The chairman of West Virginia’s Democratic Party says it’s time to rally around Kamala Harris as the party’s nominee.
West Virginia’s Republican senator contends that if incumbent President Joe Biden isn’t up for a general election run then he should resign.
And the Republican nominee for governor, Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, is repeating a call for Biden to be removed from office under the Constitution’s 25th Amendment.
Joe Biden
That represents a range of reaction in West Virginia since Biden, 81, announced on Sunday afternoon that he will not seek re-election. Since then, Democrats across the country have swiftly backed Harris, the vice president who has already locked up enough support from convention delegates to gain the nomination and whose ascension prompted more than $100 million in campaign contributions over just the past couple of days.
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Biden has announced he will give a prime-time address from the White House at 8 p.m. Wednesday on his decision to exit the presidential race.
“I will address the nation from the Oval Office on what lies ahead, and how I will finish the job for the American people,” he said in a post on X.
Kamala Harris
Harris, 59, is the first female vice president, first Black and first Asian-American vice president. She was a U.S. Senator from California from 2017 to 2021 and served as attorney general of California from 2011 to 2017. Before that, she was a prosecutor in California.
West Virginia’s delegates to the Democratic National Convention on Monday evening announced their support for Kamala Harris to lead the presidential ticket. West Virginia has 25 delegates to the convention, plus two alternates.
Mike Pushkin
“We had a deliberate, long, healthy discussion and debate over what to do, and we voted — took a voice vote — to endorse the nomination of Vice President Harris,” said Mike Pushkin, chairman of the Democratic Party in West Virginia, speaking on MetroNews’ “Talkline.”
“When President Biden decided not to seek re-election — and I think he did so in a truly selfless act that’s so rare in politics these days; like you never see somebody stepping away from power like that and putting the country first — and when he did so he endorsed his vice president.”
Pushkin continued, “So she is the obvious choice. She is vetted. She is ready. And I believe the fundraising totals have shown that she is ready to do the job to take on Donald Trump.”
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He said it’s time to coalesce around a candidate, Harris, and get on with campaigning. The Democratic Party was roiled with questions about the top of the ticket after Biden appeared at a late June debate against Trump with a soft voice and lost his train of thought several times.
“We’ve lost a lot of time. Since the debate, the discussion has been all about whether or not Joe Biden should stay in, whether he shouldn’t stay in — and, meanwhile, Donald Trump has been skating free without a whole lot of criticism
Shelley Moore Capito
Senator Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., has endorsed Trump, at 78 now the oldest presidential nominee in U.S. history, in the general election. She has been a regular critic of Biden’s administration, particularly on issues of inflation and border security. Following Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential race, she released a statement saying the incumbent should resign the office.
“I think it was apparent after his performance at the debate that he is not up to the job, up to the campaign — and then you could see the piling on. I said facetiously, the train’s coming — it’s just a matter of when it’s going to hit you. So I think that’s what happened. I think he made the right decision for himself, for the country and for everybody else involved. I have other questions around it, but I think it was the right decision,” Capito said on “The Dave Allen Show” on WCHS Radio.
She continued by suggesting that if the president isn’t up to campaigning for another four-year term, then he is not up to serving out the next five months.
“If the president’s determined that he can’t go through a campaign, can he really serve for the next six months?” Capito said. And, she asked, “Who in the White House, including the vice president, the cabinet members, the Democratic leadership — this doesn’t happen overnight, this fogginess or apparent cognitive issues he’s having — who knew about this? Who was covering up this apparent inadequacy as a president to be able to really formulate good decisions?”
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Capito served in the Senate with Harris, who represented California. But, she said, “The issue here is the policies. It may be a change from Joe Biden to Kamala Harris, but it’s the same policies and probably more extreme.”
Patrick Morrisey
Morrisey, the three-term attorney general who is now the Republican nominee for governor, released a statement saying the vice president should, under Section 4 of the 25th Amendment of the Constitution, declare that President Biden is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.
Morrisey was repeating a call he made after reports from Special Counsel Robert Hur’s investigation of Biden’s continued possession of classified information suggested that a jury could perceive the president as “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”
“If he’s unfit, he should either resign or be subject to the provisions of the 25h Amendment,” Morrisey said on “Talkline.”
“And now, in light of what we’ve seen over the last month, it seems even more clear that President Biden is unable to discharge the powers and the duties of the office. This is an office with vast amounts of responsibility, so we think it’s important for the vice president to take this step because if he’s not going to be able to conduct a campaign and engage in all the traditional activities of a candidate, he’s going to be very hard-pressed to serve as the leader of the free world.”
Morrisey, who is supporting Trump in the presidential election, continued by saying, “You need someone who is mentally fit to serve in that office. I don’t even know that this is something that is politically positive to do. It’s just the right thing to do for the country because the job is such an awesome responsibility. You need to have someone who’s on top of it.”
The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources announced that the West Virginia Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation has named Heath Miles its 2026 Wildlife Manager of the Year, according to a press release from the WVDNR.
