2011 West Virginia gubernatorial special election

For related races, see 2011 United States gubernatorial elections.

The 2011 West Virginia gubernatorial special election was a special election held on October 4, 2011, to fill the office of the West Virginia Governor, which became vacant when Joe Manchin resigned after he won a U.S. Senate special election. Lieutenant Governor and Senate President Earl Ray Tomblin, first in the line of succession to the governorship, subsequently became acting governor. On January 18, 2011, the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals ruled that a special election for the governorship must be held so a new governor can be in place by November 15, 2011, exactly one year after Manchin resigned.^[1] The primary election was held on May 14. Tomblin and Republican Bill Maloney won their respective primaries.^[2]

2011 West Virginia gubernatorial special election

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Nominee Earl Ray Tomblin Bill Maloney Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 149,202 141,656 Percentage 49.6% 47.1%

County results Tomblin:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Maloney:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

Governor before election Earl Ray Tomblin (acting) Democratic Elected Governor Earl Ray Tomblin Democratic

Tomblin defeated William Maloney by a slim margin, notably winning over 90% of the vote in his home county of Logan County. Tomblin was declared the winner of the election by the Associated Press on October 4, 2011, and was inaugurated on November 13, 2011.^[3][4] With a margin of 2.5%, the special election was the closest race of the 2011 gubernatorial election cycle. Tomblin was re-elected Governor in 2012 in a rematch with Maloney.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

• Jeff Kessler, Acting President of the West Virginia Senate^[5]
• Arne Moltis^[6]
• John Perdue, West Virginia State Treasurer^[7]
• Natalie Tennant, West Virginia Secretary of State^[8]
• Rick Thompson, Speaker of the West Virginia House of Delegates^[9]
• Earl Ray Tomblin, Acting Governor and President of the West Virginia Senate^[10]

Declined

• Brooks McCabe, state senator^[11]
• Charlotte Pritt, former state senator, Democratic primary candidate for governor in 1992, Democratic nominee for governor in 1996 and write-in candidate for governor in 1992, and Mountain Party nominee for governor in 2016^[12]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Jeff Kessler	Arne Moltis	John Perdue	Natalie Tennant	Rick Thompson	Earl Ray Tomblin	Other/ Undecided
Public Policy Polling[13]	May 11–12, 2011	742	± 3.6%	4%	1%	11%	17%	20%	33%	12%
Public Policy Polling[14]	April 21–24, 2011	590	± 4.0%	5%	1%	17%	16%	15%	32%	14%

Primary results

Democratic primary results by county:

  Tomblin

•   30–40%
•   40–50%
•   50–60%
•   60–70%
•   80–90%

  Thompson

•   40–50%
•   60–70%

  Tennant

•   30–40%

  Perdue

•   30–40%
•   40–50%

  Kessler

•   40–50%
•   60–70%

Democratic primary results^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Earl Ray Tomblin (incumbent)	51,348	40.4%
	Democratic	Rick Thompson	30,631	24.1%
	Democratic	Natalie Tennant	22,106	17.4%
	Democratic	John Perdue	15,995	12.6%
	Democratic	Jeff Kessler	6,665	5.2%
	Democratic	Arne Moltis	481	0.4%
Total votes			127,111	100.0%

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

• Clark Barnes, state senator^[16]
• Mitch Carmichael, state delegate^[6]
• Ralph William Clark, professor
• Cliff Ellis
• Larry Faircloth, former State Delegate and candidate for governor in 2004^[6]
• Betty Ireland, former West Virginia Secretary of State^[17]
• Bill Maloney, businessman
• Mark Sorsaia, Putnam County District Attorney^[18]

Declined

• Shelley Moore Capito, U.S. Representative^[19]
• Patrick Lane, state delegate^[18]
• Jon McBride, retired United States naval officer; former NASA astronaut^[20]
• John Raese, businessman and nominee for the U.S. Senate in 1984, 2006, and 2010^[21]
• Mike Stuart, West Virginia Republican Party chairman^[22]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Clark Barnes	Mitch Carmichael	Ralph Clark	Cliff Ellis	Larry Faircloth	Betty Ireland	Bill Maloney	Mark Sorsaia	Other/ Undecided
Public Policy Polling[23]	May 11–12, 2011	314	± 5.5%	8%	4%	1%	0%	6%	31%	32%	4%	14%
Public Policy Polling[14]	April 21–24, 2011	274	± 5.9%	8%	8%	2%	1%	2%	31%	17%	4%	28%

