# 2018 United States Senate election in West Virginia
The 2018 [United States Senate](https://www.edgepedia.org/united-states-senate) election in [West Virginia](https://www.edgepedia.org/west-virginia) was held on November 6, 2018, to choose the state's Class 1 U.S. senator. Incumbent Democrat Joe Manchin III won a second full term, defeating Republican Attorney General Patrick Morrisey by 19,397 votes, a margin of just over 3 percentage points, with Libertarian Rusty Hollen taking the remainder.[1](https://www.thegreenpapers.com/G18/WV) • [2](https://apnews.com/article/b04add2b8c3b3d7b2af6cd490312d326)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Result | Joe Manchin (D) 290,510 votes (49.57%); Patrick Morrisey (R) 271,113 (46.26%); Rusty Hollen (L) 24,411 (4.17%); total 586,034[1](https://www.thegreenpapers.com/G18/WV) |
| Margin | Just over 3 percentage points[2](https://apnews.com/article/b04add2b8c3b3d7b2af6cd490312d326) |
| Dates | Primary May 8, 2018; general election November 6, 2018[1](https://www.thegreenpapers.com/G18/WV) |
| Republican primary | Morrisey defeated Rep. Evan Jenkins and former coal CEO Don Blankenship on May 8, 2018[3](https://www.axios.com/2018/05/09/west-virginia-primary-election-results) |
| Context | Donald Trump carried West Virginia by 42 points in 2016, making Manchin a Democrat seeking re-election in heavily Republican terrain[3](https://www.axios.com/2018/05/09/west-virginia-primary-election-results) |
| Campaign money | FEC-reported receipts of $7,791,325 for Manchin and $4,943,056 for Morrisey[4](https://www.fec.gov/resources/campaign-finance-statistics/2018/tables/congressional/ConCand5_2018_21m.pdf) |
| Seat history | Manchin first won the seat in a 2010 special election after the death of Robert C. Byrd, and was re-elected in 2012 by 24 points[1](https://www.thegreenpapers.com/G18/WV) • [5](https://wvmetronews.com/2018/01/14/gop-senate-candidates-ready-for-primary-battle/) |
## Background
Manchin had held the seat since 2010, when he won the special election to fill the vacancy caused by Senator Robert C. Byrd's death on June 28, 2010; he won the concurrent regular election in 2012 by 24 points.[1](https://www.thegreenpapers.com/G18/WV) • [5](https://wvmetronews.com/2018/01/14/gop-senate-candidates-ready-for-primary-battle/) The state had shifted sharply Republican in the intervening years: Republicans controlled the governorship and both chambers of the state legislature, and Trump won West Virginia's 2016 presidential contest by the largest margin in the state's history.[5](https://wvmetronews.com/2018/01/14/gop-senate-candidates-ready-for-primary-battle/) Manchin entered the cycle as one of ten Democratic senators defending seats in states Trump had won, though he carried a 53% approval rating in late-2017 polling.[6](https://www.axios.com/2017/12/15/3-red-state-dems-break-50-approval-1513306599)
## Republican primary
The May 8, 2018 primary pitted Attorney General Patrick Morrisey against Representative Evan Jenkins and former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship.[3](https://www.axios.com/2018/05/09/west-virginia-primary-election-results) • [7](https://politifact.com/article/2018/may/07/politifact-fact-checks-west-virginias-gop-senate-p/) Blankenship, who had served a year in jail for conspiring to violate mine safety standards before the 2010 Upper Big Branch mine explosion that killed 29 men, ran a combative campaign, attacking Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell with claims about his family's ties to China that [PolitiFact](https://www.edgepedia.org/politifact) rated False.[7](https://politifact.com/article/2018/may/07/politifact-fact-checks-west-virginias-gop-senate-p/) • [8](https://apnews.com/article/f4b1c533d6529759df3a21755a021dbf) Trump, who had won the state by 42 points, urged Republicans the day before the primary to vote against Blankenship.[3](https://www.axios.com/2018/05/09/west-virginia-primary-election-results) Morrisey secured the nomination; Blankenship conceded and later lost a bid to run in the general election as a third-party candidate.[3](https://www.axios.com/2018/05/09/west-virginia-primary-election-results) • [8](https://apnews.com/article/f4b1c533d6529759df3a21755a021dbf)
The primary was fought largely over conservative credentials and the opioid crisis, an issue of unusual weight in a state with the highest drug overdose death rate in the nation, a full one-third higher than second-place Ohio.[7](https://politifact.com/article/2018/may/07/politifact-fact-checks-west-virginias-gop-senate-p/) Jenkins attacked Morrisey for his past work in New Jersey politics and for lobbying for the Healthcare Distribution Management Association, a drug-wholesaler trade group, while at the law firm King & Spalding; Morrisey attacked Jenkins's earlier career as a Democrat.[7](https://politifact.com/article/2018/may/07/politifact-fact-checks-west-virginias-gop-senate-p/) • [5](https://wvmetronews.com/2018/01/14/gop-senate-candidates-ready-for-primary-battle/)
## General election campaign
**Opioids and coal.** Ties to the opioid industry were a liability for both nominees. National Republicans attacked Manchin over his connections to Mylan, while Democrats targeted Morrisey's pharmaceutical lobbying record and campaign donations from drug companies.[9](https://www.axios.com/2018/05/02/opioid-west-virgina-senate-1525292370) • [10](https://www.nationalreview.com/2017/02/2018-west-virginia-senate-race-patrick-morissey-threatens-joe-manchin-reelection/) Morrisey campaigned on jobs, the coal industry, and Supreme Court nominations; the opioid issue also carried a personal edge, since attacks on each candidate aimed to associate him with an industry deeply unpopular in a state at the center of the overdose crisis.[11](https://www.brookings.edu/articles/race-for-the-senate-2018-key-issues-in-west-virginia/)
**National involvement.** [Donald Trump Jr.](https://www.edgepedia.org/donald-trump-jr) named West Virginia one of his priority states for midterm Senate races and congratulated Morrisey immediately after the primary was called.[12](https://www.axios.com/2018/05/10/donald-trump-jr-2018-midterms-campaigning-west-virginia) In October, President Trump campaigned against Manchin, telling a rally he needed voters on November 6 to unseat West Virginia's Democratic senator, and introduced Morrisey, who had been inching up in the polls.[13](https://time.com/5410957/donald-trump-brett-kavanaugh-midterms/)
**Polling.** The race tightened and reversed at points. A WPA Intelligence poll in May 2018 had Manchin trailing Morrisey by two points.[14](https://www.axios.com/2018/05/12/midterm-watch-manchin-behind-gop-challenger-west-virginia) By mid-October, a Polling Company survey of 600 likely voters put Manchin ahead 49% to 45%.[15](https://www.270towin.com/2018-senate-polls/west-virginia/)
## Results
Manchin won 290,510 votes (49.57%) to Morrisey's 271,113 (46.26%), with Hollen at 24,411 (4.17%) out of 586,034 total votes.[1](https://www.thegreenpapers.com/G18/WV) The Associated Press later described the margin as just over 3 percentage points.[2](https://apnews.com/article/b04add2b8c3b3d7b2af6cd490312d326) The FEC's biennial publication records Joseph Manchin III as the winner.[16](https://election.org/election/2018/us-senate/west-virginia) Congress certified the result in January 2019, when Joseph Manchin, III was declared elected from West Virginia for the term beginning that month.[17](https://www.congress.gov/116/crec/2019/01/03/CREC-2019-01-03-senate.pdf)
## Aftermath
The 2018 race proved to be the seat's last Democratic hold. Manchin did not seek re-election in 2024, and Republican Governor Jim Justice flipped the seat that November, defeating Democrat Glenn Elliott; the result made both of West Virginia's U.S. senators Republican for the first time since 1958.[18](https://apnews.com/article/7376ed0ceb9bebd0766190fb14cc0e69)
## References
1. [West Virginia 2018 General Election, The Green Papers](https://www.thegreenpapers.com/G18/WV)
2. [Joe Manchin isn't a candidate 5 months before the election, Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/b04add2b8c3b3d7b2af6cd490312d326)
3. [Patrick Morrisey wins West Virginia Republican Senate primary, Axios](https://www.axios.com/2018/05/09/west-virginia-primary-election-results)
4. [FEC Congressional Candidate table, West Virginia, 2018](https://www.fec.gov/resources/campaign-finance-statistics/2018/tables/congressional/ConCand5_2018_21m.pdf)
5. [GOP Senate candidates ready for primary battle, WV MetroNews](https://wvmetronews.com/2018/01/14/gop-senate-candidates-ready-for-primary-battle/)
6. [3 red-state Dems break 50% approval, Axios](https://www.axios.com/2017/12/15/3-red-state-dems-break-50-approval-1513306599)
7. [PolitiFact fact-checks West Virginia's GOP Senate primary, PolitiFact](https://politifact.com/article/2018/may/07/politifact-fact-checks-west-virginias-gop-senate-p/)
8. [Ex-coal CEO Don Blankenship couldn't win a Senate seat with the GOP, Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/f4b1c533d6529759df3a21755a021dbf)
9. [Opioid ties emerge as liability for both parties in West Virginia, Axios](https://www.axios.com/2018/05/02/opioid-west-virgina-senate-1525292370)
10. [2018 West Virginia Senate Race, National Review](https://www.nationalreview.com/2017/02/2018-west-virginia-senate-race-patrick-morissey-threatens-joe-manchin-reelection/)
11. [Race for the Senate 2018: Key issues in West Virginia, Brookings](https://www.brookings.edu/articles/race-for-the-senate-2018-key-issues-in-west-virginia/)
12. [Donald Trump Jr. plans big midterm role, Axios](https://www.axios.com/2018/05/10/donald-trump-jr-2018-midterms-campaigning-west-virginia)
13. [Trump Aims to Use Kavanaugh Fight to Bring Republicans to the Polls, Time](https://time.com/5410957/donald-trump-brett-kavanaugh-midterms/)
14. [Midterm watch: Manchin falls behind GOP challenger, Axios](https://www.axios.com/2018/05/12/midterm-watch-manchin-behind-gop-challenger-west-virginia)
15. [West Virginia 2018 Senate Election Polls, 270toWin](https://www.270towin.com/2018-senate-polls/west-virginia/)
16. [2018 West Virginia U.S. Senate Election Results, Election.org](https://election.org/election/2018/us-senate/west-virginia)
17. [Congressional Record, Senate, January 3, 2019](https://www.congress.gov/116/crec/2019/01/03/CREC-2019-01-03-senate.pdf)
18. [Republican Jim Justice flips US Senate seat from West Virginia, Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/7376ed0ceb9bebd0766190fb14cc0e69)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Politics and government › Elections and representation › Elections and referendums › United States election events › United States federal election events › US Senate election events › Senate elections, 2006–present*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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