West Virginia
West Virginia GOP holds Trump 47 Volunteer Engagement Rally in Charleston – WV MetroNews
CHARLESTON, W.Va. –Members of the West Virginia Republican Party joined forces Monday evening in Charleston for a Trump 47 Volunteer Engagement Rally ahead of the November General Election.
The rally saw West Virginia GOP Chairman Matt Herridge and West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey speak on how to prepare for election season and how to better support and promote former President Donald Trump.
Tresa Howell, who is running for House of Delegates, District 52, says the rally is bringing together a unified body ready to vote.
“What you see is the GOP candidates, representatives, and everyone behind the scenes that are working to get everyone across the finish line,” Howell said Monday evening. “We are unified, and we are ready for November the 5th.”
Morrisey says the event is showing the party’s energy.
“This is a great event,” Morrisey said. “There’s so much energy here in West Virginia.”
The rally was also put on to show the confidence among party members that their state would be red come November. Joshua Higginbotham says he and others are confident West Virginia will be a Republican state across the board.
“I think that most of the people here are assuming that there is going to be a Republican blowout in a few weeks,” Higginbotham said. “I think Republicans are going to win up and down the ballot and we can tell that the energy is really strong in this room tonight.”
While many in the room at Recovery Sports Grill in Charleston were confident in how election season would look, Morrisey says it’s going to take a full effort for his party up until the end.
“People are still working hard,” Morrisey said. “We have to knock on doors, we have to make calls, we have to not take anything for granted.”
Another point made clear during the rally was the interaction with those in other states. Herridge and others spoke on members of the party needing to reach out to friends and family ahead of the election to convince them to get out and vote and vote for Trump.
Higginbotham says there are quite a few states up in the air that may decide the 2024 General Election.
“West Virginia is almost guaranteed to be a Republican state up and down the ballot, but there’s a lot of other states that are at play, probably as many as 10 states,” Higginbotham said. “You’ve got to look at Wisconsin, look at Florida, look at Pennsylvania, Michigan, and if you have friends or family there, encourage them to vote.”
Morrisey, who will be running for governor in November against Huntington Mayor Steve Williams, says he, too, is confident West Virginia will vote Republican, but he wants to hit other benchmarks besides just winning the election.
“Every vote does matter. First of all, I want West Virginia to be the biggest pro-Trump state in the nation, and we want to get a lot of people out to vote,” Morrisey said. “I know that it makes a difference because of the popular vote issue, and also, you want to go in with a mandate to govern.”
While the rally was mostly focused on the presidential election to come, Higginbotham says getting out to vote for local positions should be one of the main reasons to exercise the right.
“Even if there’s a blowout statewide and you get Republicans at the top of the ticket that win everything here, honestly, your day-to-day life, it matters more who your county commissioner, your sheriff and your city council member is,” Higginbotham said.
Howell’s final message from the rally was for citizens to not wait any longer to register to vote.
“We have 21 days prior to the election to get registered to vote, so please don’t wait until the last minute,” Howell said.
— Story by David Walsh, Photo gallery by Will Wotring
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Divisions I and II are going as expected after Thursday night’s opening round in the 78th West Virginia High School State Wrestling Tournament at Mountain Health Network Arena. University, seeking a third straight large school title, and Parkersburg found themselves in the top two in the standings on a night dominated by pins as No. 1 seeds would beat up on No. 4 seeds.
University started the event minus two competitors. One did not make weight and the other, who won a state title a year ago, is not competing as he’s recovering from a football injury.
One competitor delivering big for the Hawks is Maximus Fortier, a junior who transferred in from Fairmont Senior. While there, he won the state title as a freshman at 144 with a final record of 41-1. He competes at 165 now and is 36-2 after winning with a first-round pin Thursday night.
“Come down, support the team and try to win,” Fortier said of his battle plan. “Wrestle the way we know how.”
Fortier and the Hawks won the Ron Mauck OVAC title, the WSAZ Invitational and West Virginia Duals during the season. He competed in two major tournaments as well. He went 2-2 in the Ironman and won his weight class in the Powerade Tournament which attracts the top teams in the nation.
“Wasn’t ready,” he said about the Ironman. “Did my thing at Powerade. It was big.”
Fortier said support at his new school grows every day.
“They treat me like family,” he said.
Strategy for the State Tournament is simple.
“Wrestle the way we know how to wrestle,” Fortier said.
