2004 West Virginia gubernatorial election

The 2004 West Virginia gubernatorial election took place on November 2, 2004 for the post of Governor of West Virginia. Democratic Secretary of State of West Virginia Joe Manchin defeated Republican Monty Warner. Manchin won all but 3 counties. Despite Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry losing the state to George W. Bush by double digits in the concurrent presidential election, Manchin won by nearly 30 points.

For related races, see 2004 United States gubernatorial elections.

2004 West Virginia gubernatorial election
November 2, 2004
 
Nominee Joe Manchin Monty Warner
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 472,758 253,131
Percentage 63.5% 34.0%
County results
Manchin:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%
Warner:      40–50%      50–60%
Governor before election

Bob Wise
Democratic

 Elected Governor

Joe Manchin
Democratic

Elections in West Virginia
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Democratic primary

Candidates

Campaign

Democratic governor Bob Wise became the first governor of West Virginia not to stand for re-election since the Constitution of West Virginia was amended in 1970 to permit two consecutive terms.[1] In August 2003 he announced that he would not stand again after admitting to an affair with a West Virginia Development Office employee Angela Mascia who was also married.[2][3] The announcement took place three months after this became public knowledge and over 500 emails exchanged between the two was released to the public through a Freedom of Information Act request.[4] Angela Mascia's then husband, Phillip Frye, divorced Mascia and then ran for Governor. Frye told The Daily Show in August 2003 that he was running “to be a sheer nuisance to Bob Wise” and "I'm not qualified to run our great state, or have any hopes whatsoever of winning an election."[5]

West Virginia Secretary of State Joe Manchin challenged Wise for the Democratic nomination, and after Wise withdrew from the race he became the favorite for the primary.[6] Manchin lined up support from various sources including labor leaders in order to reverse his defeat in the gubernatorial primary in 1996. His main opponent in the primary was former State Senator Lloyd Jackson, who launched his campaign with a plan to reduce insurance costs.[7] In the run up to the primary the two candidates traded negative advertising but Manchin won an easy victory in the primary on May 11.[8]

Results
Democratic primary results[9]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Joe Manchin 149,362 52.73
Democratic Lloyd G. Jackson II 77,052 27.20
Democratic Jim Lees 40,161 14.18
Democratic Lacy Wright, Jr. 4,963 1.75
Democratic Jerry Baker 3,009 1.06
Democratic James A. Baughman 2,999 1.06
Democratic Phillip Frye 2,892 1.02
Democratic Lou Davis 2,824 1.00
Total votes 283,262 100.00

Republican primary

Candidates
  • Carroll B. Bowden, Sr.
  • Rob Capehart, former West Virginia Secretary of Tax and Revenue
  • Larry Faircloth, State Delegate
  • Douglas McKinney, physician
  • Dan Moore, banker and car dealership owner
  • Joseph Oliverio, construction executive
  • James D. Radcliffe, Jr.
  • Charles D. Railey
  • Richard Robb, Mayor of South Charleston
  • Monty Warner, businessman

Campaign

The Republican primary saw 10 candidates competing for the nomination. Six of the candidates met in a debate in March 2004, in which they agreed on the need to reduce the size of the West Virginia state government.[10] It saw a close race between three main candidates Monty Warner, a retired army colonel and developer, Rob Capehart, a former state tax secretary, and Dan Moore, a former banker and car dealer.[8] A poll conducted during the lead-up to the primary showed the three candidates virtually even.[11] Warner won a narrow victory in the primary over Moore and Capehart.[12]

Results
Republican primary results[13]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Monty Warner 26,041 22.87
Republican Dan R. Moore 22,748 19.98
Republican Rob Capehart 19,694 17.29
Republican Richard Robb 11,824 10.38
Republican Douglas E. McKinney 10,476 9.20
Republican Larry V. Faircloth 9,123 8.01
Republican Joseph Oliverio 7,687 6.75
Republican James D. Radcliffe, Jr. 3,013 2.65
Republican Charles G. Railey 2,345 2.06
Republican Carroll B. Bowden, Sr. 925 0.81
Total votes 113,876 100

General election

Campaign

Early in the campaign, Warner called for Manchin, as a centrist Democrat, to endorse President George W. Bush for re-election over his Democratic rival John Kerry.[14] Manchin's campaign spokesperson responded that Manchin backed "the Democratic nominee".[14]

The two main candidates faced each other in three debates and one town hall meeting. Jesse Johnson, the Mountain Party candidate, unsuccessfully attempted to get the West Virginia Supreme Court to cancel the first debate, as he was not asked to take part.[15]

Manchin had an edge in the election with better name recognition and a strong financial advantage over Warner. In the closing weeks of the election campaign, Manchin spent $3.3 million against $880,000 by Warner.[16]

Predictions
Source Ranking As of
Sabato's Crystal Ball[17] Safe D November 1, 2004

Results
West Virginia gubernatorial election, 2004[18]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Joe Manchin 472,758 63.51% +13.39%
Republican Monty Warner 253,131 34.00% -13.21%
Mountain Jesse Johnson 18,430 2.48% +0.87%
Write-in 114 0.02% +0.01%
Margin of victory 219,627 29.50% +26.58%
Total votes 744,433
Democratic hold Swing

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

References
  1. "West Virginia election results 2004". The Washington Post. November 24, 2004. Retrieved May 16, 2008.
  2. "More governors join exodus from statehouses". USA Today. August 13, 2003. Retrieved May 16, 2008.
  3. Messina, Lawrence. "W. Va. Governor Won't Seek Re-Election". apnews.com. Associated Press. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  4. Messina, Lawrence. "Gov. Exchanged 500 Emails With Worker". apnews.com. Associated Press. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  5. Linkins, Jason (June 26, 2008). "Phillip Frye, "Prominent" Democratic McCain Supporter, Mocked by Daily Show". Huffpost.com. Huffpost. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  6. "Not So Wise". The Washington Post. June 24, 2003. Retrieved May 16, 2008.
  7. "Jackson files for governor in West Virginia". Herald Mail. January 13, 2004. Retrieved May 17, 2008.
  8. "Manchin wins W. Va. gubernatorial nod". USA Today. May 12, 2004. Retrieved May 17, 2008.
  9. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 16, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. "Governor hopefuls take part in debate". Herald Mail. March 26, 2004. Retrieved May 17, 2008.
  11. "Candidates Face Off in W.Va Primary". Fox News Channel. May 11, 2004. Retrieved May 17, 2008.
  12. "Manchin, Warner win West Virginia primaries". USA Today. May 12, 2004. Retrieved May 17, 2008.
  13. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 15, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  14. "Purple People Watch". The American Prospect. May 26, 2004. Retrieved May 17, 2008.
  15. "Candidates Face Off in WV Gubernatorial Debate". WTAP-TV. October 6, 2004. Archived from the original on May 24, 2011. Retrieved May 17, 2008.
  16. "West Virginia". The New York Times. November 4, 2004. Retrieved May 16, 2008.
  17. "The Final Predictions". Sabato's Crystal Ball. November 2004. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
  18. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections".

See also
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