2020 West Virginia gubernatorial election

For related races, see 2020 United States gubernatorial elections.

The 2020 West Virginia gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 2020, to elect the governor of West Virginia, concurrently with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as elections to the United States Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.

2020 West Virginia gubernatorial election

← 2016 November 3, 2020 2024 →

Nominee Jim Justice Ben Salango Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 497,944 237,024 Percentage 63.49% 30.22%

County results Congressional district results Precinct results Justice:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Salango:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%

Governor before election Jim Justice Republican Elected Governor Jim Justice Republican

Incumbent Governor Jim Justice announced his 2020 re-election campaign on January 7, 2019.^[1] Justice was elected in 2016 as a Democrat, but later switched back to the Republican Party at a campaign rally with Donald Trump.^[2] Justice won re-election to a second term, defeating Democratic Kanawha County commissioner Ben Salango. Justice's re-election made him the first Republican to be elected governor of West Virginia since Cecil Underwood in 1996. Additionally, Justice became the first incumbent Republican governor to win re-election since Arch A. Moore Jr. in 1972, as well as the first Republican to carry all counties in West Virginia. However, Justice performed worse than Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who outperformed Justice by 5.13 percentage points. Additionally, Salango slightly outperformed Biden by 0.53 percentage points. Justice's 33% margin is the largest margin for a Republican in West Virginia history^[3]

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Jim Justice, incumbent governor^[4]

Eliminated in primary

• Shelby Jean Fitzhugh, retiree^[5]
• Michael Folk, former state delegate^[6]
• Brooke Lunsford, insurance agent^[7]
• Chuck Sheedy, U.S. Army veteran^[8]
• Doug Six, surveyor^[7]
• Woody Thrasher, former West Virginia Secretary of Commerce (2017–2018)^[9]

Declined

• David McKinley, incumbent U.S. Representative for West Virginia's 1st congressional district (running for re-election)^[10]
• Mac Warner, Secretary of State of West Virginia (running for re-election)^[11]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[a]	Margin of error	Jim Justice	Mike Folk	Woody Thrasher	Other / Undecided
Triton Polling & Research/WMOV[12]	May 18–26, 2020	719 (LV)	± 3.7%	53%	15%	14%	18%[b]
WPA Intelligence (R)[13][A]	December 16–18, 2019	502 (LV)	± 4.4%	38%	6%	30%	26%'
Research America Inc.[14]	December 4–9, 2019	229 (LV)	–	56%	11%	21%	12%
Public Opinion Strategies (R)[15]	August 24–25, 2019	–[c]	–	56%	–	26%	18%
Research America Inc.[16]	August 14–22, 2019	216 (LV)	–	53%	12%	19%	17%'
WPA Intelligence[17][B]	August 13–14, 2019	509 (V)	–	38%	11%	23%	28%
WPA Intelligence[17][C]	March 7–10, 2019	509 (V)	–	58%	5%	5%	32%

Results

[[File:West Virginia Governor Republican primary, 2020.svg|thumb|Results by county:

  Justice

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

  Folk

•   40–50%

  ]]

Republican primary results ^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jim Justice (incumbent)	133,258	62.70%
	Republican	Woody Thrasher	38,898	18.30%
	Republican	Michael Folk	26,735	12.58%
	Republican	Doug Six	4,429	2.08%
	Republican	Brooke Lunsford	3,849	1.81%
	Republican	Shelly Jean Fitzhugh	2,799	1.32%
	Republican	Chuck Sheedy	2,552	1.20%
Total votes			212,520	100.00%

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Ben Salango, Kanawha County commissioner^[19]

Eliminated in primary

• Douglas Hughes, environmental permit writer for West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection^[20]
• Jody Murphy, businessman^[8]
• Stephen Smith, community organizer^[21]
• Ron Stollings, state senator^[22]

Declined

• Booth Goodwin, former United States Attorney and candidate for Governor of West Virginia in 2016^[10]
• Joe Manchin, incumbent U.S. Senator and former Governor of West Virginia^[23]

Endorsements

Ben Salango

Federal politicians

• Joe Manchin, U.S. Senator (WV)^[24]

Individuals

• Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Allen E. Tackett, former West Virginia National Guard adjutant general (1995-2010)^[25]

Organizations

• West Virginia AFL–CIO^[26]

Newspapers

• Charleston Gazette-Mail^[27]

Stephen Smith

Federal politicians

• Elizabeth Warren, U.S. Senator (MA)^[28]

Organizations

• People for the American Way Next Up^[29]
• Planned Parenthood Votes! South Atlantic ^[30]
• Progressive Change Campaign Committee^[31]
• Rise Up West Virginia^[32]
• Working Families Party^[33]

Ron Stollings

State legislators

• Corey Palumbo, West Virginia State Senator from the 17th and 8th districts (2009-present)^[34]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[a]	Margin of error	Ben Salango	Stephen Smith	Ron Stollings	Other / Undecided
Triton Polling & Research/WMOV[35]	May 18–26, 2020	231 (LV)	± 6.4%	30%	27%	10%	33%[d]
Research America/MetroNews[36]	December 4–10, 2019	220 (LV)	± 4.4%	18%	21%	19%	46%[e]

Results

Results by county:

Salango

•   Salango—60–70%
•   Salango—50–60%
•   Salango—40–50%
•   Salango—30–40%

Smith

•   Smith—30–40%
•   Smith—40–50%
•   Smith—50–60%

Stollings

•   Stollings—50–60%
•   Stollings—70–80%

Murphy

•   Murphy—30–40%
•   Murphy—40–50%

Democratic primary results^[37]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ben Salango	74,805	38.68%
	Democratic	Stephen Smith	65,544	33.89%
	Democratic	Ron Stollings	25,782	13.33%
	Democratic	Jody Murphy	18,039	9.33%
	Democratic	Douglas Hughes	9,231	4.77%
Total votes			193,401	100.00%

Other candidates

Mountain Party

The Mountain Party received over 5% of the vote in 2016 with former State Senator and Delegate Charlotte Pritt as the party's gubernatorial nominee. The party nominates its candidate for governor by convention per its bylaws.^[38]

Nominee

• Daniel Lutz, Eastern Panhandle Conservation District Supervisor representing Jefferson County, and commissioned U.S. Air Force veteran^[39]

Endorsements

Daniel Lutz

Organizations

• Eastern Panhandle Green Coalition, environmental organization^[40]
• Jefferson County Vision, sustainability organization^[40]

Libertarian Party

Nominee

• Erika Kolenich, trial attorney^[8]

Write-ins

The following candidates were certified write-in candidates.^[41]

Declared

• Quintin Gerard Caldwell
• Michael Folk, former State Delegate (sought the nomination of the Republican Party)
• Kimberly Gross
• Mitch Roberts
• Marshall Wilson, State Delegate (Independent)^[42]

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[43]	Safe R	October 23, 2020
Inside Elections[44]	Safe R	October 28, 2020
Sabato's Crystal Ball[45]	Likely R	November 2, 2020
Politico[46]	Likely R	November 2, 2020
Daily Kos[47]	Safe R	October 28, 2020
RCP[48]	Safe R	November 2, 2020
270towin[49]	Likely R	November 2, 2020

Endorsements

Ben Salango (D)

Federal politicians

• Joe Manchin, U.S. Senator (WV)^[24]

Individuals

• Jennifer Garner, actress^[50]
• Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Allen E. Tackett, former West Virginia National Guard adjutant general (1995-2010)^[25]

Organizations

• United Mine Workers of America^[51]
• West Virginia AFL–CIO^[26]

