Breaking News
Local News

WVGOP summer meeting sees Holstein retained as chair

Committee members vote to move primary reconsideration until next year, disavow Pritt

By Steven Allen Adams 5 min read

CHARLESTON -- Del. Josh Holstein will lead West Virginia’s Republicans for a full term, with party leaders delaying consideration of re-opening future primary elections until next year, and voting to distance itself from a former lawmaker accused of sexually exploiting a child.

The West Virginia Republican Executive Committee met for its annual summer meeting Saturday afternoon at Embassy Suites in downtown Charleston.

The committee voted by acclamation to give Holstein a full four-year term as chairman of the West Virginia Republican Party, giving him a standing ovation.

Holstein was elected as party chairman last summer in a special election, succeeding state Department of Commerce Cabinet Secretary Matt Herridge, who resigned to focus on his state government role. Holstein was chosen over two other candidates: Pocahontas County resident, businessman, and author Michael T. George; and Brooke County resident and U.S. Army veteran Wes Parry.

One year later, no other nominations were made, with the party quickly uniting to support Holstein unanimously.

“That was a heck of a lot easier than the first time,” Holstein said. “It’s my same honor to be your chairman. I’m so grateful for the opportunity … I’m hopeful that we can continue to do greater things, bigger things, and expand across the state and bring each other together.”

Holstein, 24, was first elected to the House of Delegates in 2020 and is in his third two-year term representing the 32nd House District in Boone County. He serves as vice chairman of the House Legal Services Subcommittee and is a member of the House Energy and Public Works Committee and the House Judiciary Committee. He is a 2022 graduate of Marshall University.

Saturday’s meeting was the first for many new members of the WVREC, who were elected during the May 12 Republican primary, the first primary closed to unaffiliated and independent voters since 1986.

The WVREC voted to close its primaries to non-Republican voters in 2024 beginning with the 2026 primary. Efforts have been made by some members of the WVREC to re-open the primary to unaffiliated voters nearly every meeting since. But committee members voted Saturday to approve a bylaw change to only consider re-opening future primary elections every four years beginning with the committee’s summer meeting in 2027.

According to the West Virginia Secretary of State’s Office, out of the nearly 1.2 million registered voters in the state, there are 519,949 Republicans, an increase of 79,318 registered Republicans since the 2022 primary. By comparison, the number of registered Democratic voters decreased by 57,574 over the same time period, with 326,963 registered voters to date.

Over the last 11 years, Republicans have become supermajorities in the House of Delegates and state Senate; the governor and entire Board of Public Works are Republicans, and the entire congressional delegation are Republicans. Holstein said 52 out of 55 counties now have majorities in Republican voter registrations.

“Communities that were once considered Democrat strongholds are proudly electing Republicans by the largest margins.” Holsteins said. “The Democrats can’t stop this anymore. Not at this point, unless we allow them to by dividing ourselves.”

The WVREC also voted unanimously to disavow former Fayette County Republican delegate Elliott Pritt following charges filed last month by federal investigators of one count of enticement of a minor. WVREC Co-Chairman Tony Hodge, who presented the motion, said the move was unprecedented but warranted.

“We’ve never voted to disavow any candidate, and that alone should tell you how rare and how necessary this moment is,” Hodge said.”

Pritt is accused of using several social media platforms, including Roblox and Snapchat, to coerce a minor into illegal sexual activity beginning when the minor was in eighth grade and continuing when the minor entered high school. Pritt waived his preliminary and detention hearings last week and remains in federal custody. He resigned from the House of Delegates last week in a one-sentence letter.

“The allegations are very detailed in the criminal complaints,” Hodge said. “They’re very serious, and they describe conduct that has no place anywhere near the public trust, no place in this party, no place in the life of any child in West Virginia, or anywhere for that matter.”

Pritt was first elected to the House as a Democrat in 2022 and switched to a Republican in 2023. He was one of five assistant majority leaders in the House and served on the House Education Committee.

Pritt remains on the ballot in Fayette County, and if Pritt withdraws his from the ballot, a 2024 law would prevent Pritt’s replacement on the ballot in the short term. A special meeting of the State Election Commission is scheduled for Friday, Aug. 7, to consider requests to disqualify Pritt as a candidate and allow the Fayette County Republican Executive Committee to replace Pritt on the general election ballot.

“It is also our intent, and our expectation, that this action be presented to the State Election Commission as clear evidence that Mr. Pritt no longer carries this party’s endorsement, and, in fact, that we are disavowing him, so that the commission may act with the full knowledge of where we stand as the West Virginia Republican Party,” Hodge said.

Starting at /week.