Primary results

  Maloney

•   30–40%
•   40–50%
•   50–60%
•   60–70%
•   70–80%

  Ireland

•   30–40%
•   40–50%

  Barnes

•   30–40%
•   40–50%
•   50–60%
•   60-70%
•   70-80%

  Faircloth

•   30–40%

Republican primary results^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bill Maloney	27,871	45.0%
	Republican	Betty Ireland	19,027	30.7%
	Republican	Clark Barnes	5,891	9.5%
	Republican	Mark Sorsaia	3,177	5.1%
	Republican	Larry Faircloth	2,400	3.9%
	Republican	Mitch Carmichael	2,073	3.3%
	Republican	Ralph Clark	1,164	1.9%
	Republican	Cliff Ellis	283	0.5%
Total votes			61,886	100.0%

General election

Candidates

• Bob Henry Baber (Mountain), writer and former mayor of Richwood^[25]
• Rick Bartlett (write-in)^[26]
• Harry Bertram (American Third Position Party)^[27]
• Phil Hudok (write-in), teacher and registered Constitution Party member^[26]
• Marla Dee Ingels (Independent)^[27]
• Bill Maloney (Republican), Monongalia County businessman
• Earl Ray Tomblin (Democratic), Acting Governor and President of the West Virginia Senate^[10]
• Donald Lee Underwood (write-in)^[26]

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
Rothenberg Political Report[28]	Lean D	November 4, 2011
Governing[29]	Lean D	November 4, 2011
Cook[30]	Lean D	November 4, 2011
Sabato[31]	Likely D	November 4, 2011

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Earl Ray Tomblin (D)	Bill Maloney (R)	Undecided
Public Policy Polling[32]	September 30 – October 2, 2011	932	± 3.2%	47%	46%	7%
Public Policy Polling[33]	September 1–4, 2011	708	± 3.7%	46%	40%	14%
Public Policy Polling[34]	May 11–12, 2011	723	± 3.6%	45%	30%	25%
Public Policy Polling[35]	April 21–24, 2011	850	± 3.4%	56%	23%	21%

Results

West Virginia gubernatorial special election official results, 2011^[36]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Earl Ray Tomblin (incumbent)	149,202	49.55%	−20.26
	Republican	Bill Maloney	141,656	47.05%	+21.32
	Mountain	Bob Henry Baber	6,083	2.02%	−2.44
	Independent	Marla Ingels	2,875	0.95%
	American Third Position	Harry Bertram	1,111	0.37%	+0.37
	write-in candidate	Phil Hudok	76	0.03%
	write-in candidate	Donald Lee Underwood	54	0.02%
	write-in candidate	John R. "Rick" Bartlett	27	0.01%
Margin of victory			7,546	2.51%	−41.57%
Total votes			301,084	100.00%
	Democratic hold		Swing

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Berkeley (largest municipality: Martinsburg)
• Calhoun (Largest city: Grantsville)
• Doddridge (largest municipality: West Union)
• Gilmer (Largest city: Glenville)
• Grant (largest municipality: Petersburg)
• Hampshire (largest municipality: Romney)
• Hardy (Largest city: Moorefield)
• Jackson (Largest city: Ravenswood)
• Jefferson (Largest city: Charles Town)
• Lewis (Largest city: Weston)
• Mineral (largest municipality: Keyser)
• Monongalia (Largest city: Morgantown)
• Monroe (Largest city: Peterstown)
• Morgan (largest municipality: Berkeley Springs)
• Ohio (Largest city: Wheeling)
• Pendleton (Largest city: Franklin)
• Pocahontas (Largest city: Marlinton)
• Preston (largest municipality: Kingwood)
• Putnam (largest municipality: Hurricane)
• Ritchie (largest municipality: Harrisville)
• Roane (Largest city: Spencer)
• Taylor (Largest city: Grafton)
• Tyler (Largest city: Paden City)
• Upshur (largest municipality: Buckhannon)
• Wirt (largest municipality: Elizabeth)
• Wood (largest municipality: Parkersburg)