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West Virginia Democrats feeling optimistic about 2026 elections

(Graphic Illustration - Capitol Notes - Image generated through the use of ChatGPT)

PARKERSBURG — West Virginia Democrats who were optimistic before the Nov. 4 elections are even more optimistic now for 2026.

“Absolutely,” Mike Pushkin, state Democratic Party chairman, said. “What we saw (Nov. 4) is proof that when Democrats focus on people, on wages, health care and protecting freedoms, we can win anywhere.”

Key wins on Nov. 4 included Virginia where Abigail Spanberger, a moderate, won the election for governor against the Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, She is the first female governor of Virginia.

In New Jersey, Rep. Mikie Sherril defeated Republican Jack Ciattarelli for governor with 56% to 43% of the vote. Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, an independent backed by President Donald Trump, lost to Zohran Mamdani, described as a democratic socialist, in the race for mayor of New York City.

“From Virginia to Georgia to small towns across the country, voters showed they’re tired of being divided and distracted while their costs go up,” Pushkin said.

The election will encourage more Democrats to run for office, he said.

“Yes and they already are,” Pushkin said. “Tuesday’s results sent a clear message: when Democrats step up, we can compete and win.”

The results happened because people believed they could make a difference, he said.

Republicans in West Virginia hold every congressional office, statewide offices of governor, auditor, secretary of state, treasurer, commissioner of agriculture and attorney general and overwhelming majorities in both chambers of the Legislature.

A comment from Josh Holstein, chairman of the West Virginia Republican Party, was not immediately available.

Steve Wendelin, who ran for the House of Representatives in 2024 and lost to Republican Riley Moore, is a Democrat also encouraged by the results of the Nov. 4 election. He recently announced he’ll run for the 2nd Congressional District next year.

“Yes, I feel more optimistic,” Wendelin, pointing out he’s always been optimistic anyway, said.

The party represents different segments of society, such as moderates, LBGT, progressives, urban and rural voters, Wendelin said. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, an independent who says he’s a democratic socialist, spoke to houses packed with people of different political views when he was in West Virginia, Wendelin said.

There’s diversity, but a common belief in the same things like health care, jobs, reducing prices and preserving democracy, he said.

“Guess what? We all have things in common,” Wendelin said.

While the outcome in New York has little bearing on West Virginia, what could foretell things in West Virginia were the races in Virginia, New Jersey and particularly in Georgia where Democrats ousted two Republicans on the state Public Service Commission, former Wheeling Mayor Glenn Elliott, who ran against U.S. Sen. Jim Justice in 2024, said. The Georgia results could be an indication where things are going, according to Elliott.

“That hasn’t happened in a long time,” Elliott said.

The mistake Democrats made last year was pretending prices were going down when they were not, he said.

“Now Republicans are doing the same thing this year,” Elliott said.

In the last 10 years, the number of registered Democrats, who once held most of the elective state offices and controlled the Legislature, dropped from 569,091 in December 2016 to 352,260 in January 2025. Republican registration rose from 398,959 to 504,220 in the same time period.

The number of people identifying as no party rose from 267,182 to 304,759.

Voters became dissatisfied with Democrats, Wendelin said. Now there’s dissatisfaction with the Republicans, he said.

Democratic candidates have to get the support from independents and Republicans alike, Wendelin said.

“I think there are enough disenfranchised Republicans out there who will stay at home or come out and vote Democratic (next year),” he said.

Republicans in 2024 ran unopposed in 49 races for the Legislature, five of those races were in Wood County. Democrats also didn’t fill the ballot for state treasurer and Republicans didn’t file in two House races.

Pushkin encouraged people to get involved by going to wvdemocrats.com/run.

“What happened in Virginia, flipping 13 legislative seats, didn’t happen by accident,” Pushkin said. “It happened because people believed they could make a difference.”

Jess Mancini can be reached at jmancini@newsandsentinel.com.

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