Financial News (photo illustration/MetroCreative)

CHARLESTON – With early voting in West Virginia still six days away and Election Day just over a week away, federal and state candidates have reported their donations for most of October.

The Federal Election Commission requires candidates for the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives to file a general election pre-campaign finance report showing donations and expenditures between October 1 and October 16. The deadline for the report was October 24.

In the Senate race, fundraising remained competitive for the third straight reporting period between Republican Gov. Jim Justice and former Democratic Wheeling Mayor Glenn Elliott, although Justice has 150 percent more money on hand in the final days of the race.

Justice raised $86,293 for the reporting period and more than $3.2 million for the election cycle to date, leaving the two-term governor with more than $1.1 million in cash. Justice filed a 48-hour notice for contributions/loans received on Saturday, reporting an additional $45,200 in donations made by the Oct. 24 reporting deadline but not included in the pre-general report.

Elliott was only about $11,000 behind from Justice’s fundraising over the 16-day period. Elliott raised $75,275 for the reporting period and $759,876 from the election cycle to date, leaving him with $153,102 in cash. Elliott also filed a 48-hour notice reporting an additional $2,000 donation.

(Graphic by Steven Allen Adams)

The West Virginia Secretary of State’s office requires statewide candidates, legislative candidates and judicial candidates to file a general election report showing donations made between October 1st and October 20th. The deadline for the report was October 25.

In the governor’s race, Republican Attorney General Patrick Morrisey raised $223,696 for the 20-day reporting period and more than $6.8 million from the election year, leaving him with more than $1.3 million in cash . Morrisey also reduced his loan debt from $99,000 in the previous quarter to $39,000.

Morrisey’s Democratic opponent, three-term Huntington Mayor Steve Williams, raised $19,485 for the reporting period and $254,521 in the election year to date, leaving him with $156,426 in cash. Both Morrisey and Williams will face off in a debate Tuesday at 7pm at Fairmont State University on WV MetroNews. The winner of the November 5 race will succeed Justice.

For the 2nd Congressional District, State Treasurer Riley Moore raised $31,125 for the reporting period and more than $1.3 million year to date, leaving him with $90,440 in cash and $80,427 in debt and campaign loans. According to the Washington Reporter, Moore has donated more than $400,000 to other Republican US House candidates and the Republican National Congressional Committee.

In contrast, Moore’s Democratic challenger, Cmdr. Steven Wendelin, raised $1,065 for the reporting period and $31,131 from the election cycle to date, leaving him with $2,732 in cash. The winner of the 2nd Congressional District contest will succeed Alex Mooney, RW.Va., who lost in May’s GOP primary for Senate Judiciary.

(Graphic by Steven Allen Adams)

In Congressional District 1, incumbent Rep. Carol Miller, RW.Va., raised $42,454 for the reporting period and more than $1.5 million year-to-date, leaving her with $238,864 in cash and $417,993 USD in loans and debt. Miller is serving her third two-year term in Parliament since being elected in 2018.

Independent 1st District House candidate Wes Holden, who previously worked as a staff member for former U.S. Sen. and Democratic Gov. Jay Rockefeller, has raised $2,270 for the period and $36,295 for the election cycle to date. However, Holden was more than $11,000 under water and reported $8,679 in outstanding loans and debts. Democratic candidate Chris Bob Reed has not filed any reports with the FEC.

In the remaining Board of Public Works races, Republican state Economic Development Authority Director Kris Warner raised $24,603 during the reporting period for the race to succeed his brother, Secretary of State Mac Warner, who lost the May primary for Morrisey’s GOP gubernatorial nomination. .

Kris Warner’s election donations to date have been $182,268, leaving him with $30,534 in cash and $3,860 in loans/debts. His Democratic opponent, South Charleston attorney Thornton Cooper, raised $2,468 for the period and $24,822 to date, leaving him with $10,864 in cash. But nearly 80 percent of Cooper’s $2,468 came from himself.

In the state auditor race, state Sen. Mark Hunt, R-Kanawha, raised $25,257 for the reporting period and $96,003 in the year-to-date election, leaving him with $22,476 in cash. Democratic challenger Mary Ann Claytor, a former employee of the State Auditor’s Office under former State Auditor Glen Gainer, raised $4,654 during the period and $35,269 in the election year, leaving her with $6,275 cash on hand.

The winner of the state auditor contest will succeed two-term state auditor JB McCuskey, who is running as the Republican candidate for attorney general to succeed three-term Morrisey.

As of Sunday, no general election report for McCuskey had been filed with the Secretary of State’s Campaign Finance Reporting System. But according to his third-quarter campaign finance report, which covers July through September, McCuskey has raised $313,468 in the three-month period and more than $1.4 million in the election to date, with $203,069 in cash at the end of September. .

Democratic attorney general candidate Teresa Toriseva, a Wheeling attorney and vice chair of the West Virginia Democratic Party, raised $853 between Oct. 1 and Oct. 20 and has raised $47,799 for the election to date. But after expenses, Toriseva was under $946 in cash.

Republican Agriculture Commissioner Kent Leonhardt, who is seeking his third and final four-year term, has raised $2,210 for that period and $268,178 for the election so far, leaving him with $55,904 cash on hand. Tucker County farmer and retired educator Deborah Stiles raised $2,200 for the period and $9,511 to date, leaving her with $1,490 in cash and $8,025 in loans/debts.

Despite not having a Democratic challenger on the ballot, Revenue Secretary Larry Pack is building a war chest as he campaigns to succeed Moore as state treasurer. Pack has raised $75,371 for that period and $482,501 in elections to date, leaving him with $604,302 in cash. Pack also increased his loan debt from $300,000 to over $1.1 million after taking out an additional $500,000 loan on October 7th and a $325,000 loan on October 16th.

Early voting continues this week at county courthouses and designated satellite locations during regular business hours and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday is the deadline for applications for absentee ballots. The polls will open again on Election Day, November 5, from 6.30pm and 7.30pm

Steven Allen Adams can be reached at [email protected].