# 2020 United States Senate election in West Virginia

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vte :
The 2020 United States Senate election in West Virginia was held on November 3, 2020, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of West Virginia, concurrently with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states, elections to the United States House of Representatives, and various state and local elections.
Incumbent senator Shelley Moore Capito won a second term against Democrat Paula Jean Swearengin by a margin of 43.3%, winning every county, and becoming the first West Virginia Republican to win reelection to the U.S. Senate since 1907.
Swearengin's 27% of the vote was the lowest vote percentage and worst margin of defeat for any Democratic Senate candidate in West Virginia history.

## Republican primary
### Candidates
#### Nominee

* Shelley Moore Capito, incumbent U.S. Senator

#### Eliminated in primary

* Larry Butcher, farmer
* Allen Whitt, president of the West Virginia Family Policy Council

### Endorsements

Organizations
* Maggie's List

### Results

Republican primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Shelley Moore Capito (incumbent) | 173,847 | 83.32% |
| | Republican | Allen Whitt | 20,075 | 9.62% |
| | Republican | Larry Butcher | 14,717 | 7.05% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 208,639 | 100.00% |

## Democratic primary

Paula Jean Swearengin won the nomination with 38.8% of the vote in the state's Democratic primary on June 9, 2020.

### Candidates
#### Nominee

* Paula Jean Swearengin, environmental activist and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2018

#### Eliminated in primary

* Richard Ojeda, former state senator, nominee for West Virginia's 3rd congressional district in 2018, and former candidate for president of the United States in 2020
* Richie Robb, former mayor of South Charleston

#### Declined

* Mike Pushkin, state delegate
* Earl Ray Tomblin, former governor of West Virginia

### Endorsements

Organizations
* Brand New Congress
* Sierra Club
* Students for Gun Legislation

### Results

Democratic primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Paula Jean Swearengin | 72,292 | 38.39% |
| | Democratic | Richard Ojeda | 61,954 | 32.90% |
| | Democratic | Richie Robb | 54,048 | 28.70% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 188,294 | 100.00% |

## Other candidates
### Libertarian Party
#### Nominee

* David Moran

### Independents
#### Withdrawn

* Franklin Riley

## General election
### Predictions

| Source | Ranking | As of |
| The Cook Political Report | Safe R | October 29, 2020 |
| Inside Elections | Safe R | October 28, 2020 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball | Safe R | November 2, 2020 |
| Daily Kos | Safe R | October 30, 2020 |
| Politico | Safe R | November 2, 2020 |
| RCP | Safe R | October 23, 2020 |
| DDHQ | Safe R | November 3, 2020 |
| 538 | Safe R | November 2, 2020 |
| Economist | Safe R | November 2, 2020 |

### Endorsements

Unions
* United Mine Workers District 17
Organizations
* Maggie's List
* United States Chamber of Commerce
Publications
* Charleston Gazette-Mail
* The Herald-Dispatch
U.S. senators
* Ed Markey, U.S. senator from Massachusetts
* Bernie Sanders, U.S. senator from Vermont (Independent) and 2020 presidential candidate
U.S. representatives
* Grace Meng, U.S. representative from NY-06
State legislators
* Charles Booker, Kentucky state representative from District 43
* Richard Ojeda, West Virginia State Senator for the 7th district (2016–2019); 2020 presidential and U.S. Senate candidate
* Charlotte Pritt, West Virginia State Senator for the 17th district (1988-1992); candidate for governor in 1992, 1996, and 2016
* Nina Turner, Ohio Senator from District 25 (2008–2014), President of Our Revolution
Notable Individuals
* Cori Bush, Democratic nominee for MO-1
* Marianne Williamson, author, activist, and 2020 presidential candidate
* Andrew Yang, author, entrepreneur, and 2020 presidential candidate
Unions
* Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union Local 21
Organizations
* 350 Action
* Brand New Congress
* Center for Biological Diversity Action Fund
* Friends of the Earth Action Fund
* Progressive Democrats of America
* Sierra Club
* Sunrise Movement
* Working Families Party
Publications
* The Dominion Post

### Polling

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Shelley Moore Capito (R) | Paula Jean Swearengin (D) | David Moran (L) | Undecided |
| Research America Inc. | October 6–9, 2020 | 450 (LV) | ± 4.6% | 53% | 33% | 5% | 9% |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Shelley Moore Capito (R) | Generic Democrat | Undecided |
| Public Policy Polling (D) | June 13–14, 2017 | 762 (V) | ± 3.4% | 48% | 35% | 17% |

### Results

United States Senate election in West Virginia, 2020 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Republican | Shelley Moore Capito (incumbent) | 547,454 | 70.28% | +8.16% |
| | Democratic | Paula Jean Swearengin | 210,309 | 27.00% | −7.47% |
| | Libertarian | David Moran | 21,155 | 2.72% | +1.09% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 778,918 | 100.00% | |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

#### By county

Capito won all 55 of the state's counties for the second election in a row, earning more than 70% of the vote over Swearengin in all but nine counties.
By county :
| County | Shelley Moore Capito Republican | Shelley Moore Capito Republican | Paula Jean Swearengin Democratic | Paula Jean Swearengin Democratic | David Moran Libertarian | David Moran Libertarian | Margin | Margin | Total votes |
| County | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | Total votes |
| Barbour | 5,096 | 77.00 | 1,331 | 20.11 | 191 | 2.89 | 3,765 | 56.89 | 6,618 |
| Berkeley | 34,162 | 67.23 | 15,197 | 29.91 | 1,453 | 2.86 | 18,965 | 37.32 | 50,812 |
| Boone | 6,674 | 75.27 | 2,016 | 22.74 | 177 | 2.00 | 4,658 | 52.53 | 8,867 |
| Braxton | 4,006 | 72.22 | 1,395 | 25.15 | 146 | 2.63 | 2,611 | 47.07 | 5,547 |
| Brooke | 7,355 | 70.96 | 2,699 | 26.04 | 311 | 3.00 | 4,656 | 44.92 | 10,365 |
| Cabell | 22,880 | 62.30 | 12,979 | 35.34 | 864 | 2.35 | 9,901 | 26.96 | 36,723 |
| Calhoun | 2,276 | 78.81 | 537 | 18.59 | 75 | 2.60 | 1,739 | 60.22 | 2,888 |
| Clay | 2,680 | 80.38 | 575 | 17.25 | 79 | 2.37 | 2,105 | 63.14 | 3,334 |
| Doddridge | 2,507 | 82.90 | 415 | 13.72 | 102 | 3.37 | 2,092 | 69.18 | 3,024 |
| Fayette | 11,158 | 67.79 | 4,938 | 30.00 | 364 | 2.21 | 6,220 | 37.79 | 16,460 |
| Gilmer | 1,939 | 74.78 | 586 | 22.60 | 68 | 2.62 | 1,353 | 52.18 | 2,593 |
| Grant | 4,544 | 86.87 | 534 | 10.21 | 153 | 2.92 | 4,010 | 76.66 | 5,231 |
| Greenbrier | 11,042 | 70.69 | 4,299 | 27.52 | 280 | 1.79 | 6,743 | 43.17 | 15,621 |
| Hampshire | 7,764 | 79.22 | 1,764 | 18.00 | 272 | 2.78 | 6,000 | 61.22 | 9,800 |
| Hancock | 9,593 | 71.38 | 3,484 | 25.92 | 362 | 2.69 | 6,109 | 45.46 | 13,439 |
| Hardy | 4,879 | 78.18 | 1,196 | 19.16 | 166 | 2.66 | 3,683 | 59.01 | 6,241 |
| Harrison | 21,194 | 70.64 | 7,807 | 26.02 | 1,000 | 3.33 | 13,387 | 44.62 | 30,001 |
| Jackson | 10,298 | 77.21 | 2,754 | 20.65 | 285 | 2.14 | 7,544 | 56.56 | 13,337 |
| Jefferson | 15,625 | 57.23 | 11,033 | 40.41 | 646 | 2.37 | 4,592 | 16.82 | 27,304 |
| Kanawha | 50,953 | 62.85 | 28,565 | 35.24 | 1,550 | 1.91 | 22,388 | 27.62 | 81,068 |
| Lewis | 5,736 | 77.46 | 1,431 | 19.32 | 238 | 3.21 | 4,305 | 58.14 | 7,405 |
| Lincoln | 5,770 | 75.73 | 1,663 | 21.83 | 186 | 2.44 | 4,107 | 53.90 | 7,619 |
| Logan | 9,810 | 79.71 | 2,266 | 18.41 | 231 | 1.88 | 7,544 | 61.30 | 12,307 |
| Marion | 16,722 | 66.01 | 7,626 | 30.10 | 985 | 3.89 | 9,096 | 35.91 | 25,333 |
| Marshall | 10,655 | 77.12 | 2,913 | 21.08 | 249 | 1.80 | 7,742 | 56.03 | 13,817 |
| Mason | 8,421 | 76.06 | 2,333 | 21.07 | 317 | 2.86 | 6,088 | 54.99 | 11,071 |
| McDowell | 4,539 | 75.44 | 1,363 | 22.65 | 115 | 1.91 | 3,176 | 52.78 | 6,017 |
| Mercer | 18,740 | 76.48 | 5,269 | 21.50 | 494 | 2.02 | 13,471 | 54.98 | 24,503 |
| Mineral | 9,830 | 77.95 | 2,308 | 18.30 | 472 | 3.74 | 7,522 | 59.65 | 12,610 |
| Mingo | 7,761 | 81.57 | 1,525 | 16.03 | 228 | 2.40 | 6,236 | 65.54 | 9,514 |
| Monongalia | 22,140 | 53.37 | 17,863 | 43.06 | 1,483 | 3.57 | 4,277 | 10.31 | 41,486 |
| Monroe | 4,901 | 77.34 | 1,305 | 20.59 | 131 | 2.07 | 3,596 | 56.74 | 6,337 |
| Morgan | 6,504 | 76.30 | 1,797 | 21.08 | 223 | 2.62 | 4,707 | 55.22 | 8,524 |
| Nicholas | 7,976 | 76.69 | 2,214 | 21.29 | 210 | 2.02 | 5,762 | 55.40 | 10,400 |
| Ohio | 13,373 | 68.07 | 5,905 | 30.06 | 368 | 1.87 | 7,468 | 38.01 | 19,646 |
| Pendleton | 2,840 | 79.15 | 677 | 18.87 | 71 | 1.98 | 2,163 | 60.28 | 3,588 |
| Pleasants | 2,628 | 77.73 | 634 | 18.75 | 119 | 3.52 | 1,994 | 58.98 | 3,381 |
| Pocahontas | 2,707 | 70.26 | 1,034 | 26.84 | 112 | 2.91 | 1,673 | 43.42 | 3,853 |
| Preston | 9,953 | 69.71 | 2,664 | 18.66 | 1,660 | 11.63 | 7,289 | 51.05 | 14,277 |
| Putnam | 20,812 | 73.78 | 6,784 | 24.05 | 613 | 2.17 | 14,028 | 49.73 | 28,209 |
| Raleigh | 23,708 | 73.02 | 8,201 | 25.26 | 561 | 1.73 | 15,507 | 47.76 | 32,470 |
| Randolph | 8,873 | 73.91 | 2,868 | 23.89 | 265 | 2.21 | 6,005 | 50.02 | 12,006 |
| Ritchie | 3,474 | 83.49 | 569 | 13.67 | 118 | 2.84 | 2,905 | 69.81 | 4,161 |
| Roane | 4,260 | 75.00 | 1,302 | 22.92 | 118 | 2.08 | 2,958 | 52.08 | 5,680 |
| Summers | 3,839 | 70.86 | 1,467 | 27.08 | 112 | 2.07 | 2,372 | 43.78 | 5,418 |
| Taylor | 5,402 | 73.95 | 1,582 | 21.66 | 321 | 4.39 | 3,820 | 52.29 | 7,305 |
| Tucker | 2,706 | 71.38 | 854 | 22.53 | 231 | 6.09 | 1,852 | 48.85 | 3,791 |
| Tyler | 3,095 | 80.66 | 612 | 15.95 | 130 | 3.39 | 2,483 | 64.71 | 3,837 |
| Upshur | 7,788 | 77.48 | 1,953 | 19.43 | 310 | 3.08 | 5,835 | 58.05 | 10,051 |
| Wayne | 12,048 | 73.80 | 3,895 | 23.86 | 383 | 2.35 | 8,153 | 49.94 | 16,326 |
| Webster | 2,585 | 78.84 | 613 | 18.69 | 81 | 2.47 | 1,972 | 60.14 | 3,279 |
| Wetzel | 4,811 | 74.12 | 1,441 | 22.20 | 239 | 3.68 | 3,370 | 51.92 | 6,491 |
| Wirt | 2,116 | 81.32 | 426 | 16.37 | 60 | 2.31 | 1,690 | 64.95 | 2,602 |
| Wood | 27,733 | 72.75 | 9,359 | 24.55 | 1,031 | 2.70 | 18,374 | 48.20 | 38,123 |
| Wyoming | 6,573 | 80.08 | 1,489 | 18.14 | 146 | 1.78 | 5,084 | 61.94 | 8,208 |
| Totals | 547,454 | 70.28 | 210,309 | 27.00 | 21,155 | 2.72 | 337,145 | 43.28 | 778,918 |

#### By congressional district

Moore Capito won all three congressional districts.
| District | Moore Capito | Jean Swearengin | Representative |
| 1st | 70% | 27% | David McKinley |
| 2nd | 69% | 29% | Alex Mooney |
| 3rd | 73% | 25% | Carol Miller |