Miles, who oversees more than 12,000 acres of wild turkey habitat at Chief Cornstalk and Bright McCausland Homestead Wildlife Management Areas in Mason County, was recognized for his work on behalf of West Virginia’s wild turkey population and turkey hunters.
“Miles has been an influential advocate, building habitat, enabling critical research and recruiting hunters for more than 15 years and we are proud to see his tireless efforts be recognized,” said WVDNR Director Brett McMillion.
Under Miles’ management, habitat conditions for wild turkey have improved at Chief Cornstalk and Bright McCausland Homestead WMAs, where he maintains more than 75 acres of annual and perennial food plots. Several of these plots were built through Miles’ proactive efforts to clear over 100 acres of fallow land, which suffered heavy encroachment from invasive autumn olive.
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These land clearing projects created turkey brooding sites and other young forests, shrublands and grasslands that provide breeding, nesting and foraging areas for wildlife. Miles also coordinates wildlife-focused forest management activities, which have resulted in timber harvests on more than 400 acres, with additional work planned in 2026.
Miles was a key member of a project to capture and translocate wild turkey from West Virginia to Texas. Currently, he is the coordinator for turkey trapping efforts in Mason County as part of a statewide survival study. Under Miles’ leadership, the Mason County team has consistently met trapping objectives, including 24 hens trapped, banded and equipped with transmitters in 2024 and 14 hens in 2025.
Beyond his official duties with the WVDNR, Miles shares his passion for hunting and wild turkey conservation through mentorship. He has given himself a personal goal of introducing at least one person to turkey hunting every year. Over the years, Miles has helped 40 hunters, ages eight to 79, go on their first turkey hunt or harvest their first wild turkey.
Angela Wowczuk, a service assistant professor in the School of Pharmacy, has been awarded the Ethel and Gerry Heebink Award for Distinguished Extended State Service in recognition of her exceptional service to the University, students and community.
The service award recognizes a faculty or staff member who has provided distinguished service to West Virginia for more than eight years.
Since 2019, she has served as the director and then administrative director for the Rational Drug Therapy Program. Her work integrates clinical pharmacy, public health and statewide health system collaboration, providing improved care for over 825,000 West Virginia residents covered by Medicaid, the Public Employees Insurance Agency and the West Virginia Children’s Health Insurance program.
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Wowczuk has contributed extensively to education and public health initiatives across the state. She teaches in the West Virginia Rural Health Association’s HIV Academic Mentoring Program, where she trains general practitioners to manage HIV care for patients who face barriers to access in underserved areas. She also contributed to the national sexual health curriculum as a section leader with the American Academy of HIV medicine and received funding from the Centers for Disease Control and the West Virginia Department of Health to develop statewide treatment guidelines for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
Her work has resulted in over 1,800 encounters with physicians, social workers, nurse practitioners, physician assistants and teachers on such topics as ADHD, pain treatment and stigma related to substance abuse.
Under Wowczuk’s leadership, the RDTP delivers critical clinical services statewide. The program conducts approximately 1,700 medication reviews on weekdays and 250 on weekends — evaluating drug safety, effectiveness and appropriate use.
Wowczuk also leads the Safe and Effective Management of Pain Program, which implements CDC guidelines for prescribing opioids for chronic pain. Since the program began, SEMPP has halved the amount of opioids prescribed to West Virginia patients on PEIA and Medicaid — reducing adverse events, hospitalizations and unnecessary costs. The SEMPP program has proven effective in proactively preventing substance use disorder before it starts.
Woczuck is also an effective steward of resources, growing RDTP contracts funding by almost 50% since 2019. Her work exemplifies impactful, statewide service that has improved health care quality, access and outcomes for the state of West Virginia.
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As the 2026 Heebink Extended Service Award recipient, Wowczuk will receive a $3,000 professional development honorarium.
“Dr. Wowczuk exemplifies the purpose of and meaning behind the Heebink Award,” Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Paul Kreider said. “She and her work are stellar examples of the distinguished service we value as West Virginia’s land-grant institution.”
Award recipients will be recognized during a faculty and staff awards reception at Blaney House in April.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (Gray DC) – — Gov. Patrick Morrisey announced $4 billion in private investment to build data centers across West Virginia, but the plan faces pushback from residents concerned about rising electricity costs and resource consumption.
The West Virginia State Legislature opened the door for data center development in 2023, with a plan promising 30% of funds would stay in host counties.
“We have a framework that will help make West Virginia not only the best state to open a data center… but best for consumers as well,” Morrisey said.
Resource and cost concerns
Critics say each data center will consume between 1 and 5 million gallons of water daily, employ fewer than a dozen people and strain the power grid.
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Morrisey said the law bars passing costs to consumers.
However, a Carnegie Mellon report shows electricity costs in communities around data centers are expected to spike nearly 25% by 2030. The explosion of data centers nationwide will drive up electricity bills by an average of 8% even for those not near a facility.
Limited lifespan
The lifespan of a data center averages 15 years. By year 25, they are considered obsolete.
There are currently plans for eight data centers across West Virginia. Morrisey said he is listening to those communities.
West Virginia’s welcome signs were changed from “Wild and Wonderful” to “Open for Business” in 2006.
