The Latest: State and local elections
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Capito heads back to U.S. Senate for third term
CHARLESTON – Shelley Moore Capito, a Republican and West Virginia’s senior member of the congressional delegation, will return to the U.S. Senate next year to begin serving her third six-year term on Capitol Hill.
WV MetroNews, the Associated Press and Decision Desk HQ called the election in Capito’s favor over her Democratic opponent, Rachel Fetty Anderson, Tuesday night after the polls closed at 7:30 p.m., based on preliminary numbers.
Capito and supporters gathered Tuesday night at the Embassy Suites in downtown Charleston to watch the unofficial vote numbers and celebrate. Capito was joined by her husband Charlie, her adult children and grandchildren.
“Tonight is more than just a political victory for all of us. It’s a victory for West Virginia and the things that we believe in,” Capito said. “It’s a future where our children and our grandchildren can build their lives right here at home and where hard work is rewarded, our values are respected, and opportunity is open to everyone. Where West Virginia doesn’t just have a seat at the table; we have the strongest voice at that table.”
According to unofficial results compiled by WV MetroNews, Capito led Anderson by 70,515 votes as of press time, with Capito receiving 58% of the vote, followed by 39% for Anderson and 4% for the Constitution Party candidate, former Republican House of Delegates member S. Marshall Wilson.
Moore bests Parsi in race for West Virginia’s 2nd District
With 83% of the vote counted, incumbent Riley Moore was surging over challenger Ace Parsi in the race for West Virginia's 2nd Congressional District.
Moore, a former state treasurer whose grandfather was former West Virginia Gov. Arch Moore and whose aunt Shelley Moore Capito, is the Mountain State's senior senator on Capitol Hill, had pulled down 133,273 votes to Parsi's 94,029 in the contest - prompting the Associated Press to call the race at 9:22 p.m.
Parsi, an immigrant whose family fled the Iranian regime for the U.S. when he was a little boy, had netted a strong lead as the early votes came in, buoyed by a grassroots campaign that put him in every county in the district for multiple visits.
W.Va. voters support adding non-citizen voting prohibition to state constitution
Voting by non-citizens is already illegal in West Virginia and federal elections, but voters in the Mountain State appeared to agree with cementing that prohibition within the state’s constitution.
Amendment 1, putting in place a U.S. citizenship requirement to vote in West Virginia elections, was on track Tuesday evening for approval by voters.
According to unofficial election results reported by county clerks and compiled by WV MetroNews, more than 270,000 votes had been cast for Amendment 1, putting in place a U.S. citizenship requirement to vote in West Virginia elections. As of press time, 78% of voters supported the amendment and 22% voters opposed the amendment.
Amendment 1 states that only U.S. citizens and West Virginia residents are qualified to vote in state elections. The constitutional amendment maintains existing restrictions for individuals who are minors, declared mentally incompetent, or convicted of certain crimes like treason, felony, or electoral bribery. It also clarifies residency rules by excluding military personnel stationed in the state from automatically gaining voting residency solely through their deployment.