Some judicial offices will see new faces
BY KYLE LOVERN
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
WILLIAMSON, W.Va. — Though there were a few surprises, most incumbents were renominated or elected, while others were defeated in the May Primary Election for Mingo County on Tuesday.
Sabrina Deskins, the current Family Court Judge, defeated incumbent Circuit Judge Miki Thompson in a heated race for the West Virginia 11th Judicial District, Division 1. Deskins pulled in 49% of the vote with 4,656 ballots, while Thompson had 42%, getting 4,021 votes. Williamson Attorney Robert Carlton came in third with 845 votes. Carlton has been a candidate in the past but has never won.
Incumbent Josh Butcher of Logan won the Division 3 Circuit Judge seat over challenger Shana O’Briant Thompson. Butcher garnered 5,745 votes to Thompson’s 3,690 tally. This seat is shared between Logan and Mingo counties.
Current Prosecuting Attorney Johnathan “Duke” Jewell ran for Family Court Judge. He defeated attorney Marsha Webb Rumora with 2,472 to 2,138 votes, 54% to 46%.
In the County Commission race on the Republican side, incumbent Diann Hannah defeated challengers Marty Fortner, Wesley Blankenship and Ernest Sammons. Hannah had 1,501 votes for 45%, while Fortner, who had served for a time on the County Commission as an appointee, got 1,270 votes for 38%. Blankenship brought in 323 votes, while Sammons got 245 votes.
In the 34th District House of Delegates race, incumbent Mark Dean, a former educator, defeated a challenge from John White and Gavin Dillon on the Republican side of the primary. No Democrats filed for the position. Dean garnered 44% of the votes, getting 1,098 votes compared to White’s 867 and Dillon’s 512 votes.
For the three Magistrate Court races in Mingo County, incumbent Jim Harvey defeated Keith Grace 2399 to 1,322, with Dallas Adkins getting 602 votes. Incumbents Donald Sansom and Dave Justice ran unopposed.
For the Prosecuting Attorney’s office, Brock Mounts of Gilbert defeated Kathy Cisco Sturgell 68% to 32%, 2,238 votes to 1,040. This is the office that will be vacated by Duke Jewell, who won the Family Court Judge race.
For Mingo County Sheriff, Joe Smith easily won the nomination, beating Sid Gilman 2,733 to 582, with Smith getting 83% of the votes.
For Mingo County Assessor, Bethany Goad-Cisco won the nomination of her party over Audrey Gail Smith, 68% to 32%, 2,330 votes to 1,040.
There will be two new members for the Mingo County Board of Education. Young Brayden Goff and David Jewell were declared the two winners. There cannot be more than two BOE members in a district. Incumbents Amy Dearfield Hannah and Machelle McCormick were beaten in the board’s race. Goff got the most votes with 2,238.
Helen Stanley ran unopposed for the Conservation Supervisor seat.
Patrick Morrisey, a three-term attorney general, won the Republican nomination for governor.
The governor’s seat opened up because two-term Gov. Jim Justice, a Republican, was up against a term limit. He is vying for the U.S. Senate. Justice won big in Mingo County, which was par for the course across the state. He got 70% of the votes in Mingo, easily beating Mooney.
If Justice wins in the November General Election, it will give West Virginia two Republican U.S. Senators and could shift the balance nationwide in the Senate. Current Senator Joe Manchin, a Democrat, decided not to seek reelection.
Competitors for the Republican nomination for governor included Morrisey, two-term Secretary of State Mac Warner, former House Judiciary Chairman Moore Capito and automotive businessman Chris Miller. Capito is the son of U.S. Senator Shelly Moore Capito and grandson of the former governor, the late Arch Moore.
Morrisey had 71,737 votes, with his closest competitor, Capito, receiving 60,928. Miller had 45,791, and Warner had 36,987 votes in the hotly contested race.
Huntington Mayor Steve Williams will run against Morrisey in November. He ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination for governor.
Incumbent Republican State Senator Chancler Swope, founder of Swope Construction in Bluefield, lost to challenger Craig Hart of Mingo County.
State Treasurer Riley Moore won the Republican nomination for a congressional district that includes northern West Virginia counties, and incumbent Congresswoman Carol Miller handily defeated her primary election opponent. Her area is southern and parts of central West Virginia. She is the mother of governor candidate Chris Miller.
J.B. McCuskey has won the Republican nomination for Attorney General. McCuskey’s closest competitor was State Senator and former U.S. Attorney Mike Stuart.
Kris Warner won the nomination for Secretary of State, Mark Hunt for Auditor, Josh Higginbotham for Agriculture Commissioner, and Larry Park for State Treasurer.
Unlike in the past, Mingo County, like the Mountain State, has shifted to dominantly Republican. Many of the local races did not have any democrats to file.
Popular GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump easily won the nomination in West Virginia and received 96% of the votes in Mingo County.
Incumbent Joe Biden won the Democratic nomination in the state.
The Republican slate is expected to win across the state in November.
(Editor’s note: These vote totals are not final. An election canvass will be held to recount the votes. However, no changes are expected with the announced winners.)