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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 upon the resignation of Joe Manchin, who 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]
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County results Tomblin: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Maloney: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | |||||||||||||||||
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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.
| 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% |
| 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% | ||
| 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% |
| 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% | ||
| 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% |
| 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 | ||||
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