Four West Virginia Senate incumbents lose seats during Republican primary

Republican state Sens. Craig Blair, Mike Maroney, Robert Karnes and Chandler Swope all lost their primary races on Tuesday, May 14, 2024. (West Virginia Legislative Photography)

West Virginia Senate President Craig Blair was among four senators who lost their seats to opponents in the Republican primary election Tuesday.

Blair, R-Berkeley, lost to Tom Willis, an attorney in Martinsburg. Willis brought in 44% percent of the vote to Blair’s 32%. A third candidate, former Del. Mike Folk, took 23% of votes. Folk made headlines in 2016 after calling for the public execution of former Secretary of State and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. 

In addition, Sen. Mike Maroney, R-Marshall, lost to opponent Chris Rose, Sen. Chandler Swope, R-Mercer, lost to opponent Craig Hart and Sen. Robert Karnes, R-Randolph, lost to opponent Robbie Morris. 

Blair has been in the Senate since 2012 and formerly served in the House of Delegates. He was elected senate president in 2021 and 2023. 

According to campaign finance reports, Blair brought in more than $410,000 in contributions for this election year and spent about $321,000 on the race. Willis brought in about $41,000 in contributions and loaned his campaign $71,000. He spent about $106,000 on the race. 

In a news release after his win, Willis said that Blair’s defeat “underscores the desire for fresh perspectives and renewed representation in the political landscape. “

“I will do my utmost to maintain your confidence and trust in me as together we move WV forward towards liberty and prosperity and fight to win the general election,” the statement said.  

Maroney, a physician who chaired the Senate Health Committee, spoke out and voted against a bill this year that would have weakened the state’s strong school vaccine mandates. House Bill 5105, which had wide support from Republicans, would have allowed the state’s private and parochial schools to set their own rules for vaccine requirements. The bill passed both chambers but was ultimately vetoed by Gov. Jim Justice at the behest of members of the medical community. 

While transgender rights have been in the crosshairs of state Republicans, Maroney last year supported a failed amendment that would have softened the state’s ban on minors getting gender-affirming care. The amendment would have allowed those who were receiving care when it went into effect to continue their treatment.

“This is equivalent to passing a law saying you cannot treat someone for schizophrenia. It’s the equivalent to saying you can’t give someone drugs for chemotherapy. Those are all peer-reviewed and proven. This is, too, but it’s just something we don’t understand or don’t get,” Maroney said during committee debate on the bill at the time. “To deny them continued treatment — that’s not only uneducated, that’s cruel, in my opinion.”

A website for Rose describes him as a “fourth generation coal miner, Christian and constitutional conservative” as well as a “MAGA Republican.”

Rose brought in about $53,000 in contributions and spent about $54,000 on the race, according to campaign finance reports. Maroney raised about $121,000 and spent $146,000 on the race, campaign finance reports show. 

Karnes was first elected to the Senate in 2014 and with the exception of 2018 through 2020 has served since then.

Morris, of Randolph County, is the executive director of the Randolph County Development Authority and the West Virginia Wood Technology Center. 

Reached Thursday, Karnes attributed the loss to being “outspent massively.”

According to campaign finance reports, Morris brought in about $161,000 in contributions and spent $119,000. Karnes brought in about $25,000 and spent about $14,000. 

Karnes said he’s “perfectly happy” with the outcome of the primary election because Sens. Blair, Maroney and Swope, whom he was critical of, were also unseated. He said he supported their opponents in their races. 

“I knew that if I focused heavily on those other races, that it could very well cost me my race, but  it was something that I felt was very much worthwhile, worth doing, and so that’s what I did,” Karnes said. 

Swope, who is retired from the construction industry and was first elected in 2016, won about 37% of the vote, while Hart brought in 40.8%. A third candidate, former Del. Eric Porterfield, won 22% of the vote in that race.  As a delegate in 2019, Porterfield became known for his anti-LGBT views after comparing LGBTQ people to the KKK and using an anti-gay slur.

Reached Thursday, Swope attributed his loss to the three-way split and Porterfield drawing votes from Mercer County, which he said would have typically been his strength. The district includes parts of Wayne, Mingo, McDowell and Mercer counties. 

“My record, I think, as a senator has been very strong,” Swope said. “I’ve been able to accomplish some very significant things.” He added that he had been helping cut red tape for a company that plans to bring a new coal operation to Mercer County that will generate jobs.

Swope said that while he’s disappointed by the loss, he’s much more concerned about Blair losing the election. 

“Craig has shown me leadership skills that are just remarkable,” Swope said. “He’s got a thousand things, 37 people to try to manage, and he knows which bills are in which committees and which paragraphs need to be fixed and what bills and I can’t even remember the numbers on bills I wrote. He’s got a mental bandwidth that is remarkable.

“He’s got an aggressive leadership style that when he sees something, he takes action,” Swope said. “I just have the greatest admiration for him.”

Rose will not have a Democrat opponent in the general election.  

In November, Willis will face Democrat Anthony Murray, Morris will face Democrat Mandy Smith Weirich and Hart will face Democrat Randy Fowler.

The post Four West Virginia Senate incumbents lose seats during Republican primary  appeared first on West Virginia Watch.