Newspapers

• Charleston Gazette-Mail^[27]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[a]	Margin of error	Jim Justice (R)	Ben Salango (D)	Daniel Lutz (M)	Erika Kolenich (L)	Undecided
Triton Polling and Research[52]	October 19–21, 2020	544 (LV)	± 4.2%	53%	35%	3%	3%	5%
Research America Inc.[53]	October 1–6, 2020	450 (LV)	± 4.6%	53%	34%	2%	5%	6%
Triton Polling & Research[54]	September 29–30, 2020[f]	525 (RV)	± 4.3%	48%	38%	4%	4%	6%
Strategies Unlimited[55][D]	September 26–30, 2020	600 (LV)	± 4%	46%	40%	5%	–	8%
Mark Blankenship Enterprises (R)[56][g]	September 10–14, 2020	504 (LV)	± 4.3%	54%	27%	9%[h]		10%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[a]	Margin of error	Jim Justice (R)	Joe Manchin (D)	Other / Undecided
Research America/MetroNews[57]	August 14–22, 2019	501 (RV)	± 4.4%	39%	49%	12%

Hypothetical polling

Jim Justice vs. Joe Manchin

Results

West Virginia gubernatorial election, 2020^[58][59]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Jim Justice (incumbent)	497,944	63.49%	+21.19%
	Democratic	Ben Salango	237,024	30.22%	−18.87%
	Libertarian	Erika Kolenich	22,527	2.87%	+0.72%
	Americans Coming Together	S. Marshall Wilson (write-in)	15,120	1.93%	N/A
	Mountain	Daniel Lutz	11,309	1.44%	−4.45%
	Write-in		363	0.05%	N/A
Total votes			784,287	100.00%
Turnout			802,726	63.25%
Registered electors			1,269,219
	Republican hold

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Cabell (largest city: Huntington)
• Calhoun (largest city: Grantsville)
• Clay (largest city: Clay)
• Gilmer (largest city: Glenville)
• Greenbrier (largest city: Lewisburg)
• Jackson (largest city: Ravenswood)
• Marshall (largest city: Moundsville)
• Mason (largest city: Point Pleasant)
• Monongalia (largest city: Morgantown)
• Monroe (largest city: Peterstown)
• Nicholas (largest city: Summersville)
• Ohio (largest city: Wheeling)
• Pendleton (largest city: Franklin)
• Pleasants (largest city: St. Marys)
• Pocahontas (largest city: Marlinton)
• Raleigh (largest city: Beckley)
• Randolph (largest city: Elkins)
• Roane (largest city: Spencer)
• Summers (largest city: Hinton)
• Wayne (largest city: Kenova)
• Wetzel (largest city: New Martinsville)
• Harrison (largest city: Clarksburg)
• Kanawha (largest city: Charleston)
• Lincoln (largest city: Hamlin)
• Wyoming (largest city: Mullens)
• Brooke (largest borough: Wellsburg)
• Fayette (largest city: Fayetteville)
• Logan (largest borough: Logan)
• Mingo (largest borough: Williamson)
• Boone (largest city: Madison)
• Braxton (largest town: Sutton)
• Marion (largest city: Fairmont)
• McDowell (largest city: Welch)
• Webster (largest town: Webster Springs)
• Wirt (largest municipality: Elizabeth)
• Putnam (largest municipality: Hurricane)
• Wood (largest municipality: Parkersburg)

By congressional district

Justice won all three congressional districts.^[60]

District	Justice	Salango	Representative
1st	64%	30%	David McKinley
2nd	59%	33%	Alex Mooney
3rd	68%	27%	Carol Miller

Notes

1. Key:
   A – all adults
   RV – registered voters
   LV – likely voters
   V – unclear
2. Undecided with 12%, Doug Six with 2.0%; Shelby Fitzhugh with 1.8%; Brooke Lunsford with 1.2%; Chuck Sheedy with 0.6%
3. Not available
4. Undecided with 29%, Jody Murphy with 2.9%; Douglas Hughes with 1.3%
5. Undecided with 42%, Cecil Silva with 1.8%; Jody Murphy with 1.4%; Edwin Vanover with 0.5%
6. Additional data sourced from FiveThirtyEight
7. Poll sponsored by Justice's campaign.
8. Split between Danny Lutz (M) and Erika Kolenich (L)

Partisan clients

1. Poll conducted for Woody Thrasher
2. Poll sponsored by Woody Thrasher's campaign
3. Poll sponsored by Woody Thrasher's campaign
4. Poll sponsored by West Virginia First, which opposed Jim Justice's reelection bid prior to this poll's sampling period.