Candidates Begin Filing for May Primary That Impacts McDowell County
Candidates have begun filing for the May 12 primary, with contests that include the District 6 state senate seat covering McDowell County. The filings will shape who represents McDowell at the state level and which names appear on the ballot.
The official filing period for West Virginia’s May 12 primary opened this month and runs through Jan. 31, and several candidates have already declared for seats that affect McDowell County. Most consequential for county voters is the filing in the District 6 state senate race, a district that includes Mercer, McDowell, Mingo and Wayne counties.
Incumbent Mark L. Maynard of Wayne County has filed for the Republican nomination for the District 6 State Senate seat. Control of that seat determines which senator will represent McDowell in Charleston, influencing state-level decisions on budgets, coalfield economic policy and regional infrastructure funding.
Locally neighboring Mercer County, where filing activity has been especially visible so far, saw Republican Mercer County Commissioner Greg Puckett file for his party’s nomination to seek another term on the six-year commission. Mercer also has a contested field for its nonpartisan school board District 2, where Mercer County Emergency Services Director Keith Gunnoe, incumbent Greg Prudich and Shawn L. Vest have filed. Those school board contests in adjacent counties often have cross-border implications for education policy, transportation and shared services that affect McDowell families.
On the House side, a number of filings have been recorded across the region. Republican incumbent Del. Marty Gearheart filed to run again in Mercer County House of Delegates District 37, and Democrat Treyvon Simmons of the Bluefield City Board filed for the Democratic nomination in that district. Republican incumbent Joe Ellington remains the lone GOP filer so far in House District 38. Samuel Lusk, director of the Princeton Economic Development Authority, filed for the House District 39 Republican nomination to replace Del. Doug Smith, who is not seeking reelection. In District 41, which covers Raleigh County and part of Mercer County, incumbent Del. Jordan Maynor and Republican Adrian B. Carag have both filed.
Some candidates pre-filed but have not yet officially appeared on ballots, and additional filings are expected before the Jan. 31 deadline. Voters in McDowell should watch the District 6 senate race closely, since that seat represents the county at the state level. Primary outcomes will narrow the field heading into November and will determine which candidates advance in contests that shape local schools, economic development and state policy affecting McDowell.
For up-to-date lists of filings and to confirm who will appear on your ballot, check the West Virginia Secretary of State candidate portal before the Jan. 31 deadline.
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