CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) — The 2022 election in West Virginia is now settled, but there are concerns about the potential fallout after Republicans gained even bigger majorities in the Legislature.

Going into Election Day, Republicans already had supermajorities in the House of Delegates and State Senate. But on election night, those margins grew even larger.

When the final results were in, Republicans have 30 seats in the State Senate with just four for Democrats. In the House, the GOP has 88 seats, with just 12 for Democrats.

One political analyst says Democrats need to rebuild their base around the reproductive rights issue, and that Republicans need to guard against party infighting.

“There’s always going to be contention in the ranks. and there are people – I’m not going to say their names – but I can think of their names, people who will want to upend some of that type of behavior because they didn’t get the leadership shot they wanted. They didn’t get the committee assignment,” said Danny Jones, a former Republican Delegate.

Jones, who also served as Kanawha County Sheriff, and was the longest-serving Mayor of Charleston, in the city’s history says Democrats need to circle back and make the abortion issue more prominent in their agenda.

“First thing, what the Democrats ought to do is, what the pro-choice people in this state ought to do is demand that they put that issue on the ballot. And I’d start with that and the whole reproductive rights for women. I’d try to get it on the ballot,” said former Delegate Jones.

Jones says when he was in the legislature, Democrats had similar huge majorities.
He says that caused party infighting, which stalled progress in the state, and eventually led to the Republican takeover we have now.

Mayor Jones will be one of our guests this weekend on, “Inside West Virginia Politics.”