University capitalized on a strong finish in the heavier weights and leads with 47 points. Parkersburg, which finished second here last year, trails with 39.5. Cabell Midland is third with 37.5 and Huntington fourth with 32.5.
Ripley is in year two in Division II. The Vikings placed sixth a year ago. They came to town as the Region 4 winner and qualified 11 with nine taking first and the other two second. Ripley leads after Thursday with 38 points thanks to wins by pin or major fall. Independence is second with 27 and Keyser third with 25.5. Cameron is the leader in Division III with 16 points.
The tournament continues Friday with sessions at 11:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. On Saturday, the girls have their state with action starting at 8 a.m. The boys begin at 10:30.
Championship finals are Saturday night at 6:30. Wrestlers are now seeded prior to the tournament and the pill breaks deadlocks.
During the season, Ripley won the West Virginia Duals, beat Herbert Hoover twice, Point Pleasant and also got wins over Parkersburg South and Huntington.
Losing to Kansas State wiped away all hope for West Virginia to make the NCAA Tournament. That seems to be the clear consensus in the Mountain State, but is there actually still a chance? Well, I guess so.
ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi still has West Virginia listed as a team to consider, the second team outside of the “next four out” grouping.
Lunardi’s current NCAA Tournament bubble
Last Four Byes: Missouri, Texas A&M, Texas, Ohio State
Last Four In: SMU, Santa Clara, New Mexico, Indiana
First Four Out: VCU, Auburn, Virginia Tech, Cincinnati
Next Four Out: San Diego State, USC, California, Seton Hall
Next: Stanford, West Virginia, Oklahoma, Arizona State
How is this even possible?
Short answer? I don’t really know.
My best guess as to why? Two things: the respect for the Big 12 and the opportunities left on the table, and two, an incredibly weak bubble.
Should West Virginia beat UCF on Friday, it will give the Mountaineers a 9-9 record in Big 12 play. That’s not as much of a guarantee to make the dance as having a winning record, but still, it’s an impressive mark, especially when, in this instance, they would have wins over Kansas, BYU, and sweeps over Cincinnati and UCF.
If you ask me, they still have too many bad losses for it to matter. I mean, even if they got red-hot out of nowhere and made it to the Big 12 championship game next week, is that enough? Potentially, but that’s a big IF.
The one thing WVU does have on its side is the number of Quad 1 wins, which they have five of. Virtually every other team in college basketball that has a minimum of five Quad 1 victories is expected to make the tournament. In that previously mentioned scenario, they would add at least one more Quad 1 win in the conference tournament, giving the committee something to think about.
The bubble is just incredibly weak, though. Like, how in the world is Auburn, who is 16-14 currently, the second team out of the field? Cincinnati, which WVU swept and has the same record as, is the fourth team in the “first four out” grouping.
At this point, the only path I see is for the Mountaineers to cut down the nets in Kansas City — good luck with that. We could be having a very different conversation if they didn’t lallygag their way through the first 30 minutes of the games against Utah and Kansas State.
Buckle up, Upshur County. Starting Friday, March 6, law enforcement officers across West Virginia will step up seatbelt enforcement as part of a statewide Click It or Ticket campaign running through March 23.
The West Virginia Governor’s Highway Safety Program (GHSP) announced the high-visibility mobilization as a warm-up to the national seatbelt campaign in May. The goal is to ensure every occupant — front seat or back, driver or passenger — is buckled on every trip.
“During this mobilization, law enforcement officers across West Virginia will be out in full force. They will be strictly ticketing drivers who are unbuckled or who are transporting children not properly restrained in car seats,” said Jack McNeely, Director of the GHSP.
The numbers behind the campaign are sobering. In 2023, 40% of passenger vehicle occupants killed in West Virginia crashes were unrestrained. The state’s seatbelt usage rate has also slipped — from 91.9% in 2024 to 91.6% in 2025.
Rural drivers face elevated risk despite a common assumption that country roads are safer. In 2023, 65% of the state’s traffic fatalities occurred in rural areas, compared to 35% in urban centers.
Under West Virginia law, wearing a seatbelt is required. A citation carries a $25 fine, though McNeely says the real point isn’t the penalty.
“Click It or Ticket isn’t about the citations; it’s about saving lives,” he said. “A ticket is a wake-up call. It is far less expensive than the alternative — paying with your life or the lives of your family and friends.”
For more information about the West Virginia Governor’s Highway Safety Program, visit highwaysafety.wv.gov or call 304-926-2509.
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