West Virginia
Steve Williams becomes 1st Democrat to enter West Virginia governor’s race
Huntington Mayor Steve Williams said Monday that he plans to run for West Virginia governor, becoming the first — and so far only — Democratic candidate in the field eight months before the primary election.
Williams announced his bid for governor during the United Mine Workers of America 84th Annual Labor Day Celebration in Racine, news outlets reported.
Seven Republicans have filed pre-candidacy papers, and Attorney General Patrick Morrisey has announced he’ll seek the governor’s office.
Filing pre-candidacy papers allows campaigns to start fundraising and requires them to file campaign finance reports. A candidate isn’t officially in the race until they file a separate certificate of announcement and pay a $1,500 filing fee. The official filing period is next January.
Republican Gov. Jim Justice is prohibited by law from seeking a third consecutive term.
Ben Salango, a Democrat and Kanawha County commissioner who lost to Justice in the 2020 general election, recently announced that he won’t seek the governor’s office again.
If no other candidates enter the race, it would mark the fewest Democrats running for governor in at least 75 years, although it’s not unprecedented for a gubernatorial candidate to run unopposed. Bill Cole was the lone candidate when he won the Republican primary in 2016 before losing in the general election to Democrat Jim Justice, who then switched to the GOP seven months after taking office.
Williams was first elected in 2012 and is the first three-term mayor in Huntington history.
In 2018, he withdrew his candidacy from a U.S. House race, citing the need to focus full-time on his job as mayor to tackle the Ohio River city’s opioid crisis along with drug-related violence.
Huntington was once ground zero for the addiction epidemic in the state until a quick response program that formed in 2017 drove the overdose rate down. But the COVID-19 pandemic undid much of the progress.
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KenPom predicts how West Virginia will fare in Big 12 play
West Virginia has closed out the non-conference portion of their schedule and is now onto Big 12 play.
KenPomery, an advanced statistical website for college basketball, uses efficiency to measure how good a team is. KenPom also predicts how the Mountaineers will do in Big 12 play and the percentage chance they give WVU to win each game.
Overall, KenPom projects West Virginia to go 9-11 in conference play, having them finish the regular season with an 18-13 record. They also give WVU at least a 40 percent chance to win 12 of their 20 games against Big 12 opponents.
December/January
The first month of conference play shapes up to be the hardest for the Mountaineers. Out of the 11 losses KenPom projects, five of them come in the first month of conference play. Two games against Houston, a trip to Kansas, and a home date against Iowa State make the first month of the year very challenging.
There are plenty of close games as KenPom gives WVU a 51 percent chance to beat Arizona at home, a 48 percent chance to beat Colorado on the road, and then a 54 percent chance to beat Kansas State on the road.
In WVU’s four projected wins, their average margin of victory is 4.3 points. In their five projected losses, the average margin of defeat is 6.6 points.
February
In February, West Virginia has eight games, and KenPom projects the Mountaineers going 4-4 during the month.
Their wins include home dates against Utah, BYU, Cincinnati, and TCU. All their projected losses that month come on the road.
The average margin of victory in the month is 4.8 points, while the average margin of defeat is 6.5 points. During February, West Virginia has a three-game stretch, which includes a road game against Baylor (ranked 18th by KenPom), a home date against Cincinnati (ranked 21st), and then a trip back to Texas to face Texas Tech (ranked 13th). This also all comes in a week, spanning from Feb. 15-22.
March
The month of March is a quick three-game stretch before the Big 12 Tournament begins. However, two of the games take place in the state of Utah, as WVU faces BYU and Utah, both on the road.
The Mountaineers are projected to lose both games, with an average margin of defeat of 3.5 points. Their win over UCF, they’re projected to win by eight points.
Overall
Out of WVU’s 10 home games, they are projected to go 8-2, with the losses coming to Iowa State (ranked fifth) and Houston (ranked fourth).
Out of WVU’s 10 away games, they are projected to go 1-9, with the lone win coming on the road against Kansas State (ranked 90th).
All Big 12 teams are ranked 104th or better, and out of the 16 teams, 14 are ranked inside the top 76. Nine teams are ranked inside the top 48, and WVU’s current ranking of 48th by KenPom is ranked ninth in the league.
The Big 12’s overall rating is +17.19, according to KenPom. That ranks third out of all conferences as the SEC (+20.10) is first, and the Big Ten (+17.39) is second.
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Western Illinois wide receiver Matthew Henry has been in contact with West Virginia and is working on setting up an official visit to Morgantown.
Henry, 6-foot-1, 175-pounds, is coming off a season with the Leathernecks where he hauled in 64 passes for 1,211 yards and 6 touchdowns.
He previously spent two years at DII Livingston where he was productive with 66 catches for 840 yards over two seasons.
The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (WVDNR) announced that hunters harvested 17 percent more fall turkeys in 2024 compared to last year.
“West Virginia is truly a top destination for turkey hunting, and our thriving turkey populations are a testament to the success of sustainable wildlife management,” WVDNR Director Brett McMillion said. “These efforts ensure that hunters, whether seasoned or just starting out, can continue to enjoy abundant opportunities for years to come. We encourage everyone to experience the incredible hunting opportunities our state has to offer by purchasing a 2025 license and planning a trip in the new year.”
According to preliminary hunting data from the WVDNR’s electronic licensing and game checking system, fall turkey hunters harvested 1,130 birds in 2024 compared to 967 birds in 2023. The fall 2024 harvest was also 17 percent above the five-year average of 968 birds and similar to the 10-year average of 1,132 birds. Although fewer counties have a two-week season this year due to a lower spring harvest, the fall harvest was consistent with long-term averages.
Click here to download West Virginia’s 2025 fall turkey harvest numbers by county.
Fall turkey harvest numbers are influenced by hunter participation, but also depend on the current year’s brood production and mast conditions. This year’s brood survey results were 4.5 percent above last year’s and 5.1 percent above the five-year average, indicating that the 2024 harvest might be slightly above last year’s harvest.
Five out of six districts reported increased fall turkey harvest compared to last year. District 3 had the highest harvest with 289 birds, followed by District 1 with 191, District 4 with 180, District 2 with 169, District 5 with 160 and District 6 with 141.
Counties with the most harvests were Randolph County with 77, Nicholas with 66, Greenbrier with 57, Pocahontas with 53 and Mason with 41. All of these counties except Mason County had a four-week season.
All hunters 15 and older are required to have a valid West Virginia hunting license and valid form of identification while hunting, which can be purchased at license agents across the state or online at WVhunt.com.
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