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by Henry Culvyhouse, West Virginia Watch
October 20, 2026
The Republican Party has a little more than a 200,000 registered voter advantage as it heads into the 2026 general election, according to the West Virginia Secretary of State’s Office.
The Democratic Party, which ruled the state for nearly a century, has been seeing steady, declining numbers over the years, dropping from 572,000 in 2016 to 326,000 today. Meanwhile, Republican membership has risen to 527,000.
Only three counties have more registered Democrats than Republicans — McDowell, Mingo and Monongalia.
West Virginia Republican Party Co-Chairman Tony Hodge said while the numerical advantage bodes well for his party, GOP candidates aren’t resting on their laurels.
“All of our candidates are out working hard. A lot of them are hitting the pavement. They’re out talking to voters,” he said. “Just because we have a voter advantage does not mean that we take any election for granted.”
However, West Virginia Democrat Party Chairman Mike Pushkin said he thinks the state’s 307,000 independents could help flip seats come Nov. 3, especially on issues like data centers, water quality and healthcare.
“On the issues that voters care about, they overwhelmingly trust Democrats,” Pushkin said. “What’s important is who comes out to vote and how they vote on Election Day. And we feel pretty good about that.”
Pointing to the last primary, which saw only 21% of the electorate casting a ballot, Pushkin said he believes there’s more enthusiasm among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents to come to the ballots.
Republicans saw a 22% decrease in the number of ballots cast in the primary compared to the 2022 mid-term primary, as a result of closing its primary to independent voters. On the other hand, Democrats saw a 4% increase.
The number of non-partisan ballots accepted in the primary skyrocketed by nearly 75% when compared to the 2022 primary.
Hodges said his party will be studying results closely to see if independents are shifting registration into the Republican Party by looking at results from the upcoming election. The Republican Executive Committee will revisit the issue in summer 2027.
Since the spring, just a few hundred shy of 18,000 new voters have registered, according to a Secretary of State news release. In addition to major party and independent registrations, the West Virginia Secretary of State’s Office also said around 48,000 voters are registered to third parties, such as the Mountain, Libertarian and Constitution parties.
Early voting starts Oct. 21 and ends on Oct. 31.
- 9:00 amThis story has been updated to clarify that there are 200,000 more registered Republicans than Democrats, and that three counties have more registered Democrats than Republicans.
West Virginia Watch is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. West Virginia Watch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Leann Ray for questions: info@westvirginiawatch.com.
Do you believe we got something wrong? Please read our publishing standards and corrections policy.
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