CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginians on Tuesday will choose between a Republican candidate for governor endorsed by former President Donald Trump who has defended abortion restrictions in court and a Democratic mayor who has fought to put the issue on the ballot for voters to decide.

Both Attorney General Patrick Morrisey and Huntington Mayor Steve Williams have played an outsized role in fighting the drug crisis in the state with the highest rate of opioid overdose deaths in the country. But their similarities are few.

When it comes to abortion, the two couldn’t be more different.

Since he was elected attorney general in 2012, Morrisey, 56, has led litigation against opioid manufacturers and distributors netting around $1 billion to abate the crisis that has led to 6,000 children living in foster care in a state of around 1.8 million.

A self-described “conservative fighter,” Morrisey has also used his role to lead on issues important to the national GOP. Those include defending a law preventing transgender youth from participating in sports and a scholarship program passed by lawmakers that would incentivize parents to pull their kids from traditional public school and enroll them in private education or homeschooling.

Key to his candidacy has been his role in defending a near-total ban on abortions passed by the Republican-controlled legislature in 2022 and going to court to restrict West Virginians’ access to abortion pills.

In a statement after a U.S. District Court judge blocked access to abortion pills in 2023, Morrisey vowed to “always stand strong for the life of the unborn.”

Former Huntington city manager and House of Delegates member Williams, 60, has worked to change his city from the “epicenter of the heroin epidemic in America” to one known for solutions to help people with substance use disorder.

After being elected mayor in 2012, he instituted the state’s first citywide office of drug control policy and created a strategic plan that involved equipping first responders with the opioid overdose reversal drug Naloxone and implementing court diversion programs for sex workers and people who use drugs.

Abortion has been a key part of his campaign platform. Earlier this year, Williams collected thousands of signatures on a petition to push lawmakers to vote to put abortion on the ballot.

West Virginia is among the 25 states that do not allow citizen initiatives or constitutional amendments on a statewide ballot, an avenue of direct democracy that has allowed voters to circumvent their legislatures and preserve abortion and other reproductive rights in several states over the past two years.

Republicans have repeatedly dismissed the idea of placing an abortion-rights measure before voters, which in West Virginia is a step only lawmakers can take.

Republican leadership has pointed to a 2018 vote in which just under 52% of voters supported a constitutional amendment saying there is no right to abortion access in the state. But Williams said the vote also had to do with state funding of abortion, which someone could oppose without wanting access completely eliminated.

If elected, Morrisey would become just the third Republican elected to a first gubernatorial term in West Virginia since 1928. Outgoing two-term governor Jim Justice, now a Republican, was first elected as a Democrat in 2016. He switched parties months later at a Trump rally.

Polls statewide open at 6:30 a.m. and close at 7:30 p.m.

Morgantown, WV – West Virginia forward Tucker DeVries led all scorers with 18 points as the Mountaineers (1-0) handled the Robert Morris Colonials (0-1) Monday night 87-59.

West Virginia forward Tucker DeVries hit a pair of threes, added a steal, leading to a dunk, for the early 8-0 advantage and forcing Robert Morris head coach Andy Toole to take a timeout. The Mountaineers extended their run to 21-0 at the 14:42 mark of the first half before junior guard D.J. Smith hit jumper to put the Colonials on the board.

West Virginia freshman guard KJ Tenner extended the Mountaineers lead to 28 after back-to-back threes with just under 12 minutes remaining in the first half.

Robert Morris began chipping away at the WVU lead, dwindling it down to 16 after Smith buried a three but WVU quickly responded with an 8-0 run behind threes from Tenner and freshman guard Jonathan Powell for a 44-17 with 4:05 left in the first half.

The Mountaineers took a 46-26 lead into halftime, shooting 53.1% (17-32) from the field, including 9-21 from three-point range.

West Virginia senior guard Toby Okani started the scoring for the Mountaineers in the second half with a fadeaway baseline jumper.

Robert Morris senior forward Ismael Plett answered with a bucket and the foul but WVU responded with a 8-0 run with senior guard Javon Small hitting consecutive threes for six of his eight second half points, and finishing the night with 15 points, extending the Mountaineer lead 56-30.

The Mountaineers maintained their 20-plus advantage throughout the second half, leading by as many as 28. Along with Small, freshman guard Jonathan Powell put up eight second half points to finish with 11 points and Okani produced 13 points on the night as the Mountaineers coasted to a 87-59 victory.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) – A record number of West Virginia voters have already participated in person for the November 5 General Election, according to a report released on Monday by WV Secretary of State Mac Warner.

Early voting for the November 5 General Election has surpassed the previous record for early voting set in the 2020 General Election. 

According to Warner, as of Saturday evening, a total of 332,081 voters have already cast a ballot statewide. Early in-person voters accounted for 310,421 of the ballots cast. 21,660 voters participated by absentee ballot. A total of 4,640 absentee ballots have not yet been returned to the county clerks.

A breakdown of early voting totals to date including voter participation by political party affiliation for each county can be downloaded HERE.

A summary of the breakdown includes:

In-Person Voters = 310,421 (Includes Saturday’s totals)

• 91,978 Democrats
• 143,554 Republicans
• 329 Mountain Party
• 60,196 No Party Affiliation
• 1,547 Libertarian
• 12,817 Other Parties

Absentee Ballot Voters = 21,660 (as of Saturday)*

• 9,494 Democrats
• 7,993 Republicans
• 23 Mountain Party
• 3,273 No Party Affiliation
• 71 Libertarian
• 806 Other Parties

*Absentee ballots requested but NOT returned yet = 4,640

There are 1,657 precincts open on Tuesday throughout the state. Polls are open 6:30am to 7:30pm, and voters in line at the close of polls will be able to vote. No campaigning or wearing campaign materials within 100-ft or inside polling locations.

Keep checking the WSAZ app for the latest information.

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