2018 United States Senate election in West Virginia

The 2018 United States Senate election in West Virginia took place on November 6, 2018, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of West Virginia, concurrently with other elections to the United States Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives, and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democratic Senator Joe Manchin won re-election to a second full term against Republican West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey. This was one of ten Democratic-held Senate seats up for election in a state won by Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election.

Manchin was considered to be among the most vulnerable Democratic senators facing re-election in 2018 due to the state's deepening partisan lean and his declining popularity. He ultimately won a second full term, though by a much narrower margin of 3.33% compared to his 2012 landslide. Manchin outperformed the margins of defeat from both Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020 by more than 40 percentage points.

As of 2025, this is the last time that a Democrat won a congressional and/or statewide election in West Virginia. Morrisey would later be re-elected as State Attorney General in 2020 and be elected Governor of West Virginia in 2024.

Background

West Virginia was once a Democratic stronghold at the state and federal level, but is now deeply red at the federal and state levels. In 2008, John McCain defeated Barack Obama by a margin of 13.1%. From 1959 to 2015, West Virginia was exclusively represented in the U.S. Senate by Democrats.

In the 2012 presidential election, Mitt Romney defeated Obama by 26.7% and swept every single county in the state. Despite this, Manchin was reelected in his own landslide over perennial candidate John Raese, receiving more than 60% of the vote and carrying all but three counties. Manchin's 2012 re-election against Raese was a rematch between the two, as Manchin previously defeated Raese in the 2010 special election where he was first elected to the U.S. Senate.

In 2016, Donald Trump won the state by a greater than 40-point margin over Hillary Clinton (68–26%), with Clinton's performance being the worst for either party in the state's history. Trump also won every county in the state.

Concurrent with Trump's landslide victory in West Virginia, Democratic businessman Jim Justice won the gubernatorial election with 49% of the vote but changed his party affiliation back to Republican within a year (Justice had previously been a Republican prior to running as a Democrat for governor). Democrats lost almost every statewide office in the state in 2016, with State Treasurer John Perdue being the only statewide Democrat re-elected.

Because of the heavy Republican lean of his state, Manchin was ranked by many outlets as one of the most vulnerable incumbents up for reelection. President Trump headlined three rallies in the state on behalf of Manchin's opponent Patrick Morrisey. Manchin's vote to confirm Judge Brett Kavanaugh in his highly contentious confirmation hearing, making him the only Democrat to do so, garnered national attention and backlash from members of his own party just weeks before the midterm elections. Despite the challenges to his re-election, Manchin leaned into his close personal ties to the state and emphasized his moderate to conservative views.

Although Manchin was seen as vulnerable during the lead-up to the election, polling considered him to be a slight favorite for most of the general election cycle.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Joe Manchin, incumbent U.S. senator

Eliminated in primary

Paula Jean Swearengin, social and environmental activist

Endorsements

Polling

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Patrick Morrisey, Attorney General of West Virginia

Eliminated in primary

Don Blankenship, former chairman and CEO of Massey Energy
Bo Copley, coal miner
Evan Jenkins, U.S. representative for West Virginia's 3rd congressional district (2015–2018)
Jack Newbrough, truck driver and navy veteran
Tom Willis, Army veteran

Declined

Ryan Ferns, Majority Leader of the West Virginia Senate (running for re-election)
David McKinley, U.S. representative for West Virginia's 1st congressional district (2011–2023) (running for re-election)
Alex Mooney, U.S. representative for West Virginia's 2nd congressional district (2015–2025) (running for re-election)

Endorsements

Debates

Polling

Results

Libertarian Party

Candidates

Nominated

Rusty Hollen

Constitution Party

Candidates

Denied ballot access

Don Blankenship, former chairman and CEO of Massey Energy. Observers noted that he would be ineligible to run due to West Virginia's sore-loser law which states that the loser of a partisan primary election cannot appear on the ballot as an independent or with another political party in the general election. Blankenship was eligible to run as a write-in candidate. Secretary of State Mac Warner denied ballot access to Blankenship's campaign on July 26, citing West Virginia's "sore loser" law. After a lawsuit, the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia ordered Warner to deny Blankenship ballot access on August 29, 2018.