A hearing has been scheduled in the case of a West Virginia senator challenging the results of the primary election, which he lost.

Sen. Chandler Swope, R-Mercer, filed a challenge to the election results in seven Mingo County precincts after losing the Republican primary to opponent Craig Hart. 

The hearing will be at 9 a.m. July 18 at the Mingo County Courthouse.

In a notice filed earlier this month, Swope said he intends to challenge all votes cast in seven precincts in Mingo County. He requested to examine poll books across the county and reserves the right to amend the challenge to include additional precincts if irregularities are found. 

According to the West Virginia Secretary of State’s Office, Hart won 75% or 2,152 votes in Mingo County, while Swope captured 364 and former state Del. Eric Porterfield had 344. 

In total, Hart won the election with 4,847 votes amounting to about 40%, while Swope had 4,384 votes, or approximately 37%. Porterfield had 2,633 or 22% of the votes. 

Swope’s challenge includes four affidavits and an unsworn letter from Mingo County voters alleging irregularities with the primary election. 

Based on the voter accounts and a Republican turnout of more than 70% percent in 12 of 28 precincts, compared with an approximately 47% Republican turnout for the county during the 2020 primary, Swope’s challenge says it appears many Mingo County voters were improperly given a choice about which primary they wanted to participate in, rather than being given the ballot of their respective party registration. 

“These issues span multiple precincts, and in all likelihood, explain the unusually high number of Republican ballots submitted,” Swope’s challenge said. 

In a joint motion, Swope and Hart requested a procedural hearing around July 1 to discuss procedural issues ahead of the July 18 hearing. They noted that both have filed Freedom of Information Act requests with the Mingo County Clerk’s Office.

Anthony Majestro, a Charleston attorney representing Hart, said the Mingo commission has agreed to allow them to review the poll books Friday to see if it’s mathematically possible for Swope to win the election in the challenged precincts.

Majestro said Swope’s challenge of specific precincts raises issues of disenfranchising people who correctly voted and possibly affecting other races. Swope’s argument about the high percentage of Republican votes cast in the primary is misleading, Majestro said, because it does not take into account independent voters, the number of which have increased in the past few years as the number of registered Democrats has declined. 

According to the West Virginia Secretary of State’s office, in April 2020, Mingo County had 3,291 registered Republicans, 12,691 registered Democrats and 1,987 independent voters. As of April 2024, the county has 5113 registered Republicans, 7,202 Democrats and 2,295 independent voters. 

“It shouldn’t surprise anybody that the independents are voting in the Republican primary rather than the Democratic primary, because there were no contested races in the Democratic primary …no local races contested,” Majestro said. 

Swope was one of four West Virginia senators to lose seats during the primary election last month. 

Mingo County Commission President Nathan Brown did not immediately return a call seeking comment. 

West Virginia has put together a significant chunk of the 2025 recruiting class at this stage, but who are some of the key targets remaining on the board?

The Mountaineers are now up to 19 total commitments in the current cycle but are still looking to add a number of key pieces across the board at the various spots.

In terms of offense, West Virginia is currently full at the quarterback and running back spots but still is searching for at least one more wide receiver, if not two to round things out.

Coconut Creek (Fla.) Monarch 2025 wide receiver Samari Reed is right at the top of the board for the Mountaineers. The Rivals.com four-star prospect has taken official visits to West Virginia, Clemson, Kentucky and Penn State with the Mountaineers certainly impressing him.

“West Virginia was nothing like I planned it to be at all. The things that stood out were the people. They showed a bunch of love,” he said.

Along with Reed, the Mountaineers also are in the mix for Drexel Hill (Pa.) Monsignor Bonner 2025 wide receiver Jalil Hall who took an official visit to campus May 31-June 2. Hall also has visited Maryland and is expected to make his commitment on June 29.

The Mountaineers have one tight end in the fold, but there is the possibility that the program could look at another depending on if it’s the right fit. Columbia (S.C.) Hammond School 2025 tight end Mike Tyler would be right at the top of that list for the Mountaineers.

West Virginia has three offensive linemen in the fold but is still searching for another offensive tackle body type and one that is coming off an official visit to Morgantown is Bronx (N.Y.) Cardinal Hayes offensive lineman Jayden Mann. He also has taken visits to Syracuse, Georgia Tech, and Rutgers.

On the defensive line, West Virginia is still expected to take two to three more with some of the key options on the board remaining Cleveland Heights (Oh.) 2025 defensive lineman Brandon Caesar, Owings Mills (Md.) McDonogh 2025 defensive end Elijah Crawford and Huntingtown (Md.) 2025 defensive lineman Evan Powell. Each of those has taken an official visit to West Virginia and is expected to make decisions in the coming weeks.

West Virginia will likely take one more inside linebacker in this cycle with some of the key targets remaining being West Chester (Oh.) Lakota West 2025 linebacker Grant Beerman and Seffner (Fla.) Armwood 2025 linebacker Cameron White.

Beerman also took official visits to Cincinnati, Purdue and Michigan State and is expected to make his commitment in the coming weeks. Meanwhile White also visited UCF, Syracuse, North Carolina State and Louisville outside his stop in Morgantown.

Even with one true outside linebacker in the class, West Virginia is still targeting Towson (Md.) Concordia Prep 2025 outside linebacker Sidney Stewart. He has taken official visits to Boston College, Virginia Tech, Indiana and Maryland outside his stop at West Virginia.

As for the rest of the secondary, West Virginia has filled many of their needs but some targets remain out there such as Columbus (Oh.) Marion Franklin 2025 cornerback Dawayne Galloway and Cincinnati (Oh.) Winton Woods 2025 athlete Seaonta Stewart after both took official visits this summer. Both list the Mountaineers on their short list of options.

Babydog is now permanently enshrined in West Virginia’s history and architecture.

The image of Governor Jim Justice’s beloved English Bulldog appears, surprisingly, in one of the murals recently unveiled in the upper rotunda of the West Virginia State Capitol. Babydog is seated among individuals depicting dance, music and art with Seneca Rocks in the background.

It appears to have been a decision by State Department of Arts, Culture and History Secretary Randall Reid-Smith to include the dog’s image in one of the panels. Governor Justice told a reporter Monday he was not aware of it until he saw the mural for the first time last week.

I’m still trying to sort out what to make of this.

From a purist standpoint, Babydog does not belong there. Reid-Smith said during last week’s dedication of the murals that the intention of Capitol building architect Cass Gilbert was for the murals “to be historical and allegorical.”

Babydog is neither. She is a beloved pet, but also a political prop that Justice has used successfully to enhance his own popularity. The State Capitol does not belong to Justice or any other politician; it is the people’s house, and it will be as long as there is a government.

The temporary occupants of the building have an obligation to maintain its structural and aesthetic integrity for future generations. That includes keeping any changes in line with Gilbert’s original design.

When I first saw a picture of the mural with Babydog, I cringed. No, it was not as bad as Justice’s 2022 State of the State address when he flashed the dog’s rear to the camera, and more specifically to Bette Midler who had made a disparaging remark about the state. But it felt inappropriate.

However, now when I look at the mural my first reaction is to laugh. Babydog seems like she belongs there, perfectly comfortable with all that is going on around her, much like her behavior when she is sitting beside the Governor at public events.

That is typical of the breed. The American Kennel Club describes English Bulldogs as, “Kind but courageous, friendly, but dignified.” That loose skin on the head, pushed in nose and hanging jowls make the animal look like either they are smiling or sad. Either way, we are inclined to anthropomorphize them.

Babydog, like all good pets, makes us happy. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, “Studies show that dogs can reduce stress, anxiety and depression, ease loneliness, encourage exercise and improve your all around health.”

Babydog and Justice may not check the box on exercise, but she clearly brings joy to those around her. And in West Virginia, we can always use a little more joy.

I imagine future tours of our popular Capitol Building where the guide tells visitors about how the Governor’s dog became a beloved pet of the state, and even a symbol of the massive vaccine effort during the pandemic—Do It for Babydog!

“Now,” the guide will ask the tourists, can you find Babydog in one of the murals?” That would be a memorable part of the tour.

However, we also must try to imagine what Cass Gilbert would think. He was one of our country’s great architects, and it is a deep source of pride that he built our Capitol. A profile of Gilbert in Architectural Digest described him as “formal, stuffy, ambitious, loyal, conservative in the extreme and more than a little prissy.”

Something tells me Mr. Gilbert would not approve, but then again, he was not exposed to the charms of Babydog.