19 State Senate Seats on the Ballot Tuesday: The West Virginia Races to Watch

Election Day is almost here, West Virginia, and the races for the state Senate are some of the most closely watched on Tuesday's ballot. Voters across the Mountain State will decide 19 of the 34 seats in the state Senate, and a few of those contests could reshape who represents the northern half of the state in Charleston.

Of those 19 races, 18 are contested. All 19 originally drew challengers, but Sen. Eric Tarr, a Putnam County Republican, recently had two opponents removed from the ballot after judges found they did not meet residency requirements.

District 13: a tight race in Mon and Marion

One of the races drawing the most attention is in District 13, which takes in parts of Monongalia and Marion counties. Republican Sen. Mike Oliverio is defending his seat against Democratic Delegate John Williams and Libertarian Taylor Richmond. Four years ago, Oliverio won the seat by fewer than 160 votes.

Data centers have been a big issue in this one. Williams, who has spent a decade in the House of Delegates, has criticized Oliverio's support for House Bill 2014, the Power Generation and Consumption Act of 2025, which set up the framework for microgrids and large data center projects and took some decision-making away from local governments. Oliverio has said some state control is needed because many counties have no zoning rules. Richmond favors a free-market approach to data centers with no taxpayer money involved.

Education and taxes are on the table too. Oliverio supports school choice and the Hope Scholarship and has backed cutting the state personal income tax, with the goal of eliminating it. Williams argues the Hope Scholarship pulls money from public schools and says the income tax cuts have meant little for working families. Richmond wants to shrink government, including consolidating the state's 55 county school systems into 10 to 12 districts.

District 1: Northern Panhandle showdown

In District 1, Republican Sen. Laura Wakim Chapman of Ohio County faces Democratic Delegate Shawn Fluharty, who has represented the 5th House District for 11 years. Chapman points to tax cuts and school safety work and says she has unfinished business, including dredging creeks to reduce flooding danger in the Northern Panhandle. Fluharty argues that a decade of Republican supermajorities has left families facing higher costs and the state facing a deficit.

District 2: an open seat

District 2 will have a new senator no matter what. Republican Sen. Charlie Clements did not seek reelection after nine years. Republican Toby Heaney of Fairview, a 24-year Army veteran with a doctorate in economics from WVU, faces Democrat Chris Claypole of Mannington, a WVU Medicine employee and grandson of former state Sen. Eugene Claypole. The district covers Calhoun, Doddridge, Ritchie, Tyler and Wetzel counties and parts of Gilmer, Marion, Marshall and Monongalia counties.

What to know before you vote

Polls across West Virginia open at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3, and close at 7:30 p.m. On Election Day, you'll vote at your own assigned precinct. Statewide, voters will also decide one proposed constitutional amendment, which would spell out that only citizens of the United States who are also citizens of West Virginia can vote in elections held in the state.

Whoever you're backing, these are the folks who will write the laws on schools, taxes and growth in our communities. Make a plan, check your precinct, and go have your say. West Virginia Pulse will be watching the results come in Tuesday night.