West Virginia
Morrisey says Supreme Court should reject Democrats’ legal challenge over House seat • West Virginia Watch
West Virginia’s attorney general says the Supreme Court should reject state Democrats’ legal challenge over a House of Delegates seat.
Gov. Patrick Morrisey has already appointed a Republican to fill the seat of Joseph de Soto, who was elected in November as Republican but registered as a Democrat shortly before he was arrested for allegedly threatening to kill House Speaker Speaker Roger Hanshaw and several other delegates.
The state Democratic Party argued that House Republicans, who voted to vacate de Soto’s seat, didn’t follow the proper Constitutional procedure and that there was legal precedent that the seat should go to Democrats due to de Soto’s party switch. They asked the Supreme Court to weigh in on the issue, naming Morrisey in the filing.
In a new filing, State Attorney General JB McCuskey said the House of Delegates has the Constitutional authority to determine the qualifications of its members. House Republicans said de Soto wouldn’t be able to be sworn in due to his status on home confinement, prompting them to vacate his seat.
“Because the State Constitution vests the House with exclusive authority to judge its members’ qualifications, this Court has no authority to second-guess the House’s judgment that Mr. de Soto isn’t qualified to serve,” said McCusky, who submitted the filing on behalf of Morrisey. “Even if the Court had that authority, the House got it right when it found Delegate-Elect de Soto forfeited his seat.”
McCuskey, a Republican, also said that the state Democratic Party had no standing to sue Morrisey “because he didn’t cause their alleged harm, can’t fix their alleged harm, and has no duty to do what petitioners want.”
In response to the latest filing, state Democratic Party Chair Mike Pushkin, who is also a House of Delegates member, said the facts in the case support their side.
“Morrisey doesn’t argue the merits of the law in his response because he knows the law is on our side,” Pushkin said. “The facts are simple, Republicans followed the law in the past when it benefited them but now, when it doesn’t, they simply choose to ignore it. That is an insult to the rule of law and the constitution.”
The House resolution vacating de Soto’s seat ordered the Republican Executive Committee of Berkeley County to provide a shortlist of candidates to Morrisey for appointment to the seat.
The Republican governor appointed Ian Masters, an attorney and gun rights activist, to fill the seat for the 81st district, which represents a part of Berkeley County. The Regular 60-Day Session begins Feb. 12.
De Soto, who is from Gerrardstown, won a three-candidate Republican primary race last spring, winning against incumbent Don Forsht, R-Berkeley in the 91st district. There was no Democratic candidate in the November general election, but he faced competition from a Constitution Party candidate.
There are nine Democrats in the 100-member House after November election results.
The No. 22 Houston Cougars (7-1) host a Big 12 clash against the West Virginia Mountaineers (2-6) on Saturday, November 1, 2025 at TDECU Stadium.
The Cougars head into the matchup after winning 24-16 over the Arizona State Sun Devils in their last outing on Oct. 25. Last time out, the Mountaineers lost 23-17 to the TCU Horned Frogs.
Conner Weigman had 201 yards on 17-of-22 passing (77.3%) for the Cougars in that matchup against the Sun Devils, with one touchdown and no interceptions. He also added 21 carries for 111 yards and two rushing touchdowns. Dean Connors totaled 48 rushing yards on 20 carries (2.4 yards per carry). He also had two catches for 17 yards. Tanner Koziol had 100 yards on seven catches (14.3 per reception) with one touchdown in that game.
Scotty Fox Jr. threw for 301 yards for the Mountaineers against the Horned Frogs, going 28-for-41 (68.3%) with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Diore Hubbard put together a 14-carry, 32-yard game (2.3 yards per attempt), while also adding three receptions for 32 yards . Cam Vaughn caught six passes for 85 yards (14.2 yards per catch).
The Cougars are favorites by double-digits (13.5 points) over the Mountaineers. The total is set at 49.5 points.
Check out: US LBM Coaches Poll powered by USA Today sports
Houston vs. West Virginia odds and lines
College football odds courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook. Odds updated Wednesday at 10:16 p.m. ET. For a full list of sports betting odds, access USA TODAY Sports Betting Scores Odds Hub.
- Spread favorite: Houston (-13.5)
- Moneyline: Houston (-552), West Virginia (+405)
- Total: 49.5 points
Houston betting splits
- Houston’s record against the spread is 6-2-0.
- Houston has yet to lose ATS (3-0) as a 13.5-point favorite or greater this year.
- Houston has played eight games this year, and five of them have gone over the total.
West Virginia betting splits
- West Virginia is 4-4-0 against the spread this season.
- As a 13.5-point underdog or greater, West Virginia has two wins ATS (2-1).
- West Virginia has seen three of its eight games hit the over.
Houston leaders
- Weigman: 1,581 PASS YDS / 197.6 YPG / 63.7% / 12 TD / 2 INT / 86 CAR / 357 RUSH YDS / 8 TD
- Connors: 135 CAR / 586 YDS / 73.3 YPG / 4 TD / 18 REC / 130 YDS / 16.3 YPG / 1 TD
- Amare Thomas: 30 REC / 535 YDS / 66.9 YPG / 4 TD
- Koziol: 43 REC / 450 YDS / 56.3 YPG / 4 TD
- Stephon Johnson Jr.: 13 REC / 275 YDS / 45.8 YPG / 2 TD
- Eddie Walls III: 17 TKL / 5.0 TFL / 5.5 SACK
- Jalen Garner: 38 TKL / 1.0 TFL / 2.0 SACK
- Wrook Brown: 21 TKL / 4.0 TFL / 2.5 SACK / 1 INT / 1 PD
West Virginia leaders
- Nicco Marchiol: 720 PASS YDS / 180.0 YPG / 67.3% / 2 TD / 2 INT / 40 CAR / 56 RUSH YDS / 1 TD
- Khalil Wilkins: 54 CAR / 243 YDS / 48.6 YPG / 2 TD
- Hubbard: 49 CAR / 156 YDS / 31.2 YPG / 3 TD / 7 REC / 54 YDS / 18.0 YPG / 0 TD
- Vaughn: 27 REC / 419 YDS / 52.4 YPG / 3 TD
- Rodney Gallagher III: 20 REC / 159 YDS / 22.7 YPG / 0 TD
- Grayson Barnes: 16 REC / 157 YDS / 22.4 YPG / 2 TD
- Chase Wilson: 32 TKL / 4.0 TFL / 3.0 SACK / 2 INT / 2 PD
- Fred Perry: 48 TKL / 3.0 TFL / 2.0 SACK
- Wilson: 32 TKL / 4.0 TFL / 3.0 SACK / 2 INT / 2 PD
Houston vs. West Virginia game time, local, how to watch
- Game date: Saturday, November 1, 2025
- Game time: 12 p.m. ET
- Location: Houston, Texas
- Venue: TDECU Stadium
- TV channel: Fox Sports 1
- Live stream: Watch on Fubo! (Regional restrictions may apply)
Watch Houston vs. West Virginia on Fubo! (Regional restrictions may apply)
Follow the latest college sports coverage at College Sports Wire.
On Sunday, West Virginia did exactly what it was supposed to do against an inferior opponent, with all due respect to Wheeling, cruising to an 80-54 victory in an exhibition. Now, it’s time to turn the page and focus on the season-opener, which is slated to tip off exactly one week from today against Mount St. Mary’s.
On today’s episode of Between The Eers I discuss…
Harlan Obioha was really impressive, even if he had a clear advantage in the paint. He moves extremely well for a guy that’s 7-foot and 260+ pounds, and seeing him even stretch out to defend on the perimeter was a surprising sight. Treysen Eaglestaff and Honor Huff had a rough night shooting the basketball, but it’s nothing to be concerned about. Those two have made shots their entire lives, and one off night is not an indication of how they’ll shoot it the rest of the season.
Anytime you flip an entire roster, all possibilities are on the table. I’m going with a rather conservative prediction because there are just too many unknowns, although I really do like the makeup of the roster. They have more scoring options than we saw last year, and with Ross Hodge having a defensive background, they should be able to play well enough on that end of the floor to be a team fighting for a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
If you haven’t yet, please go over to our YouTube page, West Virginia On SI (@SI_WVU), and subscribe. You’ll get a notification the second a new episode of Between The Eers, The Walk Thru GameDay Show, or Mountaineer Postgame drops.
Recent Between The Eers episodes:
Is Scotty Fox Jr. the Answer at QB for West Virginia?
Why Bail on WVU After Just Seven Games?
Portal Trouble Just a One-Year Thing for WVU?
Why is WVU Refusing to Make Changes Along the Offensive Line?
Football season show schedule
Between The Eers: Sundays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays
The Walk Thru GameDay Show: Thursdays
Mountaineer Postgame: Immediately after the game
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