1996 West Virginia gubernatorial election

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.

1996 West Virginia gubernatorial election
November 5, 1996
 
Nominee Cecil Underwood Charlotte Pritt
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 324,518 287,870
Percentage 51.6% 45.8%
County Results

Underwood:      40-50%      50-60%      60-70%      70-80%

Pritt:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
Governor before election

Gaston Caperton
Democratic

 Elected Governor

Cecil Underwood
Republican

Elections in West Virginia

Pritt was the first woman to secure the West Virginia gubernatorial nomination of either of the two major political parties. As of 2020, this is the most recent election in which a Republican was elected Governor of West Virginia. 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
West Virginia Democratic gubernatorial primary, 1996[1]
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 329,057 100.00

Results
West Virginia gubernatorial election, 1996[2]
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 36,648 5.83% -13.62%
Total votes 628,559 100%
Republican gain from Democratic Swing
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References
  1. "WV Governor - D Primary 1996". Our Campaigns. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
  2. http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/

See also
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