WV AFL-CIO Endorses Candidates in 2018 General Election

CHARLESTON – Members of the West Virginia AFL-CIO’s Committee on Political Education met on Saturday and selected congressional and legislative candidates for endorsement in the 2018 General Election.

“Nearly all of the candidates we endorsed in the primary won their races -- including Republican Bill Hamilton who with the help of strong labor support defeated the most vocal enemy of working people, Senator Robert Karnes – and we’re excited about the prospects for all endorsed our candidates in the General Election,” West Virginia AFL-CIO President Josh Sword noted. “Our members are energized more than ever, and eager to get out and support these candidates, both Democrats and Republicans, who are dedicated to advocating for fair wages, good benefits and a safe workplace.”

An endorsement by the West Virginia AFL-CIO Committee on Political Education follows recommendations from 13 AFL-CIO Central Labor Councils located around the state. The Central Labor Councils interviewed legislative candidates who complete a questionnaire on time, and consider an incumbent’s position on working family issues. To garner an endorsement by the West Virginia AFL-CIO, a candidate must receive a 2/3 majority of votes cast by the 75 members of State COPE.

At the congressional level, the COPE Committee proudly endorsed current Senator Joe Manchin for the United States Senate seat, the sole statewide office on the 2018 ballot, Talley Sergent in the 2ndCongressional District, and state Senator Richard Ojeda in the 3rd Congressional District.

The COPE committee endorsed the following state legislative candidates:

Senate

1st William Ihlenfeld; 2nd Denny Longwell; 3rd Jim Leach; 4th Brian Prim; 5th Mike Woelfel; 6th Charles Sammons; 7th Ron Stollings; 8th Richard Lindsay; 9th William “Bill” Wooton; 10th Stephen Baldwin; 11thBill Hamilton; 12th Mike Romano; 13th Bob Beach; 14th Stephanie Zucker; 15th Jean Armentrout; 16th John Unger; 17th Terrell Ellis.

House of Delegates

1st Diana Magnone, Randy Swartzmiller; 2nd Phillip Diserio; 3rd Shawn Fluharty, Erikka Storch; 4th Joe Canestraro, Lisa Zukoff; 5th Dave Pethtel; 6th T. Chris Combs; 7th Lissa Lucas; 8th David Bland; 9th Jim Marion; 10th Andy Daniel, J. Morgan Leach, Harry Deitzler; 12th Missy Morris; 13th Scott Brewer; 14th Brianne Solomon; 16th Sean Hornbuckle, Matt Spurlock, Vera Miller; 17th Chad Lovejoy, Matthew Rohrbach; 18th Karen Nance; 19th Ken Hicks, Robert Thompson; 21st Phyllis White; 22nd Gary McCallister, Zack Maynard; 23rd Rodney Miller; 24th Ralph Rodighiero, Timothy Tomblin; 25th John “Andy” Vance; 26th Ed Evans; 27th Phoebe Meadows, Lacy Watson, Carol Bailey; 28th Andrew Evans, Sandy Shaw; 29th Ricky Moye; 30th Mick Bates; 31st Richard Snuffer; 32nd Margaret Staggers, Mel Kessler, Luke Lively; 33rd David Walker; 34th Brent Boggs; 35th Andrew Byrd, Renate Pore, James Robinette, Doug Skaff Jr.; 36th Larry Rowe, Andrew Robinson, Amanda Estep-Burton; 37th Mike Pushkin; 38th Tom Tull; 39thDavid “Woody” Holmes; 40th Melissa Huffman; 41st Paul O’Dell Jr.; 42nd Jeff Campbell, Cindy Lavender-Bowe; 43rd Bill Hartman, Cody Thompson; 44th Dana Lynch; 45th Matthew Kerner; 46th Robert “Bob” Stultz; 47th Ed Larry; 48th Tim Miley, Richard Iaquinta, Robert Garcia, Derek McIntyre; 49th George Abel; 50th Mike Caputo, Linda Longstreth, Michael Angelucci; 51st Barbara Fleischauer, Evan Hansen, John Williams, Danielle Walker, Rodney Pyles; 52nd Gary Knotts; 53rd Cory Chase; 54th John Hott; 55th Isaac Sponaugle; 56th Timothy Ryan; 58th Bibi Hahn; 59th John Isner; 61st Jason Barrett; 63rd Sam Brown; 64thBarby Frankenberry; 65th Sammi Brown; 66th David Dinges; 67th John Doyle.