# 1996 West Virginia gubernatorial election

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vte :
The 1996 West Virginia gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 1996 to elect the Governor of West Virginia. Republican Cecil Underwood, who had previously been the Governor of West Virginia from 1957 to 1961, defeated Democratic State Senator Charlotte Pritt. Concurrently, the state voted the opposite way federally, choosing Democratic U.S. Presidential nominee, incumbent Bill Clinton over Republican nominee Bob Dole in the Presidential election that year.
Pritt was the first woman to secure the West Virginia gubernatorial nomination of either of the two major political parties. This was the last election in which a Republican was elected Governor of West Virginia until 2020. Former Republican Jim Justice was elected in the 2016 election as a Democrat and later switched back to the Republican Party seven months into his term, making him the first Republican governor since 2001 when Underwood left office.

## Democratic primary
### Candidates

* Charlotte Pritt, former State Senator from Charleston and candidate for Governor in 1992
* Joe Manchin III, State Senator from Fairmont
* Jim Lees, attorney
* Larrie Bailey, former State Treasurer
* Bobbie Edward Myers
* Lyle Sattes
* Bob Henry Baber
* Louis J. Davis
* Frank Rochetti
* Richard E. Moon
* Fred Schell
West Virginia Democratic gubernatorial primary, 1996 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Charlotte Pritt | 130,107 | 39.54% |
| | Democratic | Joe Manchin | 107,124 | 32.56% |
| | Democratic | Jim Lees | 64,100 | 19.48% |
| | Democratic | Larrie Bailey | 15,733 | 4.78% |
| | Democratic | Bobbie Edward Myers | 3,038 | 0.92% |
| | Democratic | Lyle Sattes | 2,931 | 0.89% |
| | Democratic | Bob Henry Baber | 1,456 | 0.44% |
| | Democratic | Louis J. Davis | 1,351 | 0.41% |
| | Democratic | Frank Rochetti | 1,330 | 0.40% |
| | Democratic | Richard E. Koon | 1,154 | 0.35% |
| | Democratic | Fred Schell | 733 | 0.22% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 329,057 | 100.00% |

## Republican primary
### Candidates

* Cecil Underwood, Former Governor and nominee for U.S. Senate in 1960
* Jon McBride, Retired Astronaut, Navy Veteran, and Businessman
* David McKinley, Former State Delegate, and Former State Party Chair
West Virginia Republican gubernatorial primary, 1996 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Cecil Underwood | 54,628 | 40.78% |
| | Republican | Jon McBride | 44,255 | 33.03% |
| | Republican | David McKinley | 35,089 | 26.19% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 133,972 | 100.00% |

## Results

West Virginia gubernatorial election, 1996 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Republican | Cecil Underwood | 324,518 | 51.63% | +15.07% |
| | Democratic | Charlotte Pritt | 287,870 | 45.80% | −10.21% |
| | Libertarian | Wallace Johnson | 16,171 | 2.57% | +2.57% |
| Margin of victory | Margin of victory | Margin of victory | 36,648 | 5.83% | −13.62% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 628,559 | 100.00% | N/A |
| | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic | Swing | | |