work of the people and addressing kitchen-table issues.
https://westvirginiawatch.com/2026/02/03/surge-of-democrats-women-file-to-run-for-office-in-west-virginias-2026-primary-election/