CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) — West Virginia Republicans will have a lot of choices for governor in next year’s primary, including a college student who owns two day-care centers.

Even though State Auditor JB McCuskey has left the governor’s race, there are still five candidates in the primary.

51-year-old Rashida Yost is the only women in the race so far. She lives in Berkeley County and owns two day-care centers in Martinsburg. Yost is also a college student working on a degree in early childhood education. She says better schools and learning for all West Virginians is her number-one priority.

“It is very important sir, because I think children, we recently see the data, West Virginia is among the last, or the second last in children’s education. Not so many are reading and excelling, and hence they give up,” said Rashida Yost, (R) Candidate for WV Governor.

As a small business owner, Yost says she is uniquely qualified to be governor. She is in the race with Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, Secretary of State Mac Warner, businessman Chris Miller, President of Saving WV Wildlife Terri Bradshaw, and House Judiciary Chairman Moore Capito. Yost, like Morrisey, is based in the Eastern Panhandle.