This year’s filing deadline for candidates running for Congress in West Virginia was Jan. 27, 2024.
Ten candidates are running for West Virginia’s two U.S. House districts, including three Democrats and seven Republicans. That’s five candidates per district, lower than the 6.5 candidates who ran in 2022 but higher than the 4.7 candidates who ran in 2020.
Here are some other highlights from this year’s filings:
- One seat is open this year, meaning an incumbent is not running for re-election. The other two election cycles this decade in which a House seat was open were 2018 and 2014.
- Rep. Alexander Mooney (R), the incumbent in the 2nd district, did not file to run for re-election. Instead, he is running to represent West Virginia in the U.S. Senate.
- Six candidates—one Democrat and five Republicans—are running to replace Mooney in the 2nd district, the most candidates running in a district this year.
- Three primaries—one Democratic and two Republican—are contested this year. Between 2014 and 2022, an average of 3.2 primaries were contested.
- One incumbent—Carol Miller (R)—is facing a primary challenger this year. That’s fewer than in 2022 when three incumbents faced challengers.
- Democratic and Republican candidates filed to run in all districts, meaning none are guaranteed to either party.
West Virginia and two other states—Maryland and Nebraska—are holding primaries on May 14.
In West Virginia, the primary winner is the candidate who receives the largest number of votes, even if they do not win an outright majority of votes